Projects will be submitted for evaluation to a Selection Committee including DeFINE’s Advisory Board Members.

Please note, the application form is part one of a two-stage process. Eligible applicants will also be required to share a presentation using a power point template we will provide. Once you have submitted your application, a member of our team will review it and contact you to let you know whether you are eligible. If so, we will share the presentation template which will need to be completed by 10th June.

The selection process will be anticipated by a review process, also considering the mentoring capacity of the consortium members with respect to the specific project/needs characterising each SMEs and start-up, and to clarify any details necessary with the applicants. The Selection Committee will assess the chances of project success (during and after Programme) and its exemplarity for the whole European fashion-tech industry. Each member will evaluate each project according to the following criteria, with similar weight for each criterion.

• Market potential (real need to satisfy, existing demand, no competitive alternative)
• Scalability and investment potential
• Human resources potential (competencies, ambition, reliability, vision, dedicated team)
• Power of exemplarity for the European fashion, tech and fashion-tech communities at large
• Market research and knowledge achieved (at least partly).

Selections will be announced on July 15th, 2020. Once the selections have been made all applicants will receive notification of their status and the rejected applicants will be given some feed-back along with possible advice.

Different types of innovation projects will be eligible, below are examples of projects ideas that are considered fashion-tech, not limited to:

Products and services

• Exploring technologies and the IoT paradigm to enable the fashion and lifestyle objects to reconfigure themselves according to consumers’ needs and context’s characteristics.
• Developing tools to test prototypes in the upstream phases of the supply chain (research and concept development), including through digital social platforms.
• Implementing existing/ developing new retail devices (app, protocol systems, etc.) to support cross-channeling and cross borders distributions

Processes

• Exploring design processes and experimenting with digital components, fabrication tools and processes to promote technological innovation, consumer and the social need economy.
• Linking materials and components to craft and advanced manufacturing to enable “reframed” creative and capacity in production processes.
• Developing service oriented by the specific characteristics of retailing channels and markets for both home and EU markets.

Market approaches/business models

• Innovating business models and developing tools to innovate the downstream supply chain including buying and retail management.
• Developing tools to test prototypes in the downstream phases of the supply chain (product test and beta versions) through digital social platforms, and new concept retailing.
• Implementing retail and communication platforms to develop a reframed cross-channel strategy for deepening EU and export markets.

Appendix 1: General Exclusion criteria as per European Commission rules

The project will select businesses according to the exclusion criteria as for the partners:

• It is not bankrupt or being wound up, is not having its affairs administered by the courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors, has not suspended business activities, is not the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is not in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
• It (or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over it) have not been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata;
• It has not been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the Commission can justify;
• It is in compliance with its obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions and the payment of taxes, in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is established and with those of the country of the authorizing officer responsible and those of the country where the action is to be performed;
• It (or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over it) have not been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or any other illegal activity, where such illegal activity is detrimental to the EU’s financial interests; − is not currently subject to an administrative penalty under Article 131(5) of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 966/2012;
• It is not subject to a conflict of interest in connection with the grant;
• It will inform the Contractor, without delay, of any situation considered a conflict of interests or which could give rise to a conflict of interests;
• It has not granted and will not grant, has not sought and will not seek, has not attempted and will not attempt to obtain, and has not accepted and will not accept any advantage, financial or in kind, to or from any party whatsoever, where such advantage constitutes an illegal practice or involves corruption, either directly or indirectly, inasmuch as it is an incentive or reward relating to the award of the grant.

Will I have to sign a contract?

Once selected, start-ups/SMEs will be asked to sign an agreement outlining the terms and conditions of their involvement. This contract will be signed between each participant selected for the Mentoring Programme and DeFINE consortium partner providing the mentoring. Contextually, all mentors and mentees will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. It is to be noted that the contract will stipulate that participants will have to participate and complete the entire Mentoring Programme unless they may be required to refund DeFINE Programme with the costs incurred through the mentoring hours received.

Start-ups/SMEs will then have to take part in the online induction process on the September, 2020 that will kick off the Mentoring Programme activities. At this stage, a calendar will be individually agreed with their personal mentor.