Communication toolkit

Yes, communication plays an important role in making sure your project has a lasting impact. No matter if you got funding via the Horizon Europe,  Single Market Programme or I3 Instrument, communicating your project results is a requirement under virtually all EU programmes. (For the EIC communication toolkit, go to the dedicated EIC site)

With the right strategic communication you will attract the interest of those who could benefit from your work – be it local or regional authorities, national governments, potential business partners or the research community. 

This toolkit is for projects funded through one of our programmes: we want to help you make the most of your communication efforts. Our ultimate aim is to form a strong community of project partners, experts and investors who will exchange experiences, learn from each other and form new partnerships.

All European projects shall use the European emblem (flag) to acknowledge the support received under EU programmes. This must be shown on any communication (press release, public website, brochures) and also on all deliverables and major results funded by the grant (such as prototypes) and be displayed in a way that is easily visible for the public and with sufficient prominence.

The emblem shall be associated to a sentence. The most standard one is 'Co-funded by the European Union'.

This is how it should look like:

The European emblem can be downloaded from the Europa website. 

The typeface to be used in conjunction with the EU emblem can be any of the following: Arial, Calibri, Garamond, Trebuchet, Tahoma, Verdana.

Please do not use the European Commission's logo.

Any information used in your communication or dissemination activity must be factually accurate and it must indicate the following disclaimer (translated into local languages where appropriate): 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or [name of the granting authority]. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Download in PDF

You've arrived this far so we have no doubt you are able to sell your idea! However, here are a few tips to make the perfect pitch, be it to an investor, the press, new clients or potential business partner

1. Engage with the audience as individuals: present yourself, use storytelling to help them link your project to reality; get their attention (what's the problem, how big is it, how can it be solved?)
2. Be credible, use evidence: How can you solve the problem? What's your plan to do it? Will your project make money and how much? Who's your competition? Why does your team have the right know-how to solve the problem? Show that you know your business, your market, your technology, your competition and you have already thought about what could go wrong and how to avoid or solve it. Prove that you will be the right team to bring this idea to the market and make money out of it.
3. Keep it short and simple, rehearse and prepare for Q&A: Keep your audience engaged with the audience as individuals: stop, ask questions, keep eye contact, note who's nodding who's resisting, be positive, clear and credible. Prepare for Q&A think of tricky questions and your answers in advance.
4. Call to action: specify what do you want from them?

At the end of the pitch the audience needs to feel you've reached out to them: Ok I understand what you do, this looks interesting and professional, the team looks credible, I'm prepared to find out more and talk to them again if they call me, I might recommend them/write about them/invest in this idea.

Promoting your actions and results triggers new opportunities and visibility, and it is also a legal obligation. Would you like to share news or materials about your project? We can help!

What’s news for us: Your new website goes online? You are organising a big conference? You are publishing a ground-breaking study or launching an innovative product? You are hiring 10 new engineers? We would love to hear from you whenever your project reaches a newsworthy milestone.

Which type of material you can share: Videos for social media, events’ photos, factsheets, infographics, press releases (about the milestones mentioned above). We cannot directly publish a press release from beneficiaries but we can create news/success stories based on it.

Just inform your EISMEA project adviser about the news or communication material you may have and the EISMEA communication team will get in contact for further promotion. And of course, do not forget to connect with us on social media, you will find more info in the paragraph below.

For Horizon Europe projects, you can also use the free-of-charge tool, the Horizon Results Platform (HRP), the official European Commission Platform promoting its funded Research and Innovation results. By using the HRP, you will provide your projects/companies visibility and access to various free services such as matchmaking and pitching events organised by the HRP and/or by its partners.

Do you want to know more? Download the PDF with the instructions for login and access.

Social media are a great way to keep up-to-date with what's going on in your community and to contribute your own views: we invite you to connect with us and other EU projects on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Please make sure you tag the following accounts and use the correct hashtags:

Twitter	@EU_EISMEA – European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency @EEN_EU – Enterprise Europe Network @EUeic - European Innovation Council
Facebook	Enterprise Europe Network
LinkedIn	EISMEA company page EU Business Support - showcase page of the European Commission EU projects and partner search - group
YouTube	EISMEA channel EEN channel
Most used hashtags per account	E​IC - #EUeic, #eicAccelerator,#eicPathfinder, #eicTransition Enterprise Europe Network - #EENCanHelp EISMEA - #INNOSUP, #I3Instrument, #SingleMarket, #COSME_EU, #EUInnovationEcosystems, #WomenTechEU, #SMEs, #innovation, #startup, #HorizonEU

The European Commission is organising a lot of events that offer excellent opportunities to meet the EU staff but also potential new partners and investors. Information Days on the different EU programmes .

Check regularly our events planning.

The objective of this 60-minute communication webinar is to give guidance on effective exploitation, dissemination and communication. It also replies the main communication questions such as:

• Why to communicate
• What are multipliers
• How to estimate the actual influence of project communication?

The #CommsWorkout webinar brings few tips on how to increase your outreach and learn from successful EU-funded projects.