DN: Is it advisable for an applicant to include a small newly-established company with no annual turnover as a beneficiary in their consortium recruiting one Doctoral Candidate?

The European Commission actively promotes and encourages the participation of companies and organisations considered as “newcomers” in EU-funded projects. In the case of Doctoral Networks, there are spin-offs and start-ups participating successfully in funded proposals.

Evaluators will assess aspects such as their capacities, infrastructure, supervisory arrangements, and overall ability to contribute effectively to the project. If the company does not yet have a closed financial year, it would be advisable to include appropriate figures or explanatory information in the corresponding table, so that this aspect is not perceived by the evaluators as a potential shortcoming.

In addition, a new report of the European Commission entitled Is Horizon Europe attractive for new participants? states that, in general, for Horizon Europe: “Among participating SMEs, 25% were less than ten years old at the time of submitting their Horizon Europe application. Of these young SMEs, 43% were newcomers. This group also encompasses organisations that fit the definition of an innovative startup”.