When it comes to European funding, Open calls for proposals 2023 hold immense potential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking financial support and resources. These calls are a vital lifeline, offering diverse opportunities for SMEs to develop their businesses.
Accessing EU funding through open calls for proposals can be a game-changer for ambitious entrepreneurs and business owners in the fast-paced 2023 economic landscape. The EU recognizes the pivotal role SMEs play in driving economic growth and has thus established numerous open calls for proposals, inviting SMEs to tap into the EU funding potential to realize their growth aspirations.
In this blog, our team has handpicked open calls for proposals tailored specifically to SMEs. From research and development initiatives to cross-border collaboration and market expansion opportunities, these calls offer pathways for SMEs to secure the resources and support necessary to thrive in a competitive market.
By going through their details, you’ll gain an insight into their criteria, funding amounts, and thematic focuses. With this knowledge, you can make more informed decisions to maximise your chances of success.
Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, these EU funding opportunities through the open calls for proposals will empower you to realize your business goals and seize untapped potential within your business.
Join us as we’ll delve into these five compelling open calls for proposals for 2023 to declare your interest and find expert partners for your consortia.
5 Open Calls for Proposals to Grow Your Business in 2023
1. 36th CORNET Call for Proposals
Deadline: 27/09/2023
CORNET was initiated as an ERA-NET in 2005 and was supported by the European Commission’s 6th and 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development until 2010. The major achievement constituted in the ERA-NET phase was the introduction of joint CORNET Calls for Proposals and the tests of various evaluation procedures. The CORNET partners have not only exchanged experiences in terms of existing national or regional funding schemes but established new ones as well.
Since January 2011, CORNET has been a self-sustained network coordinated by the AiF. The ERA-NET principle still applies for the joint CORNET Calls for Proposals: national or regional funding schemes and available national/regional budgets are the basis of CORNET. The knowledge and trust gained within these many years of collaboration form the basis for effective cooperative work among the CORNET partners. CORNET aims to increase SMEs' competitiveness by funding international pre-competitive Collective Research projects. It is open to new participants worldwide.
If you are an SME association or SME organisation, a research performer or an individual SME: once you are interested in applying to CORNET, you may ask yourself a thousand questions about what to do next. It is easier than you might expect because CORNET is designed to provide low barriers and unbureaucratic procedures so you can focus on the reason you are applying: to perform an international Collective Research project to solve SME problems.
2. STAR GROWTH - Open Call for Tourism SMEs
Deadline: 26/07/2023
The projects’ overall objective is to enhance the sustainable growth of SMEs operating in the rural tourism and ecotourism sectors in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania and Italy by providing technical and financial support, whilst boosting their awareness, development and capacity in the area of sustainable innovations.
- Sustainable & InnovativeSupport SMEs by adopting sustainable and innovative practices through customised technical support activities and capacity building programs;
- Training Capacity Support SMEs for training and capacity building activities in order to empower their staff towards innovation and sustainability;
- Competitiveness Support SMEs by increasing SMEs’ competitiveness via boosting innovation in sustainable and resilient tourism.
- Processes Support SMEs through processes of i) preparation and / or application for sustainability / environmental certification, ii) preparation and / or generation of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) studies and Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF) studies, iii) implementation of improvement measures following the recommendations of the PEF / OEF studies, iv) developing of sustainability strategy plans;
3. EIT RawMaterials - Booster Call for Start-ups and SMEs 2023
Deadline: 04/09/2023
Minerals, metals and advanced materials are key enablers to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal. Today, only a fraction of the most relevant raw materials is produced in Europe. This can be changed through a circular economy approach, through innovation in recycling, substitution, processing, mining, and exploration. It is the objective of EIT RawMaterials (EIT RM) to secure a sustainable raw materials supply by driving innovation, education, and entrepreneurship across European industrial ecosystems.
EIT RawMaterials, an Innovation Community withing the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), provides a collaborative environment for disruptive and breakthrough innovations by connecting more than 140 core and associate partners and 150+ project partners from business with academia, research, and investment. It also invests in future generation of innovators for the raw materials sector through initiatives ranging from education of school students to higher qualifications for industry professionals.
The company is committed to supporting Europe’s transition towards a circular, green, and digital economy whilst strengthening its global competitiveness and securing employment. On this foundation, EIT RawMaterials has been mandated by the European Commission to lead and manage the European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA).
EIT RawMaterials aims to significantly enhance innovation in the raw materials sector by sharing knowledge, facilitating matchmaking activities, developing innovative technologies and supporting business creation. The implementation of this is supported by the six regional Innovation Hubs (CLCs) in Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Poland and Sweden, that represent different regional ecosystems connecting industry, research and education.
