Project Overview

ENRICH (The European Network of Research and Innovation Centres and Hubs) is promoted by the European Commission through Horizon 2020, the ENRICH Network currently offers services to connect European research, technology, and business organisations with five global front-runner innovation markets: North America, South America, China, India, and Africa.

Started in April 2017, ENRICH in the USA is an H2020 funded initiative whose mission is to establish a Network of European Research and Innovation Centers and Hubs throughout the United States of America and Canada. ENRICH in the USA acts as a central contact point for European research and innovation actors seeking to grow, reinforce collaboration, as well as find commercialization paths across the Atlantic.

The mission of ENRICH in the USA is to provide collaboration and commercialization support services to European researchers and innovators in the USA and Canada, while facilitating their access to university-centric soft landing ecosystems, including US investors, to maximize their chances of success in North America.

 

The ENRICH in the USA initiative is led in the USA by Temple University SBDC (Small Business Development Center).


Our program "ENRICH in the USA" is made possible thanks to our Ambassadors (Europe and North America):

  • Clusters
  • Accelerators
  • Incubators
  • Research Parks
  • R&D institutions and labs
  • Universities
  • Funding Agencies
  • Trade Agencies
  • FDI Agencies
  • Business Networks
  • Research and Innovation Networks
  • University Associations
  • Trade Associations
  • Chambers of Commerce


The ENRICH in the USA Network includes the following entities:

  • One “Coordination Node” in Europe (represented by ENRICH Global, Paris, France)
  • One “Coordination Node” in the US (represented by Temple University SBDC, Philadelphia, PA)
  • Three physical ENRICH in the USA Centres:
    • San Francisco Centre (managed by Temple University SBDC)
    • Boston Centre (managed by Temple University SBDC)
    • Washington, DC Centre (managed by NCURA)
  • Nine Landing Hubs across the US, and plans to expand the ENRICH in the USA Network beyond these Hubs, in 2021-2023.


The ENRICH in the USA Network is built on local US experience and strong existing ties between the EU and US. It provides new researchers (& entrepreneurs) serving capabilities which address the resource gaps necessary to enable access for all EU Member States and Associated Countries, as well as every state in the US, and more lately Canada.

A variety of services have been proposed for researchers and entrepreneurs engaged by the Network during the pilot phase (2017-2020) then the Centers’ pilot activities have been evaluated to inevitably retain the initiative’s most successful components to ensure a sustainable plan for ENRICH in the USA in the future.

Piloted services targeted various, commercially viable technology maturity levels, both research-oriented and market-oriented, and included research connection symposia, business matchmaking opportunities, working visits, immersion weeks, innovation tours to US organisations to explore technology/product partnerships and/or business development middle/long term opportunities, pitching to potential investors, entrepreneurial bootcamps, workspace access, mentorship/advisory, hands-on (pre-acceleration) enrichment programs, and more.

As the ENRICH in the USA initiative is highly competitive to best serve the strongest and most committed researchers and entrepreneurs, all packaged programs (free or not) must be applied for through an open and transparent selective mechanism.

An initial group of 60 “Supporting Organizations” in the EU and USA have offered to support ENRICH in the USA.


ENRICH in the USA Consortium:
Coordinator: GAC Group (GAC), France 


Partners:
> German Aerospace Center (DLR), Koln, Germany
> Temple University SBDC (Temple SBDC), Philadelphia, PA, USA
> European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN), Brussels, Belgium - Partner in Phase 1 (2017-2020)
> International Business Innovation Association (InBIA), Orlando, FL, USA - Partner in Phase 1 (2017-2020)
> European American Enterprise Council (EAEC), San Francisco, CA, USA - Partner in Phase 1 (2017-2020)
> INTRASOFT International (INTRA), Luxembourg - Partner in Phase 1 (2017-2020)
> Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI), Lisbon, Portugal
> Regional Centre for Information and Scientific Development (RCISD), Budapest, Hungary
> National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), Washington, DC, USA