Project idea formulation

In proposal development, the first natural step is to formulate an idea and find a suitable call. There are basically two ways of doing it. The first one, recommended for beginners, is to have a basic project idea and search for a call. The second method, used by more experienced proposers is to screen the calls and progressively formulate project ideas.   In any case, the project idea has to match perfectly to the open call; otherwise, it will be rejected as out of scope.

In case of EU projects, you should also answer two questions:

• Is our idea innovative? For instance, FP7 is designed for innovative project ideas or that have some kind of novelty with respect to the state-of-the-art in a given scientific field. This novelty element has to be present in our project.
• Is our idea of European interest? All project ideas in FP7 have a European dimension; they were proposed because there was a need for European partnership and collaboration to achieve the objectives. Our results have to have an impact and added value on a European level.

Well, there is a third method of project formulation that we have not mentioned yet: When you get invited by someone to a consortium and you support with your ideas and point of view the formulation of the project idea.

Formulation of a project idea includes:

• Tailoring the idea to the targeted topic of the work programme;
• Describe the objectives of the project – fitting the specific objectives of the topic and the overall objectives of the relevant EU policies;
• Set up the project implementation phases and structure of the project – what activities you need to achieve the objectives and who will complete these activities (what expertise/knowledge is needed);
• Describe the end results (project outputs) and the impact of the project (long-term outcome) corresponding to the expected impact of the work programme;
• Highlight the added value, the innovative element of your project;
• Based on the above, describe what (type of) organisations you need in the partnership;
• Write down all of the above in 1-2 pages and you have the project concept, answering the main questions: WHAT? WHY? HOW? WHO?

Good luck!

How writing a proposal is similar to cooking…

Few days ago someone asked me some advices on how to write a proposal and I told some FP7 tips and tricks.

In the evening, I thought about it further and I realized that I forgot to tell the most important; that inspiration must accompany the intellectual efforts and hard work to make it successful.

Actually, writing a proposal is very similar to cooking. You need good quality ingredients, love and attention. Speaking about quality ingredients;

I’m not putting an equal sign between your partners and some carrots. I’m also not telling that the expensive research equipment in your lab is a cooking pan, but there is one thing in common, they need to be excellent for a successful result.

 

 

But look at the similarities; you look for the best ingredients and make sure they fit and complement each other. You mix them in suitable amounts and let them reinforce each others’ qualities.

Once it is all ready it can be presented and (hopefully) enjoyed.

And imagine that you pick the wrong mushroom in the forest… Choosing the wrong partner will not kill you but it might kill your proposal…

And yes, of course you also need someone to enjoy and appreciate your efforts. May it be your friends for the dinner or the stakeholders and the society as wider audience for the project…

Enjoy your work in those busy times of proposal writing and FP7 deadlines and don’t forget to have fun.. :)

 

Are European projects for us?

As many calls are published now with an autumn/December deadline, we start a blog series on proposal development. We will continue later on with project management phases.

EU projects are excellent chances for organisations to increase their international presence, expand their network base and obtain references on international project participation, all while working toward the common good of the European community. While participating has its advantages, it also has disadvantages.

Here are some tips to help organisations decide if the time is right to join e.g. FP7 this last year or Horizon 2020 from 2014.

First, be sure that participating in FP7 fits with the organisation’s strategy. It is not worth expending the effort in participating in a project if the project will not benefit the company or is in the future interests of the company. Participating in any FP7 project has advantages, but it also has costs and therefore the project must be beneficial to the organisation.

Continue reading: http://www.eutrainingsite.com/blog.php?id=70

INCO activities in a nutshell

The INCO division of the DG Research and Innovation, more precisely the Unit D3 — European Neighbourhood, Africa and Gulf has made a nice effort in preparing a booklet presenting all the coordination and support action (CSA) projects of International Cooperation financed under the ‘Capacities’ programme (FP7).

The information is well organised by country and regional chapter and gives all the basic information and also the project website and the contact details to the coordinator, for people who wants to know more.

 

 

All this information is of course also available online at the Cordis website, where one can make a quick search and get the same information but fragmented and in a less complete way. And to make a search, we need to know what we want to search for and where…http://www.eutrainingsite.com/blog.php?id=69

To meet or not to meet – that is not a question for a kick off meeting!

European projects involve quite some travelling to different meetings and events and there is of course always the question if it is really worth to spend all these resources, both from an economic and environmental point of view to move so many people. Are these meetings useful?

Personally, I believe that online conferences can complement physicals meetings and be of great help for implementation of activities but there is really something special with face-to-face meetings that online interactions never can replace. Especially kick off meetings are important and exciting for many reasons:

– It is often the first meeting for most of the members of a consortium who has been working electronically together for months to develop and finalize the project. Names, titles and email addresses get a face and personality.

Continue reading at http://www.eutrainingsite.com/blog.php?id=68

Bodil