Today 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.
Potential applicants to the EIC, and in particular the EIC Accelerator, can access support through their National Contact Points or the Enterprise Europe Network, and those applicants that pass the short (Step 1) application phase can access free coaching provided by the EIC Business Acceleration Services.
However, a number of EIC potential applicants decide to turn to consultants to assist them further with their applications and the management of their projects The resulting European consultancy market makes it critical to advocate for transparency and to promote professionalism and ethical practices in the innovation consultancy market, as well as to support potential applicants to find high quality consultancy services.
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 supporting the Code of Conduct are invited to put a label on their websites.
Background information
The Code has been prepared following exchanges with stakeholders and takes account of comments received from interested parties in response to a draft version published this summer.
Details
- Publication date
- 6 November 2023