European Enterprise Network. Support for small and medium-sized enterprises in europe
Introduction: What is the EEN (European Enterprise Network)?
Established in 2008, the EEN is the largest support network for SME in the world.
The main objective of the network is:
- help small and medium-sized enterprises
to innovate and grow on an international scale- through the development of contacts with international partners
It was created as an initiative of the European Commission and is currently part of the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) programme. Among its competencies, it offers specialised professional assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises and research groups.
The EEN is present in more than 60 countries around the world, bringing together 3,000 experts from more than 600 member organisations, all of which are recognised for their business support work.
Developing proposals for European Enterprise Network
Those member organisations of the Network, grouped in regional consortia, are selected through calls for proposals. For each call for proposals period, (2015-2020 was the last implementation period) the Commission earmarks a monetary amount, with a funding rate of up to 60% of the eligible costs for those implementation proposals that best fit the requirements of the call.
Thus, for the new implementation period, from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2025, an overall budget of 164.5 million euros has been earmarked.
Together with other regional partners for a specific EEN consortium, the aim is to develop a programme proposal that meets the requirement to help SMEs with their international growth and innovation ambitions.
| The Network should contribute to improving the competitiveness of SMEs in Europe, promote economic, environmental and social sustainability and support digitisation and help build resilience in times of crisis. |
These are programmes:
- with a budget of around 1.5 million euros,
- developed over three and a half years
- with promotion activities at national
- and international level and in collaboration with regional and international partners.
Organisations eligible to form a consortium must set out in their proposal how they will carry out the activities set out in the requirements of the call. These activities fall under the requirement to provide added value services to clients, develop, coordinate and promote the Network through communication activities.
Other requirements for the submission of an eligible proposal relate to the financial and operational capacity, so members must have sufficient financial capacity and the necessary expertise, qualifications and resources to implement the projects and fill the required positions within the Network.
Through a points-based evaluation system, the Commission selects those proposals approved for implementation and funding.
Once the programme has been approved and the Grant Agreement has been signed with the European Commission, beneficiaries can receive a pre-financing of around 25% of the maximum grant amount.
How to start developing an EEN programme proposal?
Atlas Marketing Studio counts with a group of experts and our own internal methodology for the development of this type of proposal.
We assist the client through coordination meetings, document and profile management on the Commission’s platform and our extensive experience in the development of proposals for international promotion programmes.
