Frequently Asked Questions on CBE JU participation and conditions

How can I prove that I am a BIC member and how can I obtain a BIC membership certificate?

The level of in-kind contribution to operational activities (IKOP) will be taken into account during the evaluation of Innovation Action project proposals (please see CBE JU FAQs).

Certificates of BIC membership should be requested from BIC. These certificates need to be uploaded/attached to the IA proposal as an Annex (one document combining all membership certificates). This means that for Innovation Actions, if organisations want that their IKOP to be counted towards the thresholds established for Innovation Actions, they should be a BIC member or become a BIC member before the call closure date of 22 September 2022, 17:00 Brussels time.

The BIC membership certificates can be obtained at: https://bic.elisca.app/membership/certificate/registration

Do I have to be a BIC member to participate in CBE JU projects?

There is no need to be a BIC member to participate in CBE JU projects. Calls are ‘open’, the same as they were under the BBI JU.

However, for the CBE JU calls, a new ‘award criterion’ has been integrated into the evaluation process under ‘Impact’: it has to be ensured that the level of in-kind contribution to operational activities (IKOP) defined in the project proposal (as a % of total eligible cost of the project) is a minimum 15% for IA-Demo projects and 20% for IA-Flagship projects.

IKOP are contributions by BIC and its members, consisting of the eligible costs incurred by them in implementing indirect actions, less the contribution from the CBE JU to those costs (grant received by the BIC member).

In this way, the in-kind contributions and additional activities will be officially recognised as IKOP and IKAA, and will be part of the 1 billion EUR commitment that the private partner has made.

Consequently, a majority, and by preference all, of the participating companies in Innovation Actions should be, or should become, a BIC Industry (full) member.

My company is participating in a CBE JU project proposal – how do we join BIC?

For Innovation Actions, participating companies should be a BIC member, or become a BIC member, before the closing date of the call of the Annual Work Programme (AWP).

Companies in project consortia that are not yet BIC member scan become a ‘Full’ or a ‘Project’ member. ‘Project member’ is a temporary status, which starts, at the earliest, from the opening of an annual call until the results of the evaluation are known and/or the Grant Agreement has been signed:

Companies that became a ‘Project member’ before the closing date of the call of the AWP for whom the project proposal is successful (in case of a positive evaluation) automatically become a BIC “Full member” after signing the Grant Agreement for the CBE JU project, and have to remain a ‘Full member’ for the duration of the project¹
In case of a negative evaluation of the project proposal and no grant will be received, ‘Project members’ can choose to become a BIC Full member or to resign as a BIC member.

More information on how to join BIC

⁽¹⁾ ^{So that in kind contributions are ‘recognised’ as IKOP as mentioned in the project proposal. This will be checked by the CBE Programme Office.}

My university, research institute, non-for-profit organisation or consultancy company would like to contribute with IKOP, how do we join BIC?

Universities, research institutes, non-for-profit organisations or consultancy companies that want to contribute with IKOP, and that are not yet an ‘Associate member’ of BIC, can become Associate member before the closure date of the annual call:

In case the project proposal is successful (= high score and invited to Grant Agreement Preparation – GAP) they have to stay a BIC Associate member after signing the Grant Agreement for the CBE JU project, and have to remain an Associate member for the duration of the project¹;
In case of a negative evaluation of the project proposal and when no grant will be received, they can choose to stay a BIC Associate member or to resign as a BIC member.

More information on how to join BIC.

^{[1] So that in kind contributions are ‘recognised’ as IKOP as mentioned in the project proposal. This will be checked by the CBE Programme Office.}

Why a project contribution?

As per Council Regulation (EU) No 2021/0048 of 19 November 2021 establishing the Horizon Europe joint undertakings, and in particular the CBE Joint Undertaking ("the Single Basic Act"), the CBE Programme Office is to be financed equally by the Commission and BIC.

BIC’s financial contribution to the administrative costs of the CBE JU will be funded via a ‘project contribution’. This ‘project contribution’ is an essential resource for contributing the private sector part of the administrative cost of the CBE JU Programme Office. The project contribution is being applied to other Joint Undertakings, and has already been applied for BBI JU Projects and, as such, is not a new concept.

For the CBE JU, these project contributions will be collected fully and duly from the BIC industry beneficiaries: a project contribution must be paid by BIC industry members¹ (existing and new) participating in Innovation Actions (IA), the so-called Demo and Flagship projects.

The ‘project contribution’ shall not be considered an eligible cost for the projects, and, as such, is not part of the grants.

The ‘project contribution’ is used solely and fully as a contribution to BIC’s payment for the running costs of the CBE JU Programme Office, and a specific PPCA (Protected Project Contribution Account) has been put in place by BIC to finance the CBE Programme Office.

^{(1) With exception of ‘non-for-profit’ organisations}

How much is the project contribution?

A project contribution of a maximum 8% will have to be paid by those participating in an Innovation Action. This project contribution is a fixed fee, calculated as a percentage of the grant received by the Industry member (as mentioned in the Grant Agreement), so not on the total grant received by the consortium.

A first installment of 4% shall be paid at the start of the project (at the time of the pre-financing of the grant).

The second installment of a maximum 4% shall be paid upon receipt of any additional funds released by the CBE JU Programme Office (second installment or other payment). The percentage of the second installment of the project contribution will be decided and announced after the grants of the first two CBE JU calls have been attributed, but will be lower than 4%.