Get advice

The STEP National Contact Points are officials designated by EU Member States to oversee and support the implementation of the STEP at national level: they are encouraged to promote STEP towards national stakeholders (including from industry), promote the implementation of STEP in programmes in shared-management, provide guidance to potential applicants and beneficiaries of the STEP funding opportunities. 

 What type of services will the National Contact Points offer?

The following services will be offered by National Contact Points:

• Facilitate the reprogramming of RRF and Cohesion policy funds towards STEP
• Communicate to national stakeholders information updates relevant for the STEP implementation (such as the STEP scope guidance and the STEP Seal projects)
• Engage bilaterally with the Commission STEP taskforce for questions that may arise during the implementation
• Ensure adequate knowledge of the STEP procedures as well as related funding opportunities in their regions.

As the National Contact Points will operate primarily at the national level and by considering that the development of strategic technology industries varies throughout the EU, the type and level of services offered may differ from country to country.

Where can I find my National Contact Point?

STAY TUNED: The list of National Contacts Points will be regularly updated

Some EU programmes also offer advisory services for financial and technical support. These are adapted to projects’ needs and can be provided at any stage of their development.

    InvestEU advisory hub

• connects project promoters and intermediaries with advisory partners, who work directly together to help projects reach the financing stage.
• you can get support from the Hub without having to apply for financing through InvestEU.
• project promoters and intermediaries seeking advisory support and technical assistance shall apply through the Central Entry Point

    EIB assistance

• supports some projects submitted under Innovation Fund calls for proposals that are not selected for grant funding.
• offers technical and financial advisory services tailored to project needs, to increase project maturity for subsequent Innovation Fund calls (e.g. bankability assessment, market analysis, concept development support)
• helps projects improve their chances of financial closing and entry into operation.

    EIC business acceleration services

• access to coaching, mentoring and partnering to accelerate innovation and growth of top tech companies
• tailor-made services for EIC awardees (from the EIC Accelerator, EIC Transition, EIC Pathfinder and Women TechEU).
• applicants are invited to prepare a full proposal - those who pass step 1 of the application process can also receive 3 days of (remote) coaching and get support when preparing their full proposal (step 2 of the application).
• some services are available to companies that receive the Seal of Excellence, and innovators and companies from other European or national initiatives that have entered into a specific agreement with the EIC.

     Enterprise Europe Network (EEN)

• aids in pinpointing the most relevant EU funding programme for your project.
• the Network offers expert knowledge and support.
• assists in locating the right partners for your project.
• advice on business innovation strategies, intellectual property, and more.

     Green Assist

• provides access to Advisory Services that enable beneficiaries to prepare green/greener investment projects, across diversified sectors and private & public beneficiaries.
• is essentially a process for building up pools of expertise, and then mobilizing this expertise to directly provide advisory services, matching the needs of eligible incoming requests for advisory.

Should you have any question on STEP, you can consult the Q&A document which compiles a list of recurrent questions and provides answers.