The EIT RawMaterials “Booster Call for Start-ups and SMEs” is one of the EIT RawMaterials business creation funding instruments dedicated to supporting start-ups and SMEs.
The objectives of the Booster Call for Start-ups and SMEs are to provide established start-ups with support:
- to speed up a technology challenge resulting in a higher TRL, bringing the technology closer to the market.
- to accelerate market introduction by taking key measures to enable solid entry of a target market.
- to facilitate product portfolio diversification, enabling product adaption or new product features to address a concrete market need.
4. Non-thematic development actions by SMEs
Deadline: 22/11/2023
This call topic encourages the driving role of innovative SMEs to turn technology and research results into defence products in a fast and cost-efficient way, possibly by adapting technologies from civil applications or addressing hybrid warfare.
Successful SME beneficiaries will be offered Business Coaching, to reduce the time of bringing the results to the next phase, e.g., development.
Scope:
The proposals must address innovative defence products, solutions and technologies, including those that can improve readiness, deployability, reliability, safety and sustainability of forces in defence tasks and missions, for example in terms of operations, equipment, infrastructure, energy solutions, surveillance systems or digital solutions.
The proposals may address any area of interest for defence, such as, but not limited to, the following ones:
- blockchain applications (e.g. for identification of friend or foe);
- tools and applications improving cybersecurity talents screening;
- artificial intelligence and robotic autonomous systems;
- future naval platform control and management;
- smart damage control related to future naval platforms;
- ship signature management;
- secure and reliable underwater communication solutions and interfaces (radiofrequency, acoustic, optic or others);
- measurement and monitoring of physiological and cognitive state of soldiers;
- solutions for mechanical and “green” chemical recycling of waste of soldier individual equipment (uniforms, helmets, boots, rucksacks, plastic elements, harness, etc.);
- concepts and corresponding technologies to ensure a safe water reuse throughout the entire water cycle of a deployable camp or a deployed combat group;
- synthetic fuel production from waste and biomass for military use.
Expected Impact:
- Innovative, rapid and cost-effective solutions for defence applications;
- Ground-breaking or novel concepts and approaches, new promising future technological improvements or the application of technologies or concepts previously not applied in the defence sector;
- Enhanced innovation capacity across Europe by the involvement of SMEs that can make a difference in the future;
- Potential for future market creation for SMEs, especially by facilitating access of SMEs to defence markets and supply chains;
- Contribution to the development of European technological and industrial ecosystems and to the strengthening of European defence supply chains.
5. AIBC EUROCLUSTERS Open Call for Digitalisation Services and Product Development (multiple cut-off)
Deadline:
- 1st cut-off: Tuesday, 5th September 2023, 17:00 Brussels time.
- 2nd cut-off: Tuesday, 16th January 2024, 17:00 Brussels time.
This Open Call supports European companies (SMEs) in their digitalisation planning activities related to activating Services and support in Product Development to further support their twin transition (digital and green). It is targeted at European SMEs from the manufacturing, mobility, logistics and energy sectors, working on the AI & BC technologies and/or interested in adopting AI & BC solutions to become more digital, resilient and green.
What Are the Challenges/Topics To Be Addressed Within The Project Proposal?
Activities must tackle the planning phase of the digital transformation involving AI/BC/twin transition. Topics are grouped by Macro-challenges and presented with a brief description of each challenge. Funding will be provided to SMEs for activities related to services and Product Development such as:
- Technology transfer
- Use of infrastructures
- Proof of Concept (PoC)
- Business model development
- Innovation development services
- Resilience continuity plans
- Product/solution development
These activities must include Artificial Intelligence / Blockchain technologies, support Green transition and address at least one challenge among the ones included in the call Guidelines.
Final Thoughts
Having explored some of the open calls for proposals for business development that are available in 2023, don't forget about the important functionalities that EUcalls provides to its members.
When you come across a European call that piques your interest, remember that you can "declare your interest" on EUcalls. This way, others will know your interest and invite you to collaborate. On the other hand, if you already have a project idea for a specific open call for proposals, don't forget that you can share your EU project idea with IdeaPad or find other project ideas to collaborate on and create your own consortium.
Lastly, only a few days are left before our summer offer of 50% off on our yearly premium plan expires. The offer expires on June 30th, so make sure you don't miss out.
For any further inquiries, don't hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team. You can contact us at info@eucalls.net, and our experts will be more than happy to assist you.
