Open calls

ACCELERATION PROGRAMME 2

Are you an SME operating in the European Mobility, Transport & Automotive (MTA), Aerospace & Defence, and Electronics manufacturing value chains? Do you need to digitally transform your production process to become more sustainable, resilient and human-centric, but don’t have enough resources or knowledge for that?

If so, look no further, because the EU-funded SURE5.0 project can support you with more than EUR 2.6 million in cascade funding complemented with tailored services, accessible through the application to our two Acceleration Programmes. Each one of them is structured in a two sequential phases approach, providing the companies with the following benefits:

5.0 assessments and services worth €10,000

The 1st acceleration programme was launched in December 2022 with a result of 17 SMEs selected in the phase 1. Until September 2023 these companies will receive the first tailored services and will be eligible to apply to the 2nd phase (to be launched in August this year), so they can receive additional supporting services and funding for their transition plans.

50,000€/SME of equity-free funding to implement your 5.0 transition plan

In case your company couldn’t enter in the 1st acceleration programme, you have a new opportunity to engage in the SURE5.0 project through the 2nd acceleration programme.

We are glad to announce that the Acceleration Programme 2 has just been launched. If you are an eligible SME, don’t miss the opportunity to apply to the phase 1, open from July 28th, 2023, until February 28th, 2024, 17:00 CET*

*Three cut-off dates will be provided to receive proposals in a more distributed way and facilitate the evaluation process.

What we offer?

The SURE5.0 Acceleration Programme 2 aims to help you to make your production processes more sustainable, resilient and human-centric. The support will be provided in two phases through different tailored services and funding, based on your specific technological, business and personnel needs:

Phase 1

Assess & Recommend

Individual assessment and roadmap design

The partners will carry out interviews with the companies. The idea is to give a step forward in the analysis of their business model and manufacturing process, identifying gaps and possible advanced technological solutions to cover them. This individual assessment will be the base for their 5.0 roadmap design.

Investment Readiness Support

Companies will be evaluated and categorised into three levels: (i) Investment ready / (ii) Almost ready /(iii) Not ready

According to that, they will receive recommendations.

Training activities

Compulsory module on Industry 5.0 covering: The principles of sustainability, human-centricity and resilience; Main challenges identified in our target industrial ecosystems; Success stories and their practical application on different kind of businesses.

Social innovation and human-centricity

Companies will be provided with a “Guide for social innovators”. Later, they will receive a training course about how to elaborate a business model addressing more human-centric and social approaches.

w

Community of Practice of Alliance

Companies will be invited to join this LinkedIn group, which aims to foster exchange and experience in the field of industry 5.0, as well as to promote networking activities.

Phase 2

Business Transformation & Resilience

Equity-free funding of up to EUR 50k per SME

Companies will be provided with funding for the implementation of their industry 5.0 transition plans. At least 60% of this grant must be used to hire supporting experts included in our Catalogue of Complimentary Service Providers.

Investment Readiness Support

Companies will be provided with ad-hoc business support services such as business modelling, planning, financial assessment or funds scouting.

Training activities

During phase 2, companies will be offered other on-demand training modules covering both technological and innovation topics. Check our Catalogue of services to have the full list of courses and content.

Social innovation and human-centricity

A session will be organised to introduce the Social Innovation Tournament and other similar funding opportunities.

Advanced technological services

Interested companies will have the opportunity to be provided with technological individual assessments and/or proof-of concept testing.

Who can apply?

SMEs operating in the Mobility, Transport & Automotive (MTA), Aerospace & Defence, and Electronics manufacturing value chains which:
5

Need to adopt advanced technologies or services to turn their production processes more sustainable, human-centric and resilience.

5

Are legal entities established and based in the European Union or EU Associated Countries.

*Definition of SME in line with the European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and the SME qualification guide.

Mobility, Transport & Automotive

Mobility, Transport & Automotive

Aerospace & Defence

Aerospace & Defense

Electronics

Electronics

☑️ Who is eligible

  • Manufacturing companies
  • Producers of at least one product
  • Assemblers if they sell the product afterwards
  • Software and producer if they focus on the production part of their company
  • Within our three ecosystems

❌ Who is not eligible

  • No link with the manufacturing process
  • Non producers
  • Service providers only
  • Software only
  • Not in our industrial ecosystems
5

Guide for applicants

Full general rules.

