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Euroclusters and Cascade Funding: 42M€ for building resilience and accelerating transition to green and digital economy


As of September 1, 2022, 30 Euroclusters have been launched to implement the EU Industrial Strategy. 42 M€ from the Single Market Program have been allocated to this first wave of Euroclusters, consisting of 171 partners covering 23 countries (22 EU Member States)


What are the Euroclusters?

Euroclusters are cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary and trans-European strategic initiatives of industry clusters and other economic actors such as research organisations, companies, etc. The Euroclusters will contribute to the implementation of the European Commission’s New Industrial Strategy for Europe, as well as its updated Strategy that was published in May 2021 and the SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe adopted in March 2020, by building resilience and accelerating transition to green and digital economy.

EUROCLUSTERS LOGO

Currently, 20 Euroclusters are working on specific initiatives in 14 industrial ecosystems, while 10 Euroclusters are working on multiple industrial ecosystems such as: Tourism, mobility-Transport-Automotive, Aerospace & Defence, Construction, Agri-food, Energy Intensive Industries, Textile, Creative & Cultural Industries, Digital, Renewable Energy, Electronics, Retail, Proximity & Social Economy, and Health. The objectives are to:

  1. Network to improve the resilience of the EU industrial ecosystems by developing value chains interlinkages in the EU Single Market;
  2. Innovate for strategic autonomy to build capacity in the most critical supplies and technologies of their ecosystems;
  3. Adopt processes and technologies to reinforce transformation into a greener and more digital economy;
  4. Train to foster up- and re-skilling of the workforce whilst attracting talents;
  5. Go international to boost access to global supply and value chains.
  6. Outreach to attract economic actors, mainly SMEs, beyond Euroclusters’ locations

What is Cascade Funding?​

We have previously covered the topic of cascade funding and how to make the most of it in a previous post. Essentially, cascade funding (also known as Financial Support to Third Parties) is a process in which a grant recipient (in this case, one of the Eurocluster’s consortiums) allocates a portion of their funds (coming from the European Commission) to sub-recipients (SMEs) to further support the initial project’s objectives. This mechanism simplifies all the administrative procedures, accelerating the time-to-grant.

If you want to discover all the Cascade Funding opportunities (including the Euroclusters) we have created a dedicated webpage that maps out all available calls. We invite you to check it out and see what is on offer! We also have a free-subscription newsletter to be up to date with all the calls opening.

Subscribe to the Cascade Funding Alerts Now!

All good, but how exactly are cascade funding and Euroclusters related to each other?

Now that we have established the concepts of Euroclusters and cascade funding, it’s time to explore how these two ideas are interrelated in practice and what opportunities they present.

To accomplish the already mentioned goals, Euroclusters will use cascade calls to provide financial assistance to selected third parties. These calls for proposals will be launched by all Euroclusters to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various industrial ecosystems with the necessary tools and services. The aggregate budget for the cascade funding calls that will be issued over the next 2-3 years will surpass 30 million euros.

If you’re eager to learn more about the current calls, now is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Below you will find a comprehensive list of all the available calls, along with pertinent details and instructions on how to participate. Don’t miss out on this chance and apply!

SocialTech4EU

SocialTech4EU

Call for Social Enterprises in Europe. Social Enterprises as defined by the European Commission, and start-ups with a social mission/impact

Deadline: 12/04/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: Selected social enterprises can now apply for financial support for training for up to €3.000. If selected, they will also be able to apply and compete for additional financial support in 2023 and 2024 for: Innovation: up to €20.000 for each selected organisation (up to 20 social enterprises). Acceleration: up to €35.000 for each selected organisation (up to 10 social enterprises).

IKAT Eurocluster

IKAT Tourism Call for SMEs in Europe

The First Call of the IKAT Eurocluster aims to provide solutions that address and are in alignment with the priorities of the European Strategy for more Growth and Jobs in Coastal and Maritime Tourism, as well as to recover pre-pandemic Gross Domestic Product (GDP), contributing to re-establishing broken value chains, collaboration and increasing the resilience of tourism SMEs.

Deadline: 20/04/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: The Call will provide each selected organisation with financial support in order to purchase services related to the following areas: BUSINESS MODEL – €3.000; ACCELERATION – €8.000; OPEN INNOVATION – €10.000; EXPERIENCE IN DIGITAL, SUSTAINABLE, AND INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGY – €6.000; FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES – €4.200; INTERNATIONALIZATION – €6.000; TRAINING (including mentoring and seminars for services 1 to 6) – €5.080

BResilient Eurocluster

B-Resilient

The B-Resilient Euroclusters Project has set an ambitious package of support actions to empower food processing SMEs to become more resilient by means of an optimum use of biomass, and with appropriate digital solutions.

Deadline: 24/04/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: B-resilient is organising cross-sectoral, cross-border matchmaking/business events for SMEs with different innovation actors in Biomass Resilience supported by lump sums for travelling costs (EUR 600 per SME).

CREATHRIV-EU Euroclusters

CREATHRIV-EU

CREATHRIV-EU Projects will award grants for Creative and Cultural Industries SMEs addressing one of the following challenges:

1) Diversification of products/service/contents based on digital technologies especially in the heritage, archives and libraries CCI sector;
2) Supporting the green transition of the audiovisual & multimedia sector and in performing arts;
3) Bridging the skill-gaps in the CCIs workforce and supporting a bigger participation of women;
4) Increasing business opportunities through internationalisation and synergies along and across value-chains.

