Communication toolkit

We invest highly in your success because we believe that market-creating innovation makes a difference in Europe and abroad. Likewise, you are our vitrine to the world, so we count on you to make the most out of your communication efforts and brand the European Innovation Council. This way you help us get known and we in turn can help other companies get their brilliant ideas on the market.

There are couple of simple steps to follow:

Yes, communication plays an important role in making sure your project has a lasting impact! That's why communicating your project results is a requirement under virtually all EU programmes. 

With the right strategic communication you will attract the interest of those who could benefit from your work – be it local or regional authorities, national governments, potential business partners or the research community. 

This toolkit is for projects funded through the European Innovation Councill and we want to help you make the most of your communication efforts. Here are four simple steps to follow:

When you speak to the press, to investors, clients, or potential business partners, we would be grateful if you could mention that you have received funding from the EIC programme.

Three simple messages to convey:

• The European Innovation Council is Europe’s flagship innovation programme to identify, develop and scale up breakthrough technologies and game changing innovations The EIC has been established under the EU Horizon Europe programme. It has a budget of €10.1 billion to support game changing innovations throughout the lifecycle from early stage research, to proof of concept, technology transfer, and the financing and scale up of start-ups and SMEs.
• Only the most innovative companies get selected. In the first year of the EIC Accelerator programme, out of more then 4000 applicants, 164 projects have been selected for funding. This shows how intense the competition is under the programme and demonstrates the high quality of the proposals funded. 
• A unique feature of the EIC is that it provides funding for individual companies (mainly start-ups and SMEs) through both grants and investments. The investments currently take the form of direct equity or quasi-equity investments and are managed by the EIC Fund. The companies also receive tailor-made coaching and support in commercialisation – like facilitated access to overseas trade fairs.

For written announcements, you can use this short "EIC in a nutshell" text. 

We kindly ask you to display the EU emblem/EIC logo clearly on your website and communication material (prototypes, leaflets, posters etc.). The emblem should be accompanied by a funding statement (translated into local languages, if needed). 

This is what it should look like:

Do not replace the EU emblem with the European Commission's logo.

You've arrived this far so we have no doubt you are able to sell your idea! However, here are a few tips to make the perfect pitch, be it to an investor, the press, new clients or potential business partner

1. Engage with the audience as individuals: present yourself, use storytelling to help them link your project to reality; get their attention (what's the problem, how big is it, how can it be solved?)
2. Be credible, use evidence: How can you solve the problem? What's your plan to do it? Will your project make money and how much? Who's your competition? Why does your team have the right know-how to solve the problem? Show that you know your business, your market, your technology, your competition and you have already thought about what could go wrong and how to avoid or solve it. Prove that you will be the right team to bring this idea to the market and make money out of it.
3. Keep it short and simple, rehearse and prepare for Q&A: Keep your audience engaged with the audience as individuals: stop, ask questions, keep eye contact, note who's nodding who's resisting, be positive, clear and credible. Prepare for Q&A think of tricky questions and your answers in advance.
4. Call to action: specify what do you want from them?

At the end of the pitch the audience needs to feel you've reached out to them: Ok I understand what you do, this looks interesting and professional, the team looks credible, I'm prepared to find out more and talk to them again if they call me, I might recommend them/write about them/invest in this idea.

The objective of this 60-minute communication webinar is to give guidance on effective exploitation, dissemination and communication. It also replies the main communication questions such as:

• Why to communicate
• What are multipliers
• How to estimate the actual influence of project communication?

The #CommsWorkout webinar brings few tips on how to increase your outreach and learn from successful EU-funded projects.

the European Council Board published the Code of Conduct for consultants offering services to organisations applying to EIC calls. Its aim is to establish a set of minimum standards, which consultancies offering services to support EIC applicants, commit to apply in relation to their clients.

The Code is voluntary but is expected to be adhered to by consultancies providing such services. All potential applicants considering using consultancy services are invited to check that the services comply with the Code. Consultancies adhering to the Code of Conduct are invited to put a label on their websites.

Download the label.