What makes a good EU proposal?

Transcription

1 What makes a good EU proposal? Dr. David Schwesig IWW Zentrum Wasser NRW.Fit in Europa für KMU Zenit, Mülheim an der Ruhr 17 November 2014

2 Präsentation wegen Bildrechten leicht verändert

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4 Overview Who are we? Our main business Our experience with EU funding What makes a good proposal? Evaluation criteria and procedure Structure of EU proposals How to get there (some do s and dont s) become a European player define a project proposal build a consortium organise proposal preparation Why go for it? Why do we like working in EU projects? Possible benefits 4

5 Research Consulting Training Applied research Resource protection and water catchment Process engineering Water network infrastructure Water quality and analysis Biofilms in drinking and industrial water Organisation and management Consulting for the water industry Conception, basic design/preplanning Operation and optimisation Problem-oriented analysis Practical experience Innovative solutions Neutrality Advanced training, knowledge transfer National and international conferences Training and in-house seminars Technology transfer International consulting 5

6 IWW Water Centre - an SME IWW in figures (2012) 100 scientists, engineers, economists and technicians Sales revenues 7,8 Mio. EUR 40 % Research, 60 % Consulting Customers Water supply ca. 50 % Government (national/regional/local) ca. 20 % Industry ca. 25 % Regional branches Mülheim an der Ruhr, Nordrhein-Westfalen IWW Rhein-Main: Biebesheim, Hessen IWW Nord: Diepholz, Niedersachsen 6

7 IWW s EU funding history IWW founded in st participation in an EU project in st Work Package (WP) lead in EU project in st Work Area lead (cluster of WPs) in st proposal coordination in nd proposal coordination in 2013 By now: participation in 15 EU-Projects EU proposal success rate ~75% Coordinator of 2 large-scale collaborative projects: TRUST ( ): 7 Mio EUR, 30 Partners ( DESSIN ( ): 6 Mio EUR, 20 Partners ( to be continued 7

8 My personal EU funding history Background Environmental Scientist (Diplom-Geoökologe) PhD in Environmental Analytical Chemistry With IWW since 2002 (start in analytical dept.) First EU project at IWW in 2005 Since 2009 full-time Research Coordinator at IWW shaping IWWs research strategy Supporting departments in all steps of proposal preparation Coordination of TRUST and DESSIN through all stages Working as proposal evaluator Since 2009 for BMBF Since 2014 for European Commission 8

9 Overview Who are we? Our main business Our experience with EU funding What makes a good proposal? Evaluation criteria and procedure Structure of EU proposals How to get there (some do s and dont s) become a European player define a project proposal build a consortium organise proposal preparation Why go for it? Why do we like working in EU projects? Possible benefits 9

10 Truth is Good is not good enough to be competitive in Europe Your proposal needs to be excellent 10

11 An excellent proposal meets all eligibility criteria (checked by bureaucrats), e.g. Number of partners and countries Submitted before deadline (and not a second later) Complete with all forms Budget requirements (e.g. limits, % to SMEs) scores high in all evaluation criteria (checked by scientific evaluators) Excellence Impact Implementation 11

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14 Evaluation criteria here: Innovation actions /Research & Innovation actions Clarity and pertinence of the objectives Excellence Soundness of the concept, including trans-disciplinary considerations, where relevant Extent that proposed work is ambitious, has innovation potential, and is beyond the state of the art (e.g. ground-breaking objectives, novel concepts and approaches) Credibility of the proposed approach Impact The expected impacts listed in the work programme under the relevant topic Enhancing innovation capacity and integration of new knowledge Strengthening the competitiveness and growth of companies by developing innovations meeting the needs of European and global markets; and, where relevant, by delivering such innovations to the markets Any other environmental and socially important impacts (not already covered above) Effectiveness of the proposed measures to exploit and disseminate the project results (including management of IPR), to communicate the project, and to manage research data where relevant Implementation Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources Complementarity of the participants within the consortium (when relevant) Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk and innovation management HORIZON

15 Interpretation of the scores 0 The proposal fails to address the criterion or cannot be assessed due to missing or incomplete information. 1 Poor. The criterion is inadequately addressed, or there are serious inherent weaknesses. 2 Fair. The proposal broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant weaknesses. 3 Good. The proposal addresses the criterion well, but a number of shortcomings are present. 4 Very Good. The proposal addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of shortcomings are present. 5 Excellent. The proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion. Any shortcomings are minor. HORIZON

