With the Second call of the Strategic Agenda for Digital Economy and Society (AEESD), which replaces the old Avanza Plan, in the period of acceptance of applications after the extension of the deadline and the arrival in September of the second deadline of the SME Instrument, we believe in Intelectium it is a good time to examine the characteristics that a Research and Development project must have in order to obtain funding, both at European and State levels. At the outset, it is necessary to highlight a difference that, from our experience, we see that many people overlook when planning an R&D project: innovation does not only mean developing a new product with good marketing prospects, but involves improving the state of the art of technology thanks to the sustained work of a high-level technical team. In other words, it's not about proposing solutions that we can carry out with time and a competent team. Innovation precisely means stepping on uncharted ground, so this implies facing technological challenges that have not yet been overcome and that, therefore, there is a risk that we will not achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves. As a result, we propose 5 points that we must keep in mind when planning a successful R&D project both in its execution and in its funding.
1. Realistic ambition
At Intelectium, we always select projects that present a cross-cutting innovation that transcends the sector from which it was born. A niche innovation in social networks may be commercially interesting for the company, but public funding agencies such as competent ministries or the CDTI they will first bet on a project that is capable of covering several areas and increasing their scalability, such as Data Mining and analysis platforms that can be verticalized in the future or Cloud Computing services that can easily cover both datacenter virtualization and cybersecurity. In any case, the realization of possibilities is crucial, because projects of this type can fall into an idealism that is easily detected (and discarded).
2. Innovation based on knowledge
Every R&D project, regardless of the team that carries it out, must be preceded by prior research that places the company or consortium in context. We must know the state of the art in order to improve it. And, above all, prior research is crucial to specify what we mean by using terms as generic as Big Data, Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence. With regard to funding, a well-founded and well-defined project in its scope is a guarantee of overcoming the innovation gap.
3. High-level equipment
A truly innovative project cannot be executed by just anyone, since innovation fades away if it can be solved with the work of a team of dedicated juniors for six months. It's not just a matter of convening professionals with outstanding training, but also finding experts from each field to form a solid team in all the technical aspects of the project.
4. Consortium
As we mentioned last week, a consortium project demonstrates solidity, complementarity and commitment. But in addition, it is essential as a driver of innovation and as proof of the technical experience of the participants. A company that presents itself as an expert in all branches of Cloud Computing, the first thing it generates is doubts as to whether it will actually be mediocre in each of these areas.
5. Think about phase 2 of the project
Funding, both at the state and European levels, is always considered as an incentive. There is no point in a “lottery” strategy in which a project is designed to raise money and that's it. The ambition that we mentioned before must include a future perspective, a Pivot of the same project already conceptualized to demonstrate the possibilities of such a development.In conclusion, what we must keep in mind is that the essential thing is to define a project that will be done yes or yes regardless of whether or not we receive the aid, even if this means assuming more moderate objectives. The reason is that the optimal way to access funding for R&D projects is through a clear determination of the company in relation to innovation, always understood as a source of growth for the company that will give us differentiation and commercial advantage.
With the Second call of the Strategic Agenda for Digital Economy and Society (AEESD), which replaces the old Avanza Plan, in the period of acceptance of applications after the extension of the deadline and the arrival in September of the second deadline of the SME Instrument, we believe in Intelectium it is a good time to examine the characteristics that a Research and Development project must have in order to obtain funding, both at European and State levels. At the outset, it is necessary to highlight a difference that, from our experience, we see that many people overlook when planning an R&D project: innovation does not only mean developing a new product with good marketing prospects, but involves improving the state of the art of technology thanks to the sustained work of a high-level technical team. In other words, it's not about proposing solutions that we can carry out with time and a competent team. Innovation precisely means stepping on uncharted ground, so this implies facing technological challenges that have not yet been overcome and that, therefore, there is a risk that we will not achieve the objectives we have set for ourselves. As a result, we propose 5 points that we must keep in mind when planning a successful R&D project both in its execution and in its funding.
1. Realistic ambition
At Intelectium, we always select projects that present a cross-cutting innovation that transcends the sector from which it was born. A niche innovation in social networks may be commercially interesting for the company, but public funding agencies such as competent ministries or the CDTI they will first bet on a project that is capable of covering several areas and increasing their scalability, such as Data Mining and analysis platforms that can be verticalized in the future or Cloud Computing services that can easily cover both datacenter virtualization and cybersecurity. In any case, the realization of possibilities is crucial, because projects of this type can fall into an idealism that is easily detected (and discarded).
2. Innovation based on knowledge
Every R&D project, regardless of the team that carries it out, must be preceded by prior research that places the company or consortium in context. We must know the state of the art in order to improve it. And, above all, prior research is crucial to specify what we mean by using terms as generic as Big Data, Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence. With regard to funding, a well-founded and well-defined project in its scope is a guarantee of overcoming the innovation gap.
3. High-level equipment
A truly innovative project cannot be executed by just anyone, since innovation fades away if it can be solved with the work of a team of dedicated juniors for six months. It's not just a matter of convening professionals with outstanding training, but also finding experts from each field to form a solid team in all the technical aspects of the project.
4. Consortium
As we mentioned last week, a consortium project demonstrates solidity, complementarity and commitment. But in addition, it is essential as a driver of innovation and as proof of the technical experience of the participants. A company that presents itself as an expert in all branches of Cloud Computing, the first thing it generates is doubts as to whether it will actually be mediocre in each of these areas.
5. Think about phase 2 of the project
Funding, both at the state and European levels, is always considered as an incentive. There is no point in a “lottery” strategy in which a project is designed to raise money and that's it. The ambition that we mentioned before must include a future perspective, a Pivot of the same project already conceptualized to demonstrate the possibilities of such a development.In conclusion, what we must keep in mind is that the essential thing is to define a project that will be done yes or yes regardless of whether or not we receive the aid, even if this means assuming more moderate objectives. The reason is that the optimal way to access funding for R&D projects is through a clear determination of the company in relation to innovation, always understood as a source of growth for the company that will give us differentiation and commercial advantage.
