Booster Info Session: 8 Key takeaways on turning research results into impact

The recent Booster Info Session offered a comprehensive overview of the services available to EU-funded projects, how and why to apply and featured a testimony by an EU-funded project benefitting from the services. For those who attended (and those who couldn’t), here are eight key takeaways we've selected from the event.

1. Booster is designed to help EU projects move from results to real-world impact

Booster provides a structured approach to strengthening dissemination and exploitation strategies across a wide variety of sectors, including energy, health, digital, mobility, climate and much more beyond. All services are free of charge and tailored to the specific needs of each project. The aim is to support researchers and innovators in making their results more actionable and relevant and have some sort of market or social impact.

2. The Go-to-Market service is a core support service

The Go-To-Market support is a core part of the services offered by Booster experts and is structured in a way that helps researchers develop their most promising outputs (known as Key Exploitable Results (KERs)) into real-world applications. Researchers are guided towards ensuring their results go beyond the theoretical and deliver tangible value to society and the economy. This maturing of results can be through developing exploitation strategies, conducting market analyses and through them, the crafting of a business plan.

3. Support is not one-size-fits-all, rather it adapts to the project’s maturity

Rather than applying a uniform process, Booster proposes and implements a tailored approach based on a project's maturity and specific needs. For projects still in the early stages of their innovation journey, services may focus on identifying and refining Key Exploitable Results (KERs), mapping relevant stakeholders, and defining a preliminary exploitation strategy. These foundational steps help teams clarify the potential value of their research and how it might meet real-world needs. More mature consortia, often those with a clearer understanding of their outputs, can benefit from services focused on go-to-market planning, business model development, and the preparation of targeted dissemination materials.

4. Real-world testimonial: EV4EU’s Booster experience

Hugo Morais, Project Coordinator of EV4EU, and Booster expert Sara Giordani shared their experience of working together. EV4EU, a Horizon Europe project focused on integrating electric vehicles with urban and energy systems, is benefitting from Booster support to prioritise its Key Exploitable Results and develop a clearer route to market.

Morais noted that Booster has already helped his team sharpen their objectives and better align their solutions with user needs and market expectations, something not always straightforward in technically complex projects.

5. Booster contributes to long-term value creation, beyond project duration

Rather than focusing solely on short-term deliverables, Booster encourages project teams to take a broader, forward-looking view. The support provided helps beneficiaries reflect on how their results can continue to generate value well beyond the end of EU funding. This includes exploring sustainability pathways, identifying opportunities for future partnerships, and considering how results may align with or inform policy priorities. The aim is not just to disseminate findings, but to lay the groundwork for long-term relevance and adoption.

6. Booster support is collaborative, not passive: beneficiaries are active participants

The Booster process is not a one-way transfer of knowledge or a case of beneficiaries simply receiving advice. Instead, Alessia Melasecche Germini, Booster Framework Coordinator, emphasised that it is a ‘‘collaborative and support-driven learning experience. This means that appointed experts do not substitute beneficiaries in their project’s activities’’. She added that the ‘‘experts provide support to beneficiary actions through vertical expertise in dissemination and exploitation’’. Ultimately, it is a hands-on, cooperative effort where project teams work closely with Booster experts throughout a structured, interactive journey. Booster experts act as mentors and strategic guides and support teams in shaping their own exploitation strategies by asking the right questions, providing feedback, and encouraging critical reflection. Beneficiaries remain in the driver’s seat, responsible for decisions and implementation, while Booster provides the tools and external perspective needed to sharpen focus and increase the likelihood of long-term impact.

7. Booster draws on a broad network of over 300 experts across Europe to provide tailored guidance

One of Booster’s key strengths lies in its extensive pool of more than 300 experts from diverse sectors and disciplines throughout Europe. This wide-ranging expertise allows Booster to match projects with specialists who understand their specific challenges and contexts. During the info session, Melasecche Germini noted that this network enables a hands-on and personalised approach. Beneficiaries receive in-depth feedback, strategic questioning, and ongoing support tailored to their project’s needs.

8. Continued engagement and resources to keep you connected beyond the session

For those who missed the session or want to revisit the content, the slides are available for download here, and the full recording can be watched online. Looking ahead, Booster will host two more info sessions this year (24 September and 26 November), providing further opportunities to learn and ask questions. Beneficiaries and interested stakeholders can stay informed by following Booster on social media and subscribing to the newsletter, which shares updates on upcoming events, new services, and success stories.