CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE ET D'INDUSTRIEDE REGION AUVERGNE-RHONE-ALPES

Their core work

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a regional public body that supports SMEs in accessing EU innovation funding and accelerating their growth. Their core H2020 role was delivering innovation management services to SME Instrument beneficiaries — acting as "Key Account Managers" who help small companies navigate EU support programs, improve their innovation capacity, and connect with funding opportunities like Fast Track to Innovation and EIC Pilot. They also participated in energy culture change initiatives, bridging the gap between EU energy policy goals and regional business implementation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2014-2016) centered on establishing basic SME innovation management services and Key Account Manager roles for SME Instrument beneficiaries, starting with Enterprise Europe Network-linked activities. From 2017 onward, their scope broadened significantly — the keyword set expanded to include Fast Track to Innovation, Future and Emerging Technologies Open, and EIC Pilot, indicating they tracked the EU's own evolution from SME Instrument to the broader European Innovation Council ecosystem. They also diversified into energy implementation (IMPAWATT in 2018), suggesting a move beyond pure innovation support toward sector-specific project participation.

They are expanding from narrow SME Instrument coaching toward full-spectrum EIC support and sector-specific energy projects, positioning themselves as a regional gateway to the evolving EU innovation funding landscape.

How they like to work

Predominantly a project leader — they coordinated 5 out of 6 projects, running sequential iterations of their AURASME consortium. They work in relatively small teams (9 unique partners across 6 projects), suggesting tight, recurring partnerships rather than broad networking. Their single participant role (IMPAWATT) shows willingness to join larger consortia when the topic extends beyond their core mandate, but their default mode is to lead and manage.

Compact network of 9 partners across 6 countries, reflecting their role as a regional coordination hub rather than a broad European networker. Their partnerships are concentrated around innovation support bodies, likely other chambers of commerce and EEN nodes.

What sets them apart

As a Chamber of Commerce, they occupy a unique position between government, academia, and the private sector — with direct access to thousands of regional SMEs that researchers and technology providers struggle to reach on their own. Their five consecutive AURASME projects demonstrate proven continuity and trust from the European Commission, which is rare for support-type organizations. For anyone needing to reach innovative SMEs in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region or wanting a partner experienced in EU innovation support delivery, this CCI is a well-tested entry point.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AURASME4
  Their largest funded project (EUR 230,846) and the culmination of four consecutive iterations, covering the broadest scope including EIC Pilot and Fast Track to Innovation beneficiaries.
• IMPAWATT
  Their only project as participant rather than coordinator, and their only non-support-service project — focused on energy culture change implementation, showing sector diversification.
• CIPRAASME
  Their earliest and smallest project (EUR 24,505) that established the model later scaled across the AURASME series, linked to Enterprise Europe Network.