The O-CEI second Open Call opened on 12 November, which means that by December applicants are in the thick of it: reading the guidelines, deciding which challenge to target, and working out whether their solution fits. This webinar is for exactly that moment.
Where our November session gave an overview of both O-CEI and COP-PILOT and what their first rounds delivered, this one goes narrow and deep on a single call. The O-CEI team will walk through the technical and administrative detail of applying: which challenges are open, what an Upscaling Project is expected to deliver, how proposals are structured and evaluated, which documents are mandatory, and where applicants most often lose points.
Round one gives a good sense of the scale. O-CEI received 249 proposals from 37 countries and selected 24 companies from 13 countries, each receiving 100,000 euros in equity-free funding alongside a seven-month technical and business mentoring programme. That competition is worth knowing about before you write, because it shapes what a strong proposal has to do.
The second half of the session is reserved for questions. Bring them. This is the point in the call where a five-minute answer can save a week of guesswork, and the team would rather clarify something now than read a proposal that misunderstood the brief.
Why attend this webinar
This session is particularly relevant for:
- SMEs, start-ups and other innovators preparing a proposal for the O-CEI second Open Call,
- organisations still deciding whether their technology fits one of the open challenges,
- anyone who applied to the first round and wants to understand what to do differently,
- and applicants with specific questions on eligibility, budget, documentation or the submission process.
No prior involvement with O-CEI is needed, though attendees will get more out of the session if they have read the Guide for Applicants beforehand.
What the session will cover
- The open challenges: what O-CEI is looking for and where your solution might fit
- Funding, duration and what the support programme involves
- Eligibility, required documents and common administrative pitfalls
- How proposals are evaluated, and what evaluators look for
- Extended live Q&A with the O-CEI team
The agenda will be shared soon