5

Open call summary and value proposition

Key information.

How to apply

STEP-BY-STEP APPLICATION PROCESS

01.

SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL

Fill in this questionnaire to know your current situation and potential for transformation with regards to smart factory, strategy and organization, environmental sustainability, industrial resilience and human-centricity. You will automatically receive the results of your evaluation (general recommendations).

5

Important

The assessment report is a compulsory requirement to apply to the Acceleration programme.

02.

APPLY TO PHASE 1

Eligible SMEs with self-assessment

Fill in the application form and attach your self-assesment report. Show your commitment to integrate the principles of sustainability, human-centricity and resilience in your production process, and the expected impact from participating in this Programme.

5

Application period

4 Jan 24 – 28 Feb 24 17:00 CET

5

Number of SMEs supported

At least 83 SMEs

03.

APPLY TO PHASE 2

Use again the F6S platform to fill in the corresponding application form, detailing your Industry 5.0 Transition Plan. This strategy should be based on the individual roadmap and knowledge gained through the services provided in phase 1.

5

Application period

1 Feb 24 – 31 Jul 24 17:00 CET

5

Number of SMEs supported

At least 36 SMEs

Note that:

Only SMEs which have completed their self-assessment will be able to apply to Phase 1.

Only SMES beneficiaries at Phase 1 will be able to apply to Phase 2.

Acceleration programme timeline

The following chart summarizes the full planning of the acceleration programme 2, including for each phase, the periods for application, evaluation, and companies’ support.

Phase 1

Assess & Recommend

Phase 2

Business Transformation & Resilience

Application period

Jul 28th, 23 - Feb 28th, 24

Application period

Three cut-off dates
• Oct 25, 2023
• Jan 3, 2024
• Feb 28, 2024

Submission on F6S platform of the completed application form + Self Assessment report.

Evaluation and selection

4 weeks after each cut-off

Evaluation and selection (by partners)

Tailored Industry 5.0 services

Dec 23 - Jul 24

Programme

83 beneficiaries

  • Individual assessments & recommendations (roadmap).
  • Membership in the Community of Practice Alliance.
  • Phase 1 Tailored services
Application period

Feb 24 - Jul 24

Application period
Two cut-off dates
• Apr 3, 2024
• Jul 31, 2024

Submission on F6S platform of your 5.0 Transition Plan (through the application form).

Evaluation and selection

6 weeks after each cut-off

      Evaluation and selection 

Remote evaluation carried out  by external experts

Presentation of projects to partners through online interviews with SMEs

Final ranking and selection

Tailored Industry 5.0 services

May 24 - Apr 25

Programme

At least 36 beneficiaries

  • €50,000 to implement your Transition Plan.
  • Access to the Catalogue of Complementary Service Providers.
  • Phase 2 Tailored Services

Need more help?

If you have reviewed this section but you still need help, we recommend you:

Q&A sessions

Q&A sessions

Join our SURE5.0 open call Q&A sessions. These online events, addressed to SMEs interested in applying to the acceleration programme, will provide detailed information about the call and will be useful to solve questions and help you to submit a better proposal.

Calendar

Future sessions

February 21 2023, 12pm CET

Helpdesk

Helpdesk

Contact our helpdesk in the following email:
help@sureproject.eu

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the maximum financing that an SME participating in the Acceleration Programme can obtain?

Beneficiaries will be awarded with direct funding of maximum €50,000 to deploy their Industry 5.0 Transition Plan. In phase 2 of the Acceleration Programme, up to 36 SMEs will receive this funding. Financial support may be used and may cover different types of expenses:

  • Procurement of external advance technology, consulting and coaching services that are not available within the consortium. External service providers with expertise in one or several of the industry 5.0 principles will be available in the Catalogue of Complementary Service Providers. Nonetheless, SME will have the possibility to suggest the inclusion of other service providers in the Catalogue.
  • Personnel, consumables, equipment, and other costs necessary to set up a feasibility study, a pilot testing, or the building of a prototype/demonstrator to implement Industry 5.0 transformation, with or without supervision by consortium partners.
2. Can an SME access financing without having submitted to phase 1 of the Acceleration Programme?

No. It is mandatory that all SMEs that want to access project financing complete their self-assessment and apply to Phase 1 of the Open Call. Only SMEs benefiting from Phase 1 will be able to apply to Phase 2 and therefore access financing.

