Tips & tricks to build a successful consortium around a Eurostars R&D project

Are you a small or medium-sized company developing an innovative new product? Then the Eurostars funding programme might be just the instrument you need to get your innovation ready and enter the market!

The Eurostars philosophy is that the most efficient way to enhance innovation, growth and access to new markets, is through collaboration. Thus, by stimulating international collaboration, Eurostars aims to enable small businesses to share expertise, combine efforts and benefit from working beyond borders.

Eurostars is the only European funding programme that is solely dedicated to support R&D-performing companies. However, on top of Eurostars guidelines, each of the 36 Eurostars-associated states and countries has its own unique funding rules and conditions. As such, building a consortium that has all the required expertise to do the job and aligns with country-specific regulation can be challenging. To provide some guidance, we have collected some tips & tricks to get you started in building a winning consortium.

Build a winning Eurostars consortium

Identify the expertise that is required to bring your innovation to the next level

A successful Eurostars consortium should present all the expertise that is required to perform the proposed activities and achieve the envisioned results described in your application. Before you start contacting potential partners, make sure to identify all the different expertise required, and only then look for candidates to address each specific role. This will ensure you have a balanced consortium with all the complementary expertise to deliver results.

Consortium composition: R&D performing SMEs and institutes from at least 2 different Eurostars countries

As Eurostars is dedicated to the support of SMEs and innovation, it is mandatory that the main project partner is an R&D performing SME, and at least 50% of the total project budget is allocated to R&D performing SMEs. Additionally, as Eurostars is built on the philosophy that successful innovation is achieved through international collaboration, a Eurostars consortium must consist of at least 2 different partners from at least 2 different Eurostars countries. Make sure to tick these boxes to ensure your consortium is eligible for funding.

Align with country-specific conditions

On top of the Eurostars guidelines, each country has specific regulation related to the maximum funding allowed per project and funding coverage rates. As per Eurostars guidelines organizations other than R&D performing SMEs – such as universities, hospitals and large companies – may participate. However, to add a layer of complexity, each country may decide if a specific organization type is eligible to receive funding. Furthermore, specific activities – such as clinical studies – may be eligible in one country, but not permitted in another. Make sure to validate if your partner is eligible per its country-specific guidelines, to ensure all activities and associated budget are truly accounted for.

Build successful collaborations

Catalyze has a large network of SMEs, universities, research institutes, (academic) hospitals and large industry partners throughout Europe, covering all fields of expertise involved in research and development in the life sciences and beyond. With years of experience with successful Eurostars applications, we understand how to build a consortium that not only ticks all boxes, but excels at innovation.