Deadline: 2/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: Scale Projects (5,000 € Lump Sum); Collaboration Pilot Projects (20,000 € Lump Sum); Travel Grants: Intra-EU Travel Grant (1,500 € Lump Sum)

PIMAP4Sustainability

PIMAP4Sustainability

PIMAP4Sustainability will financially support photonics, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing SMEs to develop innovative projects in aerospace, metal working and industrial production.

Deadline: 03/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: Under this call, at least 13 projects with a maximum funding of 60 000€ will be awarded to receive funding.

 

dream euroclusters

 

DREAM

The general objective of the DREAM Open Call is to financially support small and market-oriented projects involving SMEs, consisting of the integration and the use of digital technologies into manufacturing environments

Deadline: 25/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: The maximum funding per project is 30.000 € in the form of a grant lump sum. Only SMEs are eligible to receive funding.

Epicentre Euroclusters

EPICENTRE

EPICENTRE envisions to create new cross-sectoral/border value chains by establishing a SMEs – Clusters – Mid-Caps and Corporates in the following areas: ICT, Fintech, Health and Agri-food. It is a program of accompaniment, acceleration, validation, and transfer to the market innovative solutions between SMEs and Mid-Cap and Big Companies (corporates) in 2 calls for proposals, and comprises a 3-phases programme: LAUNCH-SUSTAIN-DRIVE. 

Deadline: 29/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: 42.400 € Maximum amounts of financial support that an SMEs-project can directly receive.

suave euroclusters

SUAVE

SUAVE will financially support European SMEs operating in the field of Urban Agriculture so that they can benefit from different types of services, allowing them to improve their resilience and business models, innovate to develop new solutions, accelerate their twin transition and expand internationally. 

Deadline: 30/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: SUAVE first calls covers 3 types of Lump Sum: 1) Innovation (awarding 25 SMEs with a max. Financial contribution of 20 000 euros per SME); 2) Travel (awarding 25 SMEs with a max. financial contribution of 1000 euros per SME); Diagnosis (awarding 30 SMEs with a maximum of 5000 euros per SME).

Silicon_Eurocluster

SILICON EUROCLUSTER

The Silicon Eurocluster project aims to achieve greater European self-sufficiency, with increased competitiveness and resilience in the electronics value chain, with specific attention to SMEs. 

Deadline: 31/05/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding:In this open call for demonstration projects we expect to fund 12 market-oriented projects involving consortia with at least 2 SMEs. Funded projects will receive up to 80.000€

xBUILD-EU

xBUILD-EU

xBUILD-EU aims to build an EU strategic partnership focused on cross-sectoral collaboration and cross-fertilization across textile, construction and advanced technologies. Its first call for proposals, opening on April 1st, aims to fund 3 different grants schemes: innovate, global and green and digital grants.

Deadline: 07/06/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding: 3 schemes:

  • xBUILD – Innovate: SME driven innovation project with 20.000€ in lump-sum funding to develop and launch innovative products to market
  • xBUILD – Green and digital: SME consortia projects with 50.000€ in lump-sum funding to test and pilot digital and green solutions.
  • xBUILD – Global: Single SME voucher with 25.000€ in lump-sum to facilitate market access internationally, driving market assessment and participating in a third country business mission.
METASTARS EUROCLUSTERS

METASTARS

METASTARS’ objective is to promote collaboration between European clusters to support SMEs in the aerospace and defence ecosystem (ASD) and to increase companies’ resilience. The project will offer SMEs financial support to develop innovative projects and to benefit from services to adapt to new technologies, to develop or strengthen their green and digital transition, their innovation potential, their internationalization strategy towards Japan and Canada, and the upskilling of their workforce.

Deadline: 31/12/2023
Website: +Info
Guidelines for applicants: Link
Max. Funding:The Applicant SMEs will be allowed to be granted max. 2 Innovation Services (applying one time for up to 2 services) and 1 Innovation Project (up to 40.000€), for a maximum of 60.000€.

To find all the Euroclusters open calls and get more detailed information on how to apply, you can check their  webpage on the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP).

HOW CAN SPLORO SUPPORT YOUR ORGANISATION WITH CASCADE FUNDING GRANTS?

We want to help you make these type of calls more accessible for your organisation. That is why we have designed a series of services to maximise your opportunities of receiving this financing:

  • Identification and analysis of funding opportunities: our team monitors all open calls and make a first check on the eligibility of your organization.
  • Proposals writing and submission management: we support you to land that idea that you have in mind and adapt it to the requirements of the call. In addition, we carry out the management and upload on the different platforms of all the necessary documentation to ensure that your project is eligible for the call.
  • Access to international network: if you have not identified a partner yet, or simply don’t know who to start this adventure with, in consortium projects we take care of finding the partner for your project.
  • Project management support: our service does not end with uploading the documentation, we help you throughout the full life cycle of the project, providing you management support and ensuring that you receive 100% of the grant you have won.

Finally, why limit yourself to just to this month calls? Take a long-term view and explore all the cascading funding opportunities waiting for you on our website! Don’t miss out on the chance to secure your financial future. We also have a free-subscription newsletter to be up to date with all the calls opening.

If you need support in the proposal writing preparation, finding the right partners for the call or even having a double-check on what you are currently preparing, do not hesitate to contact us

Need support with submission

If you are, on the other hand, managing a cascade grant and want us to promote your call and do a review of this nature, feel free to contact, we can definitely address the topic and help with dissemination within our networks.

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