Creating strong partnerships for Eurostars

Finding the best possible partners and creating Eurostars partnerships for your project is essential to a winning proposal. A strong and complementary consortium that addresses the objectives and has the capacity to carry out the work is key. Keep in mind that subcontractors cannot be consortium partners.

Start on time

Most important: start on time! Getting the right people on board can be a lengthy and challenging process. Creating Eurostars partnerships is one thing but managing all partners during the preparation phase and aligning their interests into one coherent project plan is trickier.

Envision your perfect consortium

A strong consortium has the following characteristics:

• Complementary. Each partner should have a unique role and bring in a special, required expertise or technology to perform the proposed activities.
• Interdisciplinary. To tackle outstanding challenges, collaborations need to connect viewpoints and knowledge. Going beyond a single discipline and combining partners from various disciplines is essential.
• Balanced. Pay attention to the gender balance of key personnel involved.
• Excellent. A strong consortium brings together the brightest minds in their respective fields and markets.

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

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.

Make sure you fulfill eligibility

• A Eurostars consortium must consist of at least 2 different partners from at least 2 different Eurostars countries.
• A Eurostars project must be coordinated by an SME.
• Ensure that your potential partner is eligible to participate in Eurostars by reading the country-specific eligibility information.
• Encourage each of your partners to contact their National Contact Points (NCPs) to guarantee eligibility and obtain additional information on relevant eligibility requirements. Financial eligibility is an important criterion for Eurostars and needs to be discussed with the corresponding NCPs beforehand.
• All consortium partners for Eurostars must submit their last 2 financial reports. If they only have 1 or if they have not closed a financial year yet, they must submit a complete business plan. If this is the case, keep in mind that submitting an investor business plan with financial planning is an advantage.

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Writing a winning Eurostars Proposal

We have written an extensive guide for companies looking for information about Eureka Eurostars. In this guide we explain how to draft a winning proposal so you maximize your chances of getting funded.

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