3. If I am a service provider, should I apply to the SURE5.0 Acceleration Programme or join the Catalogue of Complementary Service Providers?

The SURE5.0 projects accepts Open Call applications from SMEs that intend to use the support provided for enhancing the production and manufacturing procedures of the products they sell, based on the Industry 5.0 principles.

Nevertheless, companies that can be considered as service providers can still be selected if:

  • They have a hardware production (even if offered at the end as a service).
  • The focus of the application is on the production stage and not on the services they are offering
  • The SURE5.0 support will be limited to their production stage

In case your company is interested in providing a technology or tool that helps others to evolve towards Industry 5.0, then you can join our SURE5.0 Catalogue of Complementary Service Providers as external entity complementing the services delivered by consortium members for the deployment of the SMEs Industry 5.0 Transition Plan in Phase 2. Costs incurred with contracting services listed in the Catalogue will be fully eligible in the budget of SMEs receiving FSTP.

SMEs cannot be a service adopter and a service provider at the same time. This means that the companies that apply to be in the SURE5.0 Catalogue of Complementary Service Providers cannot apply to the Open Call.

For more information about the Open Call eligibility criteria, go to Open Call 2 Guide for Applicants.

For more information (and registration) about the Catalogue, continue here

4. Can I apply as a legal entity that isn’t established in the European Union?

Applicants eligible to receive funding through this Open Call are a legal entity established and based in the European Union or EU Associated Countries only, which means that SURE5.0 Acceleration Programme 1 also accepts applications from:

  1. Albania
  2. Armenia
  3. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  4. Faroe Islands
  5. Georgia
  6. Iceland
  7. Israel
  8. Kosovo
  9. Moldova
  10. Montenegro
  11. North Macedonia
  12. Norway
  13. Serbia
  14. Tunisia
  15. Turkey
  16. Ukraine
5. How are the tailored services divided per each phase of the Programme?

SURE5.0 Phase 1 tailored services are delivered in the following manner:

  • Investment Readiness Assessment.
  • Support on Social Innovation and Human Centricity (advanced training programme).
  • Advanced training programme for the industry 5.0 transition (Mandatory training module on industry 5.0.).

SURE5.0 Phase 2 beneficiaries will be provided the following services:

  • Investment Readiness Support – business consultancy services to support the implementation of the Industry 5.0 Transition Plan.
  • Service provisioning for SMEs uptake of advanced technologies (individual technological assessments and/or and/or proof-of-concept testing).
  • Advanced training programme for the industry 5.0 transition (customizable modules for the upskilling and reskilling of employees).

To read the full description of the offered support, go to Open Call 1 Guide for Applicants – Section 2.3 Support provided.

6. I was not accepted in Acceleration Programme 1. Can I apply for Open Call 2?

If you were not selected in the phase 1 of the Acceleration Programme 1, you can try it again applying to the phase 1 of the second acceleration programme. However, it is mandatory to flag that this is a resubmission.

7. I was accepted in Acceleration Programme 1 (phase 1). Can I apply for Open Call 2?

If you already were a beneficiary both in the phases 1 and 2 of the Acceleration Programme 1, you wouldn’t be eligible to apply to the second acceleration programme.

8. I was not accepted for phase 2 of the Acceleration Programme 1 and my score is above threshold. Can I apply for phase 2 of the Acceleration Programme 2?

If you were a beneficiary in the phase 1 of the Acceleration programme 1, but you weren’t successful to enter in the phase 2 (despite your application being scored above threshold), you have a new opportunity to access to the funding applying directly to the phase 2 of the second acceleration programme. For this aim, you should submit an updated and improved transformation plan.

9. I was not accepted for phase 2 of the Acceleration Programme 1 and my score is below threshold. Can I apply for phase 2 of the Acceleration Programme 2?

No, you cannot apply.

10. The Open calls included in the Acceleration Programme 2 will be launched with different cut-off dates. Can I apply to more than one cut-off?

SMEs that applied and were not selected for phase 1 in the first cut-offs and scoring above threshold, will be qualified for the following cut-offs without the need to reapply. If they so desire, they can request to re-open the application and resubmit. The new application will need to be flagged as a re-application which will be scored independently from the previous application.