To train the attitude required to identify the main project impacts, we highlight the three key targets to focus on when writing a Horizon Europe proposal.
Project impacts on users and customers
Indeed, your solution will not suit “everyone”, so you need to identify and structure your audience. In this sense, project impacts must be considered not only for those taking advantage of the project results (i.e., users) but also for customers, that is, those paying for them (e.g., if you develop a novel technique to treat cancer, patients would be your users, and medical centres your customers). Having initially segmented your users/customers and defined their problems and needs, project impacts can then be directly grasped by quantifying how your Horizon Europe project is going to solve their problems and meet their needs (note that designing a table for this purpose is always helpful).
Project impacts on the market
Horizon Europe proposals also have to demonstrate that you know the current challenges, drivers, and potential evolution of the markets where your project impacts. This market analysis should provide an overview of both your own industry and the sectors where you intend to distribute your products, including quantitative data to support your claims. A typically successful approach is to start by providing context and a brief overview of the overall sector, then focus on your specific market verticals, including size, growth rate, trends, and outlook. You can find plenty of market data on the Web (e.g., Eurostat database).
A solid market quantification should, at least, address (1) what the Total Addressable Market (TAM) is for the resulting products, (2) what the geographical distribution of the target sectors is, and (3) an identification of the main market barriers (legal, economic, language, regulations, etc.). As shown next, this market analysis must align with your business plan; for instance, a best practice is to consolidate both market barriers and the proposed solutions to overcome them in a single table.
Project impacts on your own business
Finally, impacts on your own company are usually addressed by depicting its financial projections, that is, the expected growth potential of your solution in terms of turnover, direct costs, profit, employment, and return on investment. However, this information should be complemented with (1) a brief explanation on how the proposed innovation fits the company’s overall business strategy (e.g. is the company fully focused on this innovation or it complements a previous portfolio?) and with (2) a solid business plan (at least addressing the value-chain, the pricing model, and the commercialization plan for your product).
Value-chain
When describing your value chain, it is crucial to list the stakeholders who are key to developing your product (e.g., technical partners) and to commercializing it (e.g., commercial partners such as distributors). This list should include specific information explaining current relationships with partners already engaged in your Horizon Europe project (referencing here any letter of support provided by them), plus the plan for acquiring potential ones.
Commercialization plan
The commercialization plan should be as specific as possible, explaining how you plan to exploit your products (directly or indirectly through partners) and which channels you will use to reach target customers (sales representatives, online marketing, etc.). If you have problems visualising your business plan, the Business Model Canvas might be a helpful tool. At first, it serves as a guide to build your own plan, and also includes the resulting Canvas’ visual chart in the proposal.
Besides these 3 key targets, complementary activities can help convince evaluators of the feasibility of the previously described project impacts. Then, a winning proposal must also include, for example, supporting information in the Impact Section.
Competition analysis
A study of the closest competitors should complement the previously mentioned market analysis. Here, it is essential to note that evaluators expect to find a by-company comparison (in size, geographical approach, market position, pricing strategy, etc., including data from your own expected situation), but not a technical comparison of your solution (that should have been addressed in the Excellence section). Again, a visual table is the best approach to present this information.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) plan
A top Impact section must address Intellectual Property from two complementary perspectives. Initially, it must justify that the participant company has Freedom to Operate (FTO) for the innovation project described in the proposal. That is, describing what is currently protected by others and, if so, explaining why your innovation is not affected by that protection. The proposal also has to outline the status of protection for your current know-how and the strategy for protecting the knowledge derived from the Horizon Europe project. It should be stated (1) what you are going to protect (a complete system or just separate modules, chemicals used in the process, the process itself, etc.), and (2) how you will protect this knowledge (e.g., national or international patents, NDAs, or binding licenses).
Dissemination and communication activities
Finally, it is also key to specify how you will raise awareness of your product’s existence, that is, your marketing strategies for reaching customers and other stakeholders (relevant industry actors, lobbying groups, potential partners/collaborators, etc.). Be creative and specific; many media can be exploited (fairs, events, conferences and congresses, online presence, etc.).
