CTTE faqs

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Frequent Asks and Questions

Where can I find the recorded presentation?

The recording of the presentation is uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the SMART4ALL project.

Are the PPTs of presenters going to be available?

All the webinar information is uploaded at the smart4all site (https://smart4all-project.eu/opencalls-apply-now/). There you can find also templates and a lot of information on preparing a proposal in the different tabs.

How is a Slightly Bigger company defined (page 6 of 27 in guide of applicants)?

Slightly Bigger Company is not defined by EU, but Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361.

The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:

• staff headcount
• either turnover or balance sheet total

Company Category	Staff Headcount	Turnover	or	Balance Sheet Total
Medium-Sized	< 250	< or = 50 m Euros	< or = 43 m Euros
Small	< 50	< or = 10 m Euros	< or = 10 m Euros
Micro	< 10	< or = 2 m Euros	< or = 2 m Euros

These ceilings apply to the figures for individual firms only. A firm that is part of a larger group may need to include staff headcount/turnover/balance sheet data from that group too.

Further details include

The revised user guide to the SME definition (2020) (2 MB, available in all EU languages)

Declaring your enterprise to be an SME (the form is available in all languages as an annex in the revised user guide)

The SME self-assessment tool which you can use to determine whether your organization qualifies as a small and medium-sized enterprise

Also, a slightly Bigger Company, we refer to those companies which have up to 500 employees and up to 100 million euros turnover.

Could you please elaborate the term of "extends the value chain"?

Let's suppose that we have only one technology provider such as an Academia or an Industrial partner which has developed a novel technology. Another SME can act as a adaptor of this technology and make a new product to another application area. Also, there can be a third partner that can move this product or the technology to a wider market (defined geographically or to other market verticals).

Can the consortium be formed by participants from 3 countries?

Yes. The consortium must be formed by partners from at least two countries. More countries are also possible.

Can the Productizer 'productize' the product so that the Technology Receiver used it in the market?

Yes, the productization partner can be also undertaken the role of system integrator or platform provider.

Is Switzerland eligible country as partner, or project lead?

All members of HORIZON are eligible. So, the Switzerland is eligible.

Can an SME assume the role of two types of consortium member: 1) Industrial and 2) Technology Provider?

Yes. An SME partner can take all three possible roles: 1. Technology provider, 2. Technology receiver, and 3. Productizer.

Does CTTE have a detailed definition of the Customized Low Energy Computing concept?

A definition of the term “customized and low power computing” can found here: https://cordis.europa.eu/programme/id/H2020_ICT-05-2017 (previous call from EU).

Can an SME who is a Technology/Service Provider be an industrial Partner?

Yes, an SME can act as Technology/Service Provider.

Does it matter if the final product's target market is Central/Southern Europe?

No, it doesn’t matter from the scope of final product’s target market.

Can the productization Partner come from Northern Europe?

Yes.

Does the transfer partner have to be from academia?

No. It can be an SME.

Does the application have to include some Customized Low Energy Computing technology and not just be a general Cyber-Physical System?

Yes.

Is there any conflict of interest if a proposal partner is already a member of the SMART4ALL project?

Yes. There is a conflict of interest according to the rules of European Commission about cascade funding.

Why is Cyprus not included in the SEE countries?

Cyprus typically is not a member of countries which belong to SEE region, this is something that can be changed to next calls.

Is it possible for the productizer and the academia/technology provider to cooperate to deliver the product?

Yes. In this case, it would be helpful to provide the basic principles of the envisioned IPR plan.

Does the Pilot need to include user testing or is thorough lab experiment with documented metrics also OK?

The starting point must be TRL5 or higher. So, according to the definition of TRL, specific validation activities must be performed in the field (even under specific assumptions). The definition of TRL levels is available at here

The ban on submission by a different laboratory of the same university concerns the participation in the FTTΕ or and in the KTE; or for both?

The conflict of interest refers to any SMART4ALL open call for all type of proposals i.e., KTEs, FTTEs & CTTEs.

What is the link of SMART4ALL YouTube channel?

The link of SMART4ALL YouTube channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmSl9LCl2vNBO-3k75dvJA

When it comes to VC funded companies or those that are negotiating with VC, why is this important for the application? Should it be stated somewhere how much money is raised and why?

This is not mandatory, but if you can provide this information, the evaluators can better understand your strategic position related to the submitted PAE.

The revenue model should be present for the productization partner only or also for the industrial technology transfer partner?

The PAE must include a go-to-market strategy (thus, a corresponding revenue model must be sketched). Of course, this is applicable only to the productization partner. The other partners must describe the added value gained from the PAE.

How to prove that partner and our company have experience?

There are no golden rules for this. The implementation part of the proposal must contain adequate information about what should be implemented and why the consortium contains the right mix of partners to achieve the technical objectives of the project.

Can the Productizer perform a productization for the Technology Receiver who will own the results and will actually use them on the market?

Yes. However, a clear go-to-market strategy (associated with an IPR plan) must be provided.

Can the technology Receiver be the only one bringing the product to the market?

Yes, this is possible.

Is it recommendable to connect with companies/academia via matchmaking or it doesn’t matter (any eligible SME or academia is equally fine for application)?

Concerning the use of matchmaking service, it is not mandatory to use it and is not related to the evaluation of a proposal. The matchmaking service is there just to help you.

Is this going to be a full size EU proposal of i.e. 50 pages or constraint to i.e. 10 pages plus additional PDFs? Is there going to be a template?

There is no specified length of the proposal. The application is submitted as an online form and the only limitation is the length of individual answers in characters. The template to preview the application and prepare all the answers offline is available both at the FundingBox portal and the SMART4ALL website.

If we already have a KTE project of 8.000 EUR can we still apply for 80.000 EUR within the CTTE or will we be offsetted?

There is no limit per project, but per legal entity. The total amount of grant you are eligible to receive from SMART4ALL calls is limited to 60.000 EUR.

Should we mention competition in the application?

Competition analysis is one of the key aspects to position yourselves in the market. Due to restrictions in length of the application it is not recommended to perform a comprehensive analysis of the competition, but to demonstrate the knowledge of the market and its trends, as well as to provide arguments for the sustainability of your business concept.

How do we prove what we write if we are not allowed to add any figures or photos?

Descriptively. You can also provide external links if they are short enough. But do not count that evaluators will investigate them. Instead, try to be concrete and use facts to argue and rationalize your case.

Some evaluators provided negative comments based on the fact that projects were too generic and too ambitious, while others that in some cases projects were too narrow in what they had tried to achieve. What would be the proper measure regarding the ambition?

The project can never be too ambitious regarding the impact of the technology on the respective sector. Indeed we want to see ambitious ideas that strive to disrupt the market and solve numerous problems at once. However, the projects should provide attainable goals given the limitations in time and budget. So it is important not to confuse the ambition related to the innovation level compared to the ambition related to the effort and timeline designated in the workplan.

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Regional Webinar

Are the Faculty of Agriculture and Technical Faculty from Novi Sad eligible as partners on these calls?

The Faculty of Technical Sciences of the University of Novi Sad – if that was meant – is a part of the SMART4ALL consortium and can’t participate in any of the SMART4ALL Open Calls due to the direct conflict of interest. Inclusion of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Novi Sad, though a separate legal entity, could raise some concerns due to the fact that both these schools are constituents of the University of Novi Sad and as such do have an internal cooperation agreement, which could be interpreted negatively in terms of an indirect conflict of interests. So we advise against their participation.