Europe - Eurostars call for proposals

1. Introduction

Eurostars is the largest international funding program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to collaborate on research and development (R&D) projects that create innovative products, processes or services for commercialisation. Eurostars is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs. The partnership is co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe. Individual countries provide funding to participants based on their national funding rules and procedures.

Canadian SME participants in Eurostars projects receive advisory services and funding support through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).

2. Application deadlines

• NRC IRAP registration deadline (for firms not yet NRC IRAP clients):^{Footnote 1} February 14, 2024^{Footnote 2}
• NRC IRAP registration deadline (for NRC IRAP clients): March 14, 2024
• Eurostars application deadline: March 14, 2024 at 9 am (ET)

3. Sectors of focus

This call invites proposals related to any civilian (non-military) technological or market areas.

4. Related tools and events

• Eurostars webinar for applicants: July 13, 2023
• Eurostars: Ready for take off  (Virtual): April 4, 2024
• Access the Eurostars B2Match Platform for project development and consortium building

5. Project funding

Eligible project participants in collaborative projects selected through this call for proposals may receive funding from their respective national funding body. Funds will be provided in accordance with the applicable laws, regulations, rules and procedures established by the relevant national funding body, country, jurisdiction or program.

In Canada, eligible Canadian SMEs may receive up to 50% reimbursement of eligible project costs up to a maximum total funding amount of $500,000 CAD.

Each project participant should contact their national funding agency early in the process and follow their advice regarding national funding applications in parallel to the proposal submission.

Non-eligible project participants (e.g. universities, research institutes and participants from other countries) are welcome to participate on a self-funded basis or as sub-contractors to funded participants, according to each country's funding regulations.

6. Canadian eligibility requirements

Canadian SME

To be eligible for funding, the Canadian applicant must:

• meet the Eurostars rules and call criteria
• be an incorporated, profit-oriented SME in Canada
• have 500 or fewer full-time equivalent employees
• have been in operation for a minimum of 12 months prior to the Eurostars call application deadline
• pursue growth and profit by developing and commercializing innovative, technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes in Canada
• have a differentiated and protectable technology with commercial potential in global markets
• have sufficient working capital (e.g. revenue, investment) and resources to undertake a multi-year R&D collaboration and commercialize the results
• be committed to significant growth through international market expansion
• register with NRC IRAP (see registration section below)

Preference may be given to SME applicants who:

• have a minimum of 15 full-time equivalent employees
• have commercialized 1 or more products domestically or internationally
• have greater than $500,000 CAD in annual revenue

Note: Canadian SME applicants must be eligible for funding as NRC IRAP clients before they can be considered for funding through this call for proposals. For more information on NRC IRAP eligibility and becoming an NRC IRAP client, please contact NRC IRAP at 1-877-994-4727.

Note: Canadian SME applicants may apply to more than one NRC IRAP call for proposals simultaneously. However, NRC IRAP may limit the number of funded projects per applicant. Canadian SME applicants who are applying to more than one opportunity or who have ongoing NRC IRAP projects should speak to their NRC IRAP representative for more information.

Other Canadian organizations

Other types of Canadian organizations may participate in Eurostars projects but need to secure funding from alternative sources or self-fund their project participation.

7. Application process

7.1 Registration with NRC IRAP

To apply for NRC IRAP funding through Eurostars, Canadian SME applicants must register with NRC IRAP using the registration button below before the registration deadline.  

7.2 Eurostars application

Jointly completed by project partners by the indicated Eurostars application deadline, the application form and associated annexes must be submitted online using the Eureka Project Management Platform (E!PMP).

Please refer to the Eurostars webpage for full details.

7.3 NRC IRAP funding eligibility and financial capacity check

For each Canadian SME wanting to apply for funding as an NRC IRAP client, NRC IRAP may request additional documents, for example, their most recent annual and interim financial statements.

Canadian organisations not seeking or ineligible for NRC IRAP funding must submit a self-funding declaration (Official self-funding declaration template).

7.4 NRC IRAP project proposal

To be completed by each Canadian SME applicant seeking NRC IRAP funding once their project has been selected through the Eurostars process, and submitted through the NRC IRAP Innovation Portal.

8. Contacts

For questions or for more information, please refer to the Eurostars call for projects webpage or contact Canada's Eurostars National Project Coordinator, Eric Holdrinet at Eric.Holdrinet@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

9. Registration

Canadian SME participants must be registered NRC IRAP clients. If not already an NRC IRAP client, Canadian SMEs must contact 1-877-994-4727 to determine if they might be eligible for support through NRC's Industrial Research Assistance Program.

To begin the application process, Canadian applicants must register for this opportunity by clicking the Register button:

If there is no register button visible below this line, it means registration for this call for proposals has closed.