Project description
Crowdfunding as an option for covering SME project costs
The Austrian research promotion agency (FFG) commonly funds up to 50 % of total costs for SME social innovation projects. In recent feedback, however, FFG found that an alarming number of companies did not file applications for state funding because they were unable to raise matching funds. FFG is launching the SIM Crowd project to find out whether pointing innovating companies to available public funding will improve chances of funding for them, and to what degree. The Agency will select a number of projects for a test run on a crowdfunding platform, using positive results to encourage innovators to cover non-FFG project costs through crowdfunding.
Objective
The main objective of the proposed project is to conduct an experiment and test the effects of a “seal” (“funded by FFG”) and information about matched funding provided by a public funding organisation (FFG) on the funding decision of the audience on crowdfunding platforms. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted within the existing funding scheme “Impact Innovation” of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency/FFG.
FFG first launched a pilot scheme for a new programme called “Impact Innovation” in 2017. A second call with improvements in communication and evaluation criteria was carried out until autumn 2018. About 30% of proposals in these two pilot schemes addressed problems or solutions that were classified as “social innovation”. A recurring pattern in these proposals was lack of or failure to provide sufficient funding to cover the total cost of the project (FFG funds up to 50% of total project cost). In addition to this FFG received feedback from the community of social innovators that a significant number of ideas was not even submitted because the potential applicants could not generate or demonstrate the necessary funds to completely fund the project (100%).
FFG therefore wants to test whether and how providing information on available public funding for social innovation projects will increase (or decrease) the chances to attract funding for the remaining 50% of project cost. This test will be run on a crowdfunding plattform for selected projects and – if the results are positive - increase the total amount of funding for successful social innovation projects and provide evidence for leverage effects of matched crowdfunding.
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CSA - Coordination and support actionCoordinator
1090 Wien
Austria