Learning from experiences: tips for good participation in CIP projects

Transcription

1 Learning from experiences: tips for good participation in CIP projects By Mr. Leonardo Piccinetti, Executive Director of EPA, the European Projects Association

2 Planning your CIP proposal the critical path

3 Planning your proposal GIVE DETAILED EXPLANATIONS IN YOUR PROPOSAL! STARTING POINT: What is the existing situation? What is the problem to be solved? What has been done so far, and by whom? Where do you come into the picture and why? WORK PACKAGES: What exactly do you propose to do? RESULTS: What will be different when the project has ended? When you have finished, how will anyone know that you have succeeded? monitor your impacts! TARGET GROUP: Who do you need to influence / engage? IMPACT: What measurable change will you achieve?

4 Writing your proposal Strong competition: you need a good idea! Be imaginative, start early! It takes longer than you think! Easy to read? - evaluators assess it in ~2-4 hours. Have it read by an outsider (no jargon, simple for non mother tongue readers) Respect limits of length, but give as much detail as possible in each work package, and explain what each partner will actually do, how (methodology), and what will be delivered Provide evidence of : the problem that you plan to address / solve (market failure), your expertise (strong CV s), your co-financing (letters of support, with funding commitments), stakeholders who are committed to use the results (ideally they will be partners or co-sponsors)

5 Input/Output

6 Input/Output

7 The European dimension EU projects should address problems at the European level far beyond the specific interests of a Member State; The proposed solution must have a direct impact at the European level; Participants must be located in a Member State either Associated State (in general 3 in the minimum threshold and five can be a good compromise, the participation of third countries [non EU countries] is really welcome when the international dimension is requested); Subsidiary and proportionality

8 More thoughts on European Added Value Multi-cultural working is difficult and expensive, so it must really deliver added value, with results which are transferable to others A consortium of partners from different countries is not enough Working in parallel in different countries is not enough Working on issues addressed by EU policies is not enough Remember: Comparatively small (<500k ) actions can nevertheless have high added value and impacts at EU level Actions, which fit better at national or local level, because of timescale, involvement of SME s, intellectual property rights, etc should be excluded

9 Result / Impact indicators SMART (IEE) Indicators to measure the impact of your work: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely For example: Increased 7% of solar collectors in EU to carry a new product label Increased 10% of installers trained and certified in target regions Planning approval delays reduced from 2 to 1 year Audits leading to energy savings of 0,5 Mtoe (million tons oil equivalent) per year in schools Increased 5% of cyclists in target cities

10 Balance your project balance in the budget (the smallest budget per partner contribution should be to 15% of the total) balance in the roles among the partnership European balance (the total number of countries divided by the total number of participating organisations should be than 0.45) balance in effort (the number of person-months provided by the lowest contributing partner divided by the one of the highest contributing partner should be than 0.2); balance in the distribution of work

11 Strengths of recent proposals IEE Creative and convincing idea to tackle a market based problem or to take an opportunity one step further (i.e. an approach that fits) Demand driven with convincing commitments from market actors (e.g. industry) to use the results, well targeted dissemination plan Clear and precise awareness of the state of the art. Competitive proposers present their experiences, and will start from there! Choice of partners and countries is clearly explained, and their skills fit with the allocation of tasks in the work packages. Appropriate efforts estimated for each partner and each work package throughout the proposal Co-financing is clear, and credible Realistic, but ambitious targets. Tailor-made communication plan

12 Three months roadmap for project submission

13 Project timeline Deadline Contract Final review Idea! TIME Proposal preparation Evaluation Negotiation Monitoring of activities Implementation of activities, Management and reporting The consortium

14 3 months roadmap for project submission (exploratory phase) month stepstone elements output : milestones 0 project idea PROJECT IDEA teamwork elaborating the project idea - why is the project needed, in what way is it innovative? screening the EU programmes balancing the project idea with relevant EU programmes and annual priorities the writing of the project concept (content, goals, target groups, methods, outline of work plan, partner profiles, basic budget innovation!) based on the questions in the proposal document! evaluation of and comments on the project from : your own institution, local or national network contacts, national agency, potential key partners in other countries, professionals PROJECT TEAM ESTABLISHED EU PROGRAMME KNOWLEDGE RELEVANS??? PROJECT CONCEPT DESCRIPTION - DRAFT CONCEPT EVALUATED 1 final version of the project description PROJECT CONCEPT DESCRIPTION FINAL 1 support and acceptance from your organization and the management MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT 1 definitions of the roles of different resource persons in the process of writing the proposals and carrying out the project partner search, English, budget, project administration etc. PROJECT RESOURCES PLAN 1 preparations for writing the pre-proposal and establishing the key partnership ACTION DESIGN 1 meeting with the national agency / EC getting to know one of the consultants personally NATIONAL AGENCY CONTACT COMMITMENT

