• AST Methodology

AST Methodologyimg

For now 14 years, ast members (former scratch partnership) has set up an efficient methodology in order to collect research expressed interests from SMEs and to submit proposals for evaluation.

Main steps

To make a large awareness campaign around possibilities of funding given by the European structures to aeronautics SMEs

1st step

To provide a personal contact with aeronautics SMEs to better understand their needs in terms of technology acquisition and to examine as well their internal possibilities for such

2nd step

To help the SME in the setting up of the research proposal up to its submission for evaluation

3rd step

Objectives

  1. To bring awareness on technology acquisition mechanisms to a maximum of SMEs in the aeronautical supply chain
  2. To visit and help SMEs to structure their corporate research plan
  3. To set up a list of product oriented expressed research needs for aeronautical SMEs:
    - which have been validated by potential end users
    - which have economic interests (market volume and time-to-market) for SMEs that have already been positively assessed
  4. To offer services to aeronautical SMEs in order to develop effective technology acquisition proposals
  5. To bring together aeronautical SMEs from the European Union members, candidate and/or associated states to prepare R&D proposals in cooperation with R&D developers and end users
  6. To support the management
process

Results of this methodology

The methodology developed by the consortium to support aeronautical SMEs in their access to R&D funding has given good results all along the various periods and has significantly permitted to increase the participation of SMEs in the Framework Programmes.

  • 10000 companies/research centres/universities have been contacted to make them aware of calls for proposals and AST related services
  • A database has been created which gathers more than 1100 aeronautics enterprises already visited
  • 180 significant research expressed needs have been collected
  • More than 300 participations in business events
  • Since the FP4, 129 proposals of aeronautics R&D led by SMEs have been serviced by our members and 42 have been retained for funding, for a total budget superior to € 60M