Project support

1. kick-off meeting (founding dialog)

Within the first three months of the funding period, questions regarding the administrative and technical implementation of the project are clarified in a kick-off meeting, the team's coaching needs are determined and compared with the services offered by the selected coach and the local start-up network. If a coach has not yet been selected, the employees of the project management organization can recommend suitable coaches. Overall, the start-up dialog aims to define tasks, areas of responsibility and milestones that contribute to the further development of the business concept.

2nd project meeting (strategy dialog)

In the further course of the project, both the development of the research project and the start-up concept are evaluated. The basis for this is the business plan and the financing concept of the EXIST research transfer project. In particular, the results of the market research, contacts with pilot customers and sales partners as well as the status of the approval procedure and the patent application are discussed. Based on this, the strategy of the start-up project is further developed and the steps for submitting an application for funding phase II are coordinated.

3rd project meeting (financing dialog)

The founding team should take measures at an early stage to secure follow-up financing. This dialog serves to prepare for future financing negotiations. This includes not only the quality of the financial plan, but also the presentation of the company by the founding team. With the involvement of the coach, the most important financing steps are determined and contacts to suitable investors are arranged.

Seminars

In addition to funding, EXIST also supports founders with training measures such as the start-up team seminar and the biannual start-up forum.

Seminar "Founding team"

In order to successfully master the various challenges of running a company, it is advisable to set up a team. Project Management Jülich offers a one-day "Start-up team" seminar so that you can get as objective a picture as possible of your team's potential and entrepreneurial skills. As a result, you will receive an analysis of your team. Each team member will receive a personal profile of strengths and weaknesses, which they can use to continue working in a targeted manner.
Further information on this seminar can be found on the page Project progression of the EXIST start-up grant

Seminar offer "Start-up Forum"

The path to entrepreneurial independence is not easy and demands a lot from founders. For EXIST research transfer projects, Project Management Jülich (PtJ) therefore offers a seminar twice a year on different start-up topics. The approximately 140 participants from all over Germany receive important impulses from experts and exchange ideas on financing, marketing, property rights, personnel and other topics.

ESF questionnaire and monitoring

Participant questionnaire for European Social Fund (ESF) projects
The following questionnaire is used to collect data on participants in European Social Fund (ESF) projects. The information you provide is used by the program managers to meet the reporting requirements within the framework of the legal requirements and to check whether the implementation of the projects complies with the requirements. Therefore, please answer the questions carefully. Your data will only be processed anonymously and will not be used for personal evaluations. You will need about 5-10 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

Note: On the website of the European Social Fund you can use the anonymous online contact form Report indications of suspected fraud or corruption. Here for more information on fraud and corruption prevention.

Monitoring and evaluation of the ESF intervention period 2014-2020 by the Survey Center Bonn (uzbonn)
In order to receive funding, the participants confirm a declaration of consent to the recording of their personal data and complete the ESF questionnaire. The European Union, which has provided money for the support, would like to know what has happened to the people after the funding has ended. The data is needed to determine whether the money is spent on useful measures and whether the support was successful and helped people.

In order to find out whether the support has been successful in the longer term, some of the participants will now be asked again about their professional situation. For this purpose, the participants will receive an invitation to take part in the survey by text message or e-mail. The Bonn survey center - uzbonn - was commissioned to conduct the survey. The participants selected for the survey will receive the name and contact details of a contact person at uzbonn to whom they can address their questions. Further information on the evaluation can be found on the ESF pages to find.

EXIST monitoring

On behalf of the BMWE, Project Management Jülich (PtJ) conducts surveys of all start-up projects and companies founded with EXIST funding.

The BMWE and PtJ are pursuing three basic objectives with the repeated survey of funded start-up teams at different times:

• Firstly, the data should be used to draw conclusions about the achievement of objectives and the effectiveness of the EXIST program
• Secondly, developments from the beginning to the end of the funding phase and beyond are to be recorded and traced
• Thirdly, the information collected forms a basis for managing and improving the funding program.

Participation in the data surveys up to five years after the end of the project is mandatory for all funded start-up teams.

Personal data protection:

Data is processed in accordance with the Federal Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (legal basis Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR). Collected data will be used exclusively for the purposes of the PtJ's internal program monitoring or - in anonymized form - provided for external evaluations or accompanying research on behalf of the BMWE. They are not made accessible to the public or other third parties.

Further information (according to Art. 13 GDPR) can be found here: Information obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) towards participants in the EXIST Transfer of Research