A draft of the EIC Work Programme for 2027 has been published via the Comitology Register. The draft addresses, amongst other aspects, the following changes to the EIC Pathfinder and Transition:
EIC Pathfinder
- Two-stage application process, including a follow-up interview
- Submission of short applications and letters of intent from all consortium partners at the first stage
- Approximately two and a half times as many projects are admitted to the full application stage (second stage)
- Adjustment of the existing EIC Gatekeeper criteria
- Introduction of an additional EIC Gatekeeper criterion regarding the addressing of global challenges and prototyping of the proposed solution
EIC Transition
- Funding is limited to individual applications
- Affiliated institutions may still be involved
- Introduction of a video pitch
- Submission of a letter of intent from a potential customer or user at the time of application
The following deadlines have been announced:
- EIC Pathfinder Open | Stage 1 – February 25, 2027; Stage 2 – September 16, 2027
- EIC Pathfinder Challenges | September 29, 2027
- EIC Transition | September 16, 2027
- EIC Accelerator | February 3, 2027; April 1, 2027; September 1, 2027; November 3, 2027
- EIC– STEP Scale Up | January 28, 2027; April 29, 2027; September 6, 2027; November 22, 2027
- EIC STEP Scale Up Defence | At any time in 2027
- EIC business coaches (direct EIC services) | Q1 2027
- Support to Pilot Tests and Proofs of Concept with Public and Private Buyers | Q2 2027
- EIC BAS strategic internationalisation services | Q1 2027
- The European Prize for Women Innovators | Q3 – Q4 2027
- The European Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) | Q2-Q3 2027
- Scaleup Europe Fund (SEF) | April 15, 2027
- Honoraria and expenses of the EIC Board | From Q1 2027
- Communication, outreach, events | From Q1 2027
- EIC Data management and IT systems integration | From Q1 2027
- EIC Data for Strategic Intelligence Capacity Building and Reinforcement | Q4 2027
- Women TechEU | September 1, 2027
Please note that the announced changes and deadlines may differ from the provisions of the final version of the EIC Work Programme for 2027. Click here to access the EIC Draft Work Programme for 2027: https://depot.kowi.de/s/cj7PRExnjtfbCCR?dir=/&editing=false&openfile=true
This news article is based on a newsletter article from KoWi. Click here to access the August 14, 2026, issue: https://294962.seu2.cleverreach.com/m/17291783/574760-c7a71c131af80724cd3eb48e3cbd8c43c9277a2f0520860b54142bcfe77fcee67c63bd196b3a67f8e416d785cfe1d2ce#calls1