1. Does the Open Call offer funding for my company?
The FormPlanet Open Call does not offer funding, but it will provide innovative testing services to characterise sheet metal properties, predict part performance and prevent production loses, tackling the upcoming challenges in formability and part quality assessment.
More details on the services can be found in our service catalogue
2. I don’t know which of the FormPlanet services is more appropriate for my company.
Based on the description of your problem and needs laid out in your case study presentation, the FormPlanet staff will assess you in choosing the right service for your company.
You can find information on the services in our catalogue or address your questions to info@formplanet.eu if you have doubts.
3. Will I have to pay something in exchange for the services?
No. The services of the open call are executed under the FormPlanet project, funded by the EU programme Horizon 2020 (Grant agreement 814517). We are only asking your company to commit in-kind resources to the execution of the call.
4. What do you mean by in-kind resources?
In-kind resources are those contributions that your company will dedicate to the execution of the services. You can estimate how much time of your staff will be dedicated to the testing, how much material your company will provide, or time your own machinery will be used.
5. How many services can I apply for?
You can apply to as many services as you think you may require, but the services demanded should be in line with 1) the timeline for the execution (6 months, from May to Nov 2021 approximately) and 2) the in-kind resources your company will dedicate to the execution of the tests.
6. My company is not an SME, will I be penalized?
No. We are encouraging the participation of SMEs, since one of the objectives of the project is to make innovations available to all, but bigger companies are as well able to participate.
7. My company is not based in an EU country, can I apply?
Only companies in the European Union or associated countries of H2020 may apply.
8. Can a non-European company participate in the Open Call?
It can only participate if it has a production facility in the European Union or associated countries of H2020. In case that the company has only a distribution centre, it would not be eligible to participate in the Open Call.
9. Is specimen preparation included in the offer?
Yes it is, it is something that FormPlanet partners take care, depending on the service though.
10. How will you control the in-kind provided by company, e.g. person-hours or materials. How will this be determined, how much in-kind costs company made?
We will not ask for any kind of document (i.e. invoices or time sheets) to justify the in-kind contribution to be provided by the company. The in-kind contribution has to be an estimation of the company regarding its comitment in providing materials samples and man hours to follow the service.
11. The amount of €140,000 for Open Call, means you will distribute evenly, i.e. 140k/e.g per 8 companies?
No, these €140,000 correspond to the effort in man-hours that the staff in the FormPlanet project will dedicate to the Open Call. These man-hours will be distributed depending on the services awarded to each company, but in all cases FormPlanet will allocate the necessary resources to complete all tests.
12. According to the guidelines, there is one application allowed per company. Are applications of different regional divisions (one per division) of a Company Group excluded this way?
The open call only accepts one application per company. That means per VAT number or per company registration number. The application of different companies with different VAT or company registration numbers but owned by a single group is permitted. However, it is recommended to send a single application on behalf of the group asking for different services. The Group should describe in the application the different companies (production plants involved) and the different problems and services targeted.