16 Evaluation 2-stage procedure 1st stage; proposal outline of 15 pages Only evaluation of criteria excellence & impact Threshold: = 8 Only proposals above thresholds are invited for stage 2, but you just learn your score, not the details 1-stage procedure (or 2nd stage 2-stage procedure) Full proposal Evaluation of all three criteria excellence, impact, implementation Threshold = 10 A ranked list of proposals is prepared number of proposals funded depends e.g. on money available

17 Structure of EU proposals Part A online forms at participant portal General information Admin data of participants (PIC, contact data) Budget table Ethic issues table Part B (templates at participant portal) Chapter 1 Excellence Chapter 2 Impact Chapter 3 Implementation criterion Excellence criterion Impact criterion Implementation Chapter 4 Consortium Members ( Excellence) Chapter 5 Ethics & Security 17

18 Chapter / Criterion Excellence Mandatory sections (don t be creative with the template): Objectives Start by telling the main storyline in 3 sentences Relation to the work programme Include a simple table, linking specific phrases from the call to specific actions our outputs of the project Concept and approach Include a simple figure with clear steps Ambition Where and how does it go beyond the state of the art? Innovation potential 18

19 Own Examples: short objective(s) 19

20 Another good example The objectives of XXX are: 1. Optimise, prove and demonstrate the validity and scale-up potential of XXX for treatment of wastewater from the XXX industry 2. Apply XXX to industrial wastewater treatment by online monitoring of XXX 3. Develop a stable pilot-scale treatment process for XXX able to deal with shock-loads of XXX under XXX conditions. 20

21 Not so good example (written like a scientific publication) Many industrial sectors face the problem of lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum. The main goal of the project is to lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum. The consortium has broad expertise and technical knowledge to accomplish the goals of this ambitious project. Lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum lorem ipsum. 21

22 Example to show relation to the call text Call text Address the development of new techniques in the area of reliability and risk assessment of urban water system, especially in the context of water scarcity conditions and irregular supply Contributing TRUST elements WP 2.1 Risk, resilience, adaptive potential WP 3.1 UWCS performance assessment framework WP 3.2 Risk-based quality management WP 6.1 Demonstration cluster water scarcity Enhance leakage control and improve technologies for advanced asset management Improve water use efficiency and water demand/water supply management Facilitate the appraisal of climate change adaptation and mitigation options across multiple water-dependent sectors Assess the sustainability of alternative water resources in cities WP 4.2 Urban water demand management WP 4.6 Enhanced technologies for infrastructure AM WP 5.3 Planning guide for UWCS at utility level WP 4.1 Sustainable water supply WP 4.3 Wastewater and stormwater management WP 4.5 Strengthening Water-energy nexus in UWS WP 4.4 Alternative water sources WP 5.3 Planning guide for UWCS at utility level 22

23 Example: simple graphics If it can t be created by ppt SmartArt, it s too complicated 23

24 Chapter / Criterion Impact Expected impact Refer to expected impact section in the call text No copy&paste: be specific in linking project outcomes to the expected impact also address social and environmental impact Measures to maximize impact Exploitation plan be specific how the main outputs will be used (no general phrases) Communication & dissemination activities Describe in detail, e.g. newsletter, website, outreach events, 24

25 Implementation Work Plan This is the scientific/technical core of the project Key elements are: Work Packages Deliverables Milestones You have to translate your project idea into this structure Management Structure and Procedure Describe organisation, roles and rules, decision-making, monitoring, corrective measures No off-the-shelf solution needs to match the size and complexity of the project. Consortium as a whole Show the complementarity of roles and expertise 25

26 Work Package - template Who does what, when, with whom, what will be the result (deliverable), who is mainly responsible for this part, and how many person months are needed. be very clear and brief (1-2 pages per WP) 26

27 Work Plan additional components Number of WPs: X + 2 (management + dissemination) A pert diagram and a gantt chart are mandatory A short introductory section (1/4 page) about the logical sequence of the Work Packages is helpful (for the evaluator) 27

