The European Commission wants to speed up the translation of new ideas into socio-economic value and is implementing a range of funding packages to meet this challenge, such as its Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) call, which opened this month.

Supporters hope that the FTI scheme (see leaflet pdf) will act as an incentive for European industry to continue investing in innovation, and lead to “game-changers” for growth and jobs in tomorrow’s economy.

The pilot programme, which will be reviewed in 2016, has a budget of Euro 200 million and seeks projects that are at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 or above – in other words, technologies that have been demonstrated in a relevant environment.

Grants of up to Euro 3 million are available to successful applicants to support activities including systems validation in real working conditions, testing, piloting, business model validation, and standard setting.

Proposals must describe the market potential of the technology and include a credible commercialisation strategy that identifies the next steps.

If you are interested in applying, the first step is to contact your closest National Contact Point (NCP) for advice on whether or not the FTI pilot call is a suitable opportunity for your organisation or consortium.

A list of FAQs (MS Word doc) is also available from the FTI participant portal.

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