A beginner’s guide to accessing EU funding for design
About this guide
This article is the first in our series of resources to guide you through the process of applying for EU funding for design-related projects.
We want to make this guide as broadly applicable as possible, it’s written to be useful to SMEs, entrepreneurs, public servants and policymakers alike.
Throughout the guide, you will find direct links to European funding programmes as well as national points of contact who will be able to advise you through the application process.
We hope you find this useful in preparing your applications. Don’t hesitate get in touch your national contact if you’re looking for more information – and let us know what sort of resources we could produce to help applicants.
Securing EU funding takes time and know-how, and it’s not for everyone, the opportunities are huge but it’s probably only right for you if...
- You are able to invest a reasonable amount of time putting together applications
- You are patient – it can take up to a year to get a project started
- You are able to provide comprehensive accounts and financial reporting
If all that sounds doable, then you’re ready to dive into the world of EU funding.
How does the EU fund design?
The European Commission provides a range of funding to increase the awareness and adoption of design, this can take a number of forms:
- Design support – increasing design capability within organisations
- Design promotion – encouraging the take-up of design by organisations
- Design services – enhancing the skills of design service providers
- Design education – ensuring the supply of skilled design practitioners
- Design investment – encouraging private and public investment in design
- Design research & knowledge exchange – collaborative research and knowledge sharing programmes
- Design networking – establishing design centres, associations and networks
These apply across sectors, but funding calls tend to be tailored to meet the specific needs of business, the public sector or policymakers.
It’s also worth remembering that whilst there are some funds explicitly targeted at supporting design, more often design is supported indirectly, usually as part of innovation funding.
Featured opportunity: Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is the biggest ever EU Research and Innovation programme. It will make available nearly €80 billion of funding between 2014 and 2020 with the aim of taking great ideas from the lab to the market.
Horizon 2020 funding is split into eight sections (or Work Programmes), which show the EC’s main areas of focus. These are worth browsing through, ‘Industrial Leadership’, ‘Fast track to Innovation Pilot’ and ‘Societal Challenges’ will be of particular interest for those seeking design funding.
The EC publishes every Horizon 2020 call for proposals on the Horizon 2020 Participant Portal. This site provides all the information needed to respond to a call, things like: opening and closing dates, overall budget and documents related to the call.
Every EU country has a national contact point for Horizon 2020 who will be able to help you with your application, you can find yours using the EC’s directory.
Get in touch with your nearest Horizon 2020 advisor.
What other opportunities are there?
The majority of the EU’s funding budget is managed through five major funds:
1. European
Regional Development Fund
Aims to correct imbalances
between regions, it’s key themes
include innovation research,
support for SMEs and digital
technologies.
2. European
Social Fund
Supports projects that provide
access to employment and
professional skills.
3. Cohesion
Fund
Aims to reduce economic and
social disparities between EU
members with a focus on
transport infrastructure and
energy.
4. European
Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development
Aims to improve the
competitiveness of agriculture
and forestry, boost economic
activity and quality of life in
rural areas.
5. European
Maritime and Fisheries Fund
Supports the transition to
sustainable fishing helping
coastal communities diversify
their economy.
Also of interest
Other funds that might be of interest are: Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, an exchange programme for new and aspiring entrepreneurs, and Creative Europe, which provides extensive support for the cultural, creative and media sectors.
9 tips to help you find the right calls to apply for
The sheer amount of calls provided by Horizon 2020 can be overwhelming, and it is not always easy to identify calls that match your funding needs.
The following tips may help narrow down your search:
1. Be clear about what you are looking for
Establish what your field of expertise and capabilities are – what type of project you would like to initiate or join?
2. Align your proposal to EU’s priorities
Understand why design is important for the EU, a good place to start is a report called Design for growth and prosperity (2012) by the European Design Leadership Board.
3. Contact the management of your organisation
Make sure that your project idea is in line with your organisation’s overall strategy. If your organisation has internal support staff dealing with European projects, make sure to speak to them too.
4. Scan open calls
The best way is often a keyword search, it’s worth trying a range of design-related search terms such as, prototyping, modelling, user-driven etc.
5. Ask trusted partners
You can often save a huge amount of time by finding out if they have identified relevant calls or are preparing a project proposal.
6. Get in touch with your national contact point
They can help understand requirements and stay up to speed on EU policy developments in your field. They may also know about relevant events like information days for particular calls for funding. You can search for your nearest contact in Horizon 2020 directory.
7. Plan a timeline for your application
Calls for funding always have deadlines, do you have enough time to take on the preparation of a competitive proposal?
8. Subscribe to the RSS feed for relevant calls
The Horizon 2020 Participant Portal allows you to subscribe to an RSS feed for funding calls, this means you’ll be notified when relevant calls are published.
9. Check if you can benefit from national subsidies
Your national contact point will be able to give information about whether there is any support available to help you make your Horizon 2020 project proposal.