Time really flies fast. I remember when long time ago I was planning to set up EPN Consulting and, to get prepared, I was reading plenty of British and American books on how to manage a company first, and then how to do it in the consulting industry.
While it was easy to find good books on first topic (and I learnt a lot about the different paths to follow depending on being either in the UK or the US), instead it was difficult to find guidance on the second topic.
As a matter of fact, Consultancy is part of those professional services that sell intellectual know-how, which represents an intangible asset. However, while it is clear to most what lawyers and accountants do (they are part of the professional service industry), a different story applies to technical professional services (exc. engineers and architects). Even worse, assisting companies to write robust project proposals to get European funds is not in the radar.
Well, this was my dilemma that I acknowledged without getting discouraged. That’s why on 13 Nov 2009 in London I incorporated EPN Consulting which has now celebrated 15 years of activity!
The original idea was having a traditional consulting agency linked to a European Professionals Network (EPN) – that’s how the company name was decided. The network regarded individual professionals as well as corporates and universities in several EU countries.
The consulting topics were mainly Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and EU-funded projects (in those days they referred to the 7th Framework Programme, FP7).
In these 15 years we have seen a widespread evolution touching virtually every aspect of our life: ITS has become Intelligent Mobility and its sustainability – environmental and financial – crucial; the focus on technology has been expanded to human beings and became anthropocentric; the EU funding evolved from being mainly technological with FP7 (e.g. Research & Development) to innovative across different disciplines with Horizon 2020 (Research & Innovation) and aiming to focus deeply on the environment and Nature-Based Solutions as well as taking into account the market feasibility with Horizon Europe (Research & Innovation & Investment).
With regard to our Network, it expanded to including virtually every EU country and includes professional contacts in the US.
What’s more happened in these 15 years? Ah, right: BREXIT ! Following the “leave” result of the referendum held in the UK in June 2016, on 31 Jan 2021 the EU lost one important member state. Suddenly, everything that was possible in the UK for a EU citizen or EU company became impossible or hard to get.
Personally, I had to request the permit to live and work in the UK (granted, by the way) and in February 2022 I had to set up a new company in Dublin – EPN Consulting Research and Innovation – to be sure of continuing working on EU projects. As a matter of fact, initially the UK refused to be part of any EU funding programme, but then since Jan 2024 it has been re-admitted to take part in the Horizon Europe, Copernicus, and few other programmes. Unfortunately, Erasmus+ – very important for students and companies (EPN Consulting coordinated a couple of projects in the past) – was not part of the plan.
Here we are, 15 years later, still very passionate about our work, very focused on sustainability and, for what involves EPN Consulting, very focused on making our cities smarter, cleaner, safer, and more liveable.
For our UK-based clients, we continue providing assistance in preparing high-standard project proposals to win Horizon Europe funds. We look forward to the future with our usual positive attitude.
Thank you all for the support and trust we have received during these 15 years!
Stefano Mainero
EPN Consulting and EPN Consulting Research and Innovation Founder & CEO
Article written by human beings without any use of AI. EPN Consulting Ltd. copyright 2024