Eurostars Program

Eurostars has been carefully developed to meet the specific needs of SMEs . It is an ideal first step in international cooperation, enabling small businesses to combine and share expertise and benefit from working beyond national borders .

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Eurostars is a joint program between EUREKA and the European Commission, co-funded from the national budgets of 36 Eurostars Participating States and Partner Countries and by the European Union through Horizon 2020. The Eurostars program is a funding and support program, aimed at R&D -performing SMEs that wish to exploit the benefits that come with international collaboration.

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In the 2014-2020 period it has a total public budget of € 1.14 billion.

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The role of SMEs for the economy has never been so important. Eurostars aims to bring increased value to the economy, higher growth and more job opportunities.

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Eurostars projects are:

• transnational,

• started and led by an SME,

• involve at least two partners from two different Eurostars participating country,

• involve at least one other partner from another Eurostars participating country, and

• last no longer than three years.

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Within two years of completion the product of research should be ready for market introduction .

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Eurostars is backed by € 861 million of national funding from its countries. It is further supported by € 287 million of EU funds , for a total of € 1.14 billion.
 

Eurostars applies a decentralized funding procedure; participants do not receive funding directly from the EUREKA Secretariat or the EU. All funding to participants in approved projects is managed by their respective funding body and according to their national funding rules and procedures. These rules and procedures are dependent on the member countries involved in the project.
 

Eligibility criteria

To help you prepare your project submission before the next Eurostars cut-off opening here are the main eligibility criteria you will need to follow:

• Research-performing SMEs can apply for funding under Eurostars. Other SMEs, research institutes, universities and large enterprises may also participate but the project leader must be an R & D-performing SME from a Eurostars country.

• Eurostars is open to all projects in all technology areas and market fields, but projects must have a civilian purpose.

• The consortium must include at least two partners independent from each other and established in at least two different Eurostars countries. Organizations from any other country may participate (as a third country), but only if two Eurostars countries are already in the project. Subcontractors are not considered as project partners.

• The project must be completed in 36 months or less. The Eurostars project market introduction of the project results should be within 24 months of the completion of the project.

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The 2018  cut-off deadlines are the 1st  of March 2018  and the 13th of September 2018 .

Ependysis Business Consultants can prepare you in the submission of the investment file, as well as to help you arrange the partners of the project.