Warning reflects consultants’ “increasingly aggressive” business practices and unjustified claims they can put applicants on an inside track
Photo credits: Lukasz Kobus / European Union
The European Innovation Council (EIC) board has published a review of the use of consultants in applications to its instruments, warning against consultants who demand co-ownership of intellectual property or claim to have insiders’ knowledge.
“We do not advise for or against the use of consultants as it depends very much on each applicant,” Michiel Scheffer, president of the EIC board, writes in an introductory note to the review.
However, pushy consultants may try to convince applicants that using their service is essential to succeed in EIC calls. “This claim is manifestly untrue, and there are many successful applicants who have not used any consultancy services,” Scheffer says.
The EIC instruments are not designed for consultants, and the board…
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