WeBBT: information day for IBBT researchers

Consortium building/networking &

tips for success when applying - some personal reflections -

Willy Van Puymbroeck

May 2011

••• 2

Overview

• Short update on ICT in FP7

• A competitive process based on published evaluation criteria

• Golden rules

• Some essential questions

• Getting help with proposals

••• 3

• ICT Call for Propoals under WP 2007-08, WP 2009-10 and WP 2011-12

• >4200 M€ of EU funding committed

• >1200 projects launched or to be launched

• >11700 participations

• >3900 distinct organisations participating

– Calls under two Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI) - Artemis and Eniac - and the Ambient Assisted Living Joint

Programme (AAL) in 2008, 2009 and 2010

• To come – ICT WP 2011-12 Calls 8 and 9

• ~1350 M€ funding

– ICT WP 2013

• >1500 M€ funding

– JTIs + AAL WPs 2011, 2012, 2013 ••• 3

ICT in FP7 – Some basic numbers

••• 4

Fu

ture

& E

merg

ing

Te

ch

no

log

ies (

FE

T)

1. Network and

Service

Infrastructures

ICT for socio-economic challenges

Basic

IC

T t

echnolo

gie

s &

infr

astr

uctu

res

~10% ~9%

261 M€, 11%

••• 4

International cooperation, Cooperation in an enlarged Europe, Pre-commercial Procurement

3. Component

and

Systems

4. Digital

Content and

Languages

2. Cognitive

Systems and

Robotics

5. ICT for

Health,

Ageing,

Inclusion

& Gov.

625 M€, 26%

155 M€, 6%

402 M€, 17%

165 M€, 7%

260 M€, 11%

6. ICT for

Lower-

Carbon

Economy

280 M€, 12%

7. ICT for

Manufac. &

Enterprise

8. ICT for

Learning &

Cultural

Resources

140 M€, 6% 100 M€, 4%

FP7/ICT Programme structure

••• 5

Overview of process

• Information for proposers

• Pre-proposal check

• Submission of proposal

• Evaluation process

–Eligibility check

–Evaluation proper

• Selection decision

• Negotiation of a project

• Launch of a project

Submission

Negotiation

Evaluation

Eligible?

Selection

••• 6

Three main Calls for proposals (+ FET Open + Joint Call on Security) in 2007-08

~ 2.1 B€ of EU funding

~ 3000 proposal received

~ 1500 above threshold .. 1:2

~ 500 projects launched .. 1:6

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE !

Competitive process Early feedback

••• 7

More: Understanding the evaluation sub-criteria

S&T excellence

3/5

Implementation

and

Management

3/5

Impact

3/5

1. Soundness of concept & quality of objectives

2. Progress beyond state-of-art

3. Methodology and associated workplan

1. Management structure and procedures

2. Quality/experience of individual participants

3. Quality of the consortium as a whole

4. Resources

1. Contribution to the expected impacts listed in

the WP

2. Measures for Dissemination and/or Exploitation

3. Management of IP

10/15

••• 8

Golden rules

• Start early from an exciting and convincing idea

• Collect information

– Subscribe to newsletters

– Consult with Commission staff

– Study the work programme

– Attend information days

• Consortium engineering

– Right number of partners, expertise, involvement and commitment

– Plan to use and exploit

• Use the pre-proposal check service to make sure the proposal is eligible and in scope of the call … and do this before you prepare the proposal in detail, not afterwards

••• 9

Use the Instructions* and Forms** we prepare for our evaluators

1. Give the instructions and your draft proposal to experienced colleagues

2. Then re-write your proposal following their recommendations

3. Do not believe gossip as to how to optimise your chances

* appendix in the Guide for Applicants

** available on the ICT Call page on Cordis

Golden rules

••• 10

Divide your effort over the evaluation criteria

• many proposers concentrate on the scientific element, but lose marks on project planning or impact description

Think of the finishing touches which signal quality work:

• clear language

• well-organised contents, following the Part B structure

• useful and understandable diagrams

• no typos, no inconsistencies, no obvious paste-ins, no numbers which don’t add up, no missing pages …

Golden rules

••• 11

Make it easy for the evaluators to give you high marks. Don’t make it hard for them!

• Don’t write too little; cover what is requested

• Don’t write too much

• Don’t leave them to figure out why it’s good, tell them why it’s good

• Leave nothing to the imagination

Golden rules

••• 12

• Set focused, realistic objectives and show how they will be achieved

• Make sure your Project Workplan reflects the promises you made in the rest of your proposal

For example:

• S&T quality implies an adequate and well-organised research effort

• Good project management implies clear Workpackage leadership

• Strong Impact implies an important dissemination effort and/or strong realistic exploitation plans

Golden rules

••• 13

• Address too many objectives

• Set broad, too ambitious, unachievable objectives

• Include redundant partners

• Impact = a conference each year, a public website and x published papers

• Buzzwords, empty statements

Planning for failure

••• 14

• Prestige

• International nature of research

• Funding opportunities which do not exist

nationally

• Sharing expertise / facilities

• Networking

• Meeting staff/student expectations:

– New IP and curriculum development – Staff training and development – broaden skill and

competence base – Career development

Why get involved?

••• 15

• Do I clearly understand the pro’s and con’s of involvement in FP7?

• Am I willing to co-operate internationally?

• Do my capabilities match the Call requirements?

• Do I have the resources to invest in time and money?

• Do I have a supportive team and organisation?

Ask yourself …

••• 16

• http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7

• National Contact Points:http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ncp_en.html

• Partner search facilities: http://www.ideal-ist.net/

• Information desk: ict@ec.europa.eu

• IPR Helpdesk: http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org/index.html

• Electronic proposal submission helpdesk: support@epss-fp7.org

Getting help with proposals

••• 17

Participant Portal - Calls

••• 18

ICT Proposers’ Day 2011 19 - 20 May 2011, Budapest

Networking for European ICT R&D

• Prepare for Calls 8 and 9

• Networking and partnerships building

– first-hand information from >100 EC officials

• Structure:

– thematic sessions with presentations of proposal ideas

– information stands & meeting points

• Registration:

free of charge, open from January 2011

http://ec.europa.eu/ictproposersday