The European Commission was kind enough to provide a treat for SME Instrument data enthusiasts: statistics for the latest Phase 2 cut-off in October 2017.
Record number of proposals submitted: 2 123
This time European companies broke a record – the number of submitted proposals was the highest ever: 2 123 (609 more than in June 2017). Due to the increased number of projects applying to SMEI, the overall success rate for this Phase 2 was lower than ever, slightly below 3%.
We cannot say that we are actually surprised, as the EC announced that some significant changes in the assessment procedure of the Phase 2 proposals would be introduced in 2018 (we will cover this topic soon on our blog, so keep checking). Companies were rushing to submit their proposal before the new rules apply.
The most popular topic: ODI ICT
The most popular topics are still ODI CT – 480 applications (100 more than in June cut off), ICT Health cell – 204 proposals (61 more), Energy – 204 (63 more), Transport – 219 (79 more). These four topics have received over half of the total amount of proposals.
The least popular topics: Space and Blue Growth
Also, no surprise here – Space (37), Blue Growth (42) and Biotechnology (68) are the ones usually attracting significantly less interest from applicants.
62 proposals are expected to be funded
The competition will be very tough as only 62 projects are expected to be funded in total.
The highest number of the proposal is predicted to be funded in the most popular topics ODI – ICT (10), Health Cell (8), Energy (8) and Transport (9).
Space, Biotech, Blue Growth, Business Innovation and Security are expected to receive only 1-2 grants per topic.
The highest (expected) success rate: Space and Blue Growth
The highest success rate is expected in Space and Blue Growth, level of 5%. Topics with the lowest projected success rate (up to 2%) are ODI-ICT, Biotech, ICT in Health, Business Innovation and Security.
Last words
October statistics have brought few surprises. The most and least popular topics remain the same. The number of proposals submitted is significantly higher than usual, but we expect that it is just temporary and in the next cut-off will get back to the previous level.
Statistics seem ruthless, but in the end what is important is how well one is prepared. Only the best projects and the best proposals will be funded.
Want to increase your chances for funding and join the best SMEs in Europe? Contact us at: hello@getzafiro.com
Please note te information is based on EC estimations and may be subject to change.