28 Management Structure Standard roles Coordinator: manager & leader of the project Main interface between consortium and EC All money, reporting and contractual matters go through the coordinator Previous experience in EU projects is a must High workload during proposal phase (full-time job) and operational phase Work Package leader Leader of a substantial part of the project Previous EU experience is very helpful Medium workload Project Partner Contributes to defined tasks but has no leading role (perfect role for beginners) Project Steering Board or General Assembly Decision-making body for contractual changes in the project, usually one vote per partner organisation Advisory Board (optional) 28

29 A few basics about evaluators Evaluators are usually fellow scientists experienced in EU research busy people with limited time Their expertise may not 100% match your topic They get paid per proposal, e.g. for IERs: a half-day fee per full stage-2 proposal a full day fee per 6 stage-1 proposals Make their life easy: Keep within page limits (or below) Strictly follow the template and guide for applicants Professional layout, but no gimmicks Readable text with highlighted parts (e.g. bullet points, frames, simple graphs) No lab jargon 29

30 Summary what makes an excellent proposal? Be brief and clear in what you are going to do Show that the project exactly matches the scope of the call will achieve the expected impact is well designed with regard to all steps and roles Put equal emphasis on the three main criteria Excellence Impact Implementation Stick to the EC templates and guidelines Make life easy for the evaluators 30

31 Overview Who are we? Our main business Our experience with EU funding What makes a good proposal? Evaluation criteria and procedure Structure of EU proposals How to get there (some do s and dont s) become a European player define a project proposal build a consortium organise proposal preparation Why go for it? Why do we like working in EU projects? Possible benefits 31

32 How to become a European Player Get connected to the key players (Cost actions are a good start) Start with small roles in EU projects Try to learn the Brussels game, be informed about upcoming calls Make use of support services and events National Contact points & agencies (Zenit!) Open Days of the EC, Brokerage Events Research Coordinators e.g. at universities EU Veterans

33 How to define a project proposal Don t fall in love with your idea too early: Read the call text and refine your idea Read the call text and refine your idea Learn about previous (EU) projects in this topic (evaluators usually know ) Draft a short storyline and select a small core team for brainstorming Constantly check against the call text. You can be nice & brilliant but fail! Swap responsibilities for core chapters among the core team members newbies : limit contribution to specific technical content, e.g. WP descriptions veterans take care of overarching narrative parts

34 How to build a competitive Consortium Don t invite your friends - but the best players Check contribution & added value of each partner There s no use of 5 goalkeepers If your own network is not sufficient Partnering Events Databases / market-place of national contact points

35 How to organise proposal preparation Start early at least 6 months before deadline Get familiar with all guidelines templates and forms submission tool at participant portal Organise communication pathways Careful planning of the schedule be strict with yourself and the partners Submission deadline is sharp (to the second!) Plan for buffer (and a test run of submission) Be prepared to invest time TRUST took me 4 months full-time, DESSIN 2.5 mths. Flexibility and short reaction times required overtime will be needed for coordinator and core team

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37 Summary How to Preparing an excellent proposal is no rocketscience There is a lot of guidance and free support available You just need to make use of it, plus Good ideas and good partners Careful planning of actions, times, resources Strong commitment 37

38 Overview Who are we? Our main business Our experience with EU funding What makes a good proposal? Evaluation criteria and procedure Structure of EU proposals How to get there (some do s and dont s) become a European player define a project proposal build a consortium organise proposal preparation Why go for it? Why do we like working in EU projects? Possible benefits 38

39 You meet interesting people in nice places 39

40 Now being serious: why go for it? Access to additional finance for Research and Development Access to new techniques, viewpoints and ways of thinking Access to a broader intellectual property base Opportunities for new research areas, but also new markets and it s quite satisfactory and a lot of fun to play in the Champions League 40

41 Example for new business opportunities Monitoring of Surface Waters in Ireland (Water Framework Directive) Three years contract ( ) for Sampling and Analysis of Irish surface waters 70 lake sites and 180 river sites Compliance checking with regard to the chemical quality criteria of WFD IWW Services Project coordination and management Sampling stragegy and logistics in cooperation with an Irish subcontractor (CLS) Chemical analysis of > 40 compounds Data analysis and first evaluation in cooperation with EPA Ireland Follow-up: marine monitoring Ireland Follow-up project (2013/14): Croatia 41

42 David Schwesig online.de +49 (0)