EXEMPLAS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Their core work

Exemplas Holdings is a UK-based innovation consultancy that delivers business support services to SMEs, particularly around enhancing their innovation management capabilities. Under H2020, they operated as a service provider helping small businesses in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales access EU funding instruments, improve commercialisation strategies, and scale up internationally. Their work sits at the intersection of business advisory and public innovation policy delivery, acting as an intermediary between EU programmes and the SME community.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Exemplas started with a narrower regional mandate — their 2014 project focused on the East of England under the SME Instrument framework. By 2015-2018, their scope expanded geographically to cover England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and thematically to include commercialisation, internationalisation, investment readiness, and growth showcasing. The shift suggests a move from basic innovation management delivery toward more comprehensive business growth and international market access services.

Exemplas was expanding toward full-spectrum SME growth services, but their H2020 participation ended in 2017-2018 — likely due to Brexit and the UK's withdrawal from EU programmes.

How they like to work

With one coordination and two participant roles across just 3 projects, Exemplas operated as both a lead and a delivery partner depending on project scope. Their 21 consortium partners from a single country (UK) indicate they functioned within domestic delivery networks rather than cross-border research consortia. This profile is typical of a national service delivery organisation embedded in government-funded SME support ecosystems.

Exemplas worked with 21 unique partners, all within the UK, forming a domestic delivery network for SME innovation services. Their network reflects a regionally distributed service model rather than an international research collaboration pattern.

What sets them apart

Exemplas occupied a specific niche as a professional service delivery organisation for EU-funded SME support programmes in the UK. Unlike research organisations or technology companies, their value lay in their network of business advisors and their ability to reach and coach large numbers of SMEs across multiple UK regions. For anyone who needed to deliver innovation management services at scale to British SMEs, Exemplas was a proven delivery partner — though their relevance for post-Brexit EU consortia is limited.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENIW
  Received EUR 112,570 in a multi-year programme covering England, Northern Ireland, and Wales — their largest and most comprehensive SME support action.
• EECIPInnoman
  Their sole coordination role, focused on the East of England — demonstrates their ability to lead and design SME innovation support programmes.