15 month stepstone elements output : milestones 2 3 months roadmap for project submission (operational phase) reading and analyzing the relevant EU documents : proposals, programme documents, general and annual priorities, papers about the pre-proposal and partnership procedures EU PROGRAMME KNOWLEDGE - SPECIFIC 2 European partner search- get advice from national agency and resource persons in your network- general : EU and national agency databases and s to relevant networks- focused : personal mails to specific contacts or organizations PARTNER SEARCH evaluation of the results of the partner search and the comments from potential partners definition of the key partnership and outline of the full partnership - considering the European balances in the partnerships producing a document for the project partners - getting information about partners requested in the proposal - getting information about partner roles, skills, resources for the description of the partnership describing the key and full partnership - roles, competencies, balances, specific resources, specific tasks 2 letters of intent from the partners PARTNER SEARCH EVALUATION KEY PARTNERSHIP ESTABLISHED PARTNER INFORMATION COLLECTED PARTNERSHIP DESCRIBED PARTNERS LETTER OF INTENT COLLECTED 2 the coordinating partner writes the first version of the pre-proposal PREPROPOSAL - DRAFT 2 the pre-proposal is discussed among the key partners PREPROPOSAL PARTNER DIALOGUE 2 evaluation of the comments from the key partners PREPROPOSAL EVALUATION

16 3 months roadmap for project submission (review phase) month stepstone elements output : milestones 3 full description of the partnership, roles, tasks, general and specific project competencies EU PROGRAMME KNOWLEDGE - SPECIFIC 3 the coordinating partner produces the two key elements for the final proposal - phase based and detailed work plan for the project - detailed project budget, supporting this work plan (specified as to partners and to activities) FULL PROJECT WORKPLAN AND BUDGET PRODUCED - DRAFT 3 final version of the budget is produced BUDGET PRODUCED 3 final analysis of the coherence and the internal logic of the project elements goals, content, activities, resources, budget ANALYSIS OF THE PROJECT COHERENCE 3 all partners should have one week for comments on the final version of the proposal before it is submitted FINAL PARTNER COMMENTS 3 submitting the full proposal, considering the submitting procedure described in the proposal form and in the programme guides FULL PROPOSAL SUBMITTED

17 Top Tips (I) Get familiar with the work-programme and set your own roadmap Do not expect results in 2 months time Consolidate or establish relations with European counterparts Networking = Attend events at the national and EU level Structure your offer so as to make your research potential clearly emerge Make it easy for the evaluator to select you Start your experience as partners in projects co-ordinated by others You ll be seen as far away partners = you must have a + to be preferred to others Seek advice from those who have experience Subscribe to on line partner search engines

18 Top Tips (II) Novelty Get the practicalities done as soon as possible Find the right partner for the right activity Balance your budget Do not write too much Do not write too less - have concluding remarks at the end of each section Do not expect the evaluator are top experts in the field you are focusing on Do consider the Commission as a customer Be precise and clear in you plan of activities Select the right instrument Have a clear project outline Find the right acronym Time scheduling

19 Eligibility criteria A proposal is eligible when: Received before the deadline (in the call text) Involve the minimum number of participants Administrative forms and proposal description are present Signatures and stamps in original (when requested) Overall budget according to the funding scheme (large or small scale projects) Content related to topics Special conditions are included and acceptable

20 Electronic submission On line preparation only!!!!!!! Main reason for failure in the submission - Writing till the last minute - Technical problems - Panic (errors) - Too late starting upload - Run out of time

21 Conclusion

22 Conclusion Be active Be persistent Create as many project ideas as possible Maintain your contacts with potential partners Believe that EU projects are new business opportunity

23 EPA Website