1. What is the EIC Challenge Platform and why was the platform developed?

The European Commission created the EIC Challenge Platform to provide a common venue that enables matchmaking between innovative ideas, those with needs, and sponsor/ partner organisations. Such innovations can come from the EIC pilot, EIC Seals of Excellence or even the entire Horizon 2020 project base. This is a managed process to identify / verify / aggregate needs and solutions, to call for and engage relevant startups and partners, to broker the exchanges and ensure follow up and funding.

2. Who can access the EIC Challenge Platform?

The platform is accessible to members and users of the EIC Community Platform. Users can easily find and contribute directly to challenges and solutions. The EIC Challenge Platform provides the information you need at your fingertips.

3. What are the benefits of the EIC Challenge Platform?

The EIC Challenge Platform offers many advantages to different groups of users ranging from the offer side (innovative solutions that are either ready to deploy or for testing), the demand side (healthcare authorities, procurers, foundations), to express unresolved challenges and other partners/ sponsors/ investors who want to support the particular solution.

4. I am an Innovator and I have a solution. What can the EIC Challenge Platform offer me?

Firstly, to share your solution easily with other professionals but also to promote it across Europe and beyond (showcase your solution, get more visibility, grow your professional network) particularly to sponsors and investors being a preferential means to funding. 

Secondly, you can build a community around your solution and regularly inform its users (raise awareness, communication and disseminate, expand your knowledge). 

Lastly, The EIC Challenge Platform serves as a source of inspiration and facilitates collaboration between public administrations (improve public services, be innovative) and innovators across Europe.

5. Who benefits from the EIC Challenge Platform?

There are several target groups with different interests. All who take part in the platform will obtain benefits: whether you are part of a public administration or any type of procurer, and want to share your pressing issues, problems and challenges, or someone who wants to see its solution implemented in the help to fight this pandemic, or a corporate who wants to fund a certain project, all can benefit from this platform. 

Furthermore, The EIC Challenge Platform in itself can be used as a solution to create a centralised catalogue.

6. I want to know more about a solution. What can the EIC Challenge Platform offer me?

The EIC Challenge Platform gathers and spreads information on solutions for all interested public administrations, procurers, corporates, investors/sponsors and researchers/innovators (latest news and events, relevant publications, state of play in the field). Users can also get in contact with other professionals and start a discussion on a topic or solution of common interest (exchange of best practices, collaboration opportunities, community building).

7. How are we improving your experience on the EIC Challenge Platform?

The EIC Challenge Platform is evolving and the European Commission is continuously improving the Challenge Platform’s functionalities. The main focus is on making the platform more user friendly by providing full support on mobile devices, enabling quick and easy content creation, featured and pinned content, optimising your searching experience, offering you a simple structure to target the type of solution you are looking for, and enabling you to customise your own personal page with your own preferred filters, creating a space for you to share and promote your solutions and information.

8. How can I register or sign in on the EIC Challenge Platform?

If you do not have an account, you can register on the EIC Community Platform by:

• clicking on the Members Access link which is located at the top right corner of the EIC Community Platform’s home page;
• clicking the Register link. 

If you do have an account, you can sign in on the EIC Challenge Platform by:

• clicking on the Members Access link which is located at the top right corner of the EIC Challenge Platform’s home page. 
• Next, insert your E-mail/username and password and click on the “SIGN IN” button at the bottom of the page.

9. What are Challenges and Solutions on the EIC Challenge Platform?

The EIC Challenge Platform revolves around Challenges. Challenges provide a distinct, easy way to group and access content that is related to a specific subject field. All created platform content resides under a specific Challenge (i.e., solutions, documents, news, events etc.).

Solutions are special content types that are created within a Challenge. In contrast to all other one-dimensional platform content items (i.e., documents, events, news etc.), a Solution provides its own internal structure allowing the creation and inclusion within it of other regular content items. A Solution (and its content within) must reside under – and relate to – its Challenge.

10. Should I create a Challenge or a Solution to cover my requirements?

The short answer is that, in most cases, a Challenge already exists on the EIC Challenge Platform that relates to the domain you wish to use for your requirements. In such cases, we strongly advise to take advantage of this fact, since the Challenges are well-established with a close supervision of experts in the respective field. 

11. How can I become a Challenge member, and what are the benefits?

To become a Challenge member, you first need to sign in on the platform. Then, locate and enter the Challenge you wish to become a member of. In the banner area, located at the top of the Challenge page, click on the “JOIN THIS CHALLENGE” button. If the Challenge is not moderated, the button’s label will change to “YOU’RE A MEMBER”. Otherwise, if the Challenge is moderated (in which case the membership request needs to be approved by the Challenge owner/facilitator), the button’s label will change to “MEMBERSHIP IS PENDING” and you will receive thereafter, by e-mail, the approval or rejection notice.

The main benefit of being a Challenge member is the ability to create content for that Challenge, possibly receiving needed funds for your solution and to take part in solving the challenge.

12. How can I add content to a Challenge or Solution on the EIC Challenge Platform?

In order to add content to a Challenge, you first need to be a member of that Challenge. Likewise, to add content to a Solution, you first need to be a member of the Challenge that contains that Solution.

To add content to a Challenge or Solution, click on the circular orange icon with the white plus sign in its centre, located at the bottom right of the banner area. In the drop-down menu that appears, click on the content type that you wish to create. This action will open the selected content type’s Editor page in which you should enter all required information.

13. How many owner and facilitator roles can a Challenge or Solution have?

The EIC Challenge Platform allows only one owner role per Challenge or Solution. However, the facilitator role can be assigned to multiple members of a Challenge or Solution.

14. As a Challenge owner or facilitator, can I edit a Solution created by another user in my Challenge?

The EIC Challenge Platform’s current access rights model does not allow you -- a Challenge owner or facilitator -- to edit a Solution created by another user in your Challenge. In order to do so, you will need to contact the Solution owner and request to be added as a facilitator to the Solution.

15. How can I find out about new content or the latest updates on the EIC Challenge Platform?

You can find out about new content or the latest updates on the EIC Challenge Platform by clicking on the “LATEST” link, located at the top and centre of each EIC Challenge Platform page. This action will display the new or updated EIC Challenge Platform content that relates to the following types: events, documents, news, and discussions.

Likewise, clicking on the “CHALLENGES” or “SOLUTIONS” links, located at the top and centre of each The EIC Challenge Platform page, will display new or updated The EIC Challenge Platform Challenges and Solutions, respectively.

16. How can I search for content on the EIC Challenge Platform?

You can search for content on the EIC Challenge Platform by using the search function. Locate the magnifying glass icon, at the top right corner of the EIC Challenge Platform page, and click on it. Next, insert the text you wish to search into the search box and press the Enter/Return key. The search results will appear below.

17. How can I find help on using the EIC Challenge Platform’s user interface?

Most EIC Challenge Platform pages support an interactive user tour feature which provides, in a step-by-step approach, helpful information regarding each page’s main functions. When a page supports this feature, an icon with a circled question mark will appear at the top right corner of the page. By clicking on this icon, you can start the interactive user tour.

18. How can I contact the EIC Challenge Platform Support Team?

You can contact the EIC Challenge Platform Support Team by clicking on the “Contact Us” section in the EIC Community Platform. Please choose the category: EIC Challenge Platform. 

We will get back to you shortly!