The Grant

From Newcomer to Strategic EU Partner – The BLOXHUB Journey
An in-person conversation with CEO Torben Klitgaard

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For episode #248, I visit BLOXHUB in Copenhagen to meet CEO Torben Klitgaard and follow an unusually complete EU funding journey: from entering the field as a newcomer to making EU projects a strategic part of the organisation.

It started with the New European Bauhaus. BLOXHUB mobilised its network, assembled a European consortium and coordinated the DESIRE lighthouse project. Another successful project followed, and EU funding increasingly became a way of connecting BLOXHUB’s community with international companies, cities, researchers and other stakeholders.

But experience changed the strategy. BLOXHUB no longer wants to coordinate major EU projects or write proposals itself. Instead, it is increasingly positioning itself around areas where it has strong competencies and can contribute as a partner or work package lead. Torben explains why running several EU projects simultaneously must be treated as professional business, not an activity organisations simply add on the side.

Time codes:

00:00 Campaign Announcement

00:28 Arrival in Copenhagen

04:02 Guest introduction and fly in

06:47 Bloxhub - An introduction

12:30 The Projects

32:31 EU Projects as Strategy

54:41 Learnings, reflections and advice

57:01 The toughest challenge

Supporting Startups and SMEs into EU Funding
With Lise Pape and Rasmus Mørk

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In my earlier field recording with Lise Pape from Walk With Path, we touched on the support she had received from Greater Copenhagen EU Office. This time, I bring Lise together with Rasmus Mørk, who has been supporting her, to look more closely at what that support actually involves.

Rasmus explains how he works with startups and SMEs to understand their product-development plans, identify relevant EU funding programmes, assess whether an opportunity is worth pursuing and develop the first outline of a potential project. Lise shares how that has worked from the company side—from discovering calls she might otherwise have missed to discussing consortium composition and whether a particular opportunity really fits the company. #248 Supporting Start Ups and S…

And there is an important reality check throughout: EU funding is high-hanging fruit. Not every innovative company should apply. Sometimes the best support is helping a company realise early that its time and resources would be better spent elsewhere.

Time codes:

02:03 Guest introduction and fly in

06:55 Supporting Walk with Path

21:14 How CopenVirk Supports Companies

36:05 Reflections

Experienced Exploitation – From Results to Real-World Value
With Carmen Bianca Socaciu

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Exploitation is ultimately about what happens to the results of an EU-funded project beyond the project itself. In episode #246, I’m joined by Carmen Bianca Socaciu, who has worked with exploitation for more than a decade, to explore what that process actually looks like in practice.

We move from identifying results and developing value propositions to understanding customer needs, business models, market conditions and the people inside partner organisations who can actually make decisions. Carmen also explains why exploitation is as much about trust, curiosity and human relationships as it is about business tools.

And we look at the difficult cases too: sustainable technologies that cannot break even, market conditions that change during a four-year project, results that are ready for market but have nobody willing to pick them up, and the uncomfortable gap between publicly funded R&D timelines and commercial reality.

Time codes:

02:20 Guest introduction and fly in

06:35 Understanding Exploitation

12:01 From Project Results to Real-World Use

24:37 Sustainability, Regulation and Long-Term Impact

40:11 Becoming a Strong Exploitation Partner

47:56 Reflections and advice

50:42 The toughest challenge

The RM Framework Quality Label – Making Training Comparable
RM Framework Series #11 with Blanka Csite from EARMA

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Research management training across Europe comes in many different forms—from accredited university programmes to short professional courses, micro-credentials and training delivered by professional associations. In episode #11 of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined by Blanka Csite from EARMA to explore how the project’s proposed Quality Label could help bring more transparency to that landscape.

Blanka explains why the current approach is voluntary, developmental and proportionate rather than pass-or-fail, and how self-assessment can help training providers reflect on their purpose, target group, learning outcomes and links to RM Comp competencies and proficiency levels. We also look at what the Quality Label could mean for research managers themselves: clearer information about what different programmes actually offer, making it easier to identify training that matches their own professional development needs. The concept is still being refined through pilot feedback and wider consultation with the European research management community.

Time codes:

02:13 Guest introduction and fly in

04:17 Introducing the Quality Label

09:59 Developing the Quality Label Approach

19:06 Supporting Training Across the ERA

25:13 From Development to Testing

29:05 Reflections

Inside Creative Europe – Helping Culture & Media Access EU Funding

With Nicoline Joy Haas and Lone Friboe Garde from Creative Europe Desk Denmark

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For episode #245, I travelled to the Danish Film Institute in Copenhagen, where Nicoline Joy Haas and Lone Friboe Garde joined me for an in-person recording inside one of the Institute’s cinemas.

Together, they introduce the two main corners they work with: Nicoline covers the Culture strand, spanning areas such as music, literature, performing arts, architecture, museums and cultural heritage, while Lone works with the MEDIA strand, covering the audiovisual industries including film, TV series and video games. #245 Culture and Creativity NCP… #245 Culture and Creativity NCP…

But the main focus is their work as a Creative Europe Desk. We look at how they help applicants identify relevant opportunities, qualify project ideas, understand calls, review applications, find international partners and navigate the particular language of EU funding. We also discuss what makes a strong Creative Europe proposal—including meaningful international collaboration, international potential, realistic project structures and strategies for reaching audiences.

Time codes:

00:00 En route and Arrival

05:26 Creative Europe Desk Denmark

13:52 Introducing Creative Europe

26:07 Supporting Danish Applicants

48:43 Developing a Strong Application

01:0010: Advice, reflections and the toughest challenge

Tidligere på året udsendte The Grant i samarbejde med Aalborg Universitets Missionssekretariat en podcastepisode som introducerede forskere og forskningsteams til missions-tilgangen. Nu er det blevet tid til en samtale om hvordan man effektmåler i den missionsdrevne forskningstilgang, når flere forskellige forskningsdiscipliner og samfundsaktører er involveret.

I episoden taler jeg med Maria Abel Nissen og Jacob Brix fra Aalborg Universitet om, hvad der gør effektmåling i missionsdrevet forskning anderledes end i et traditionelt forskningsprojekt. Samtalen tager udgangspunkt i, at en mission ikke kan vurderes alene på resultaterne fra de enkelte projekter. Effekten opstår i samspillet mellem projekter, forskningsmiljøer og de aktører uden for universitetet, som skal være med til at omsætte ny viden til konkrete forandringer.

Vi ser blandt andet på forskellen mellem teknologisk modenhed og samfundets evne til faktisk at optage og anvende nye løsninger. Her kommer begreber som Technology Readiness Level (TRL), Societal Readiness Level (SRL) og implementeringskraft i spil. Derefter går vi tættere på arbejdet med et impact framework: Hvordan kan man skabe en ramme, der forbinder missionens overordnede samfundsmål med porteføljer, projekter, aktiviteter, adfærdsændringer og den effekt, man i sidste ende ønsker at skabe?

Endelig diskuterer vi arbejdet med tippepunkter – de steder i en forandringsproces, hvor man begynder at kunne se, at noget reelt har flyttet sig – og hvad hele denne tilgang betyder for forskerne selv. For hvis effektmåling skal have værdi i en missionsdrevet tilgang, skal den ikke alene fungere som dokumentation og rapportering. Den skal også kunne bruges som et redskab til læring, prioritering og til at forstå, hvordan den enkelte forskningsindsats bidrager til en større samfundsmæssig forandring.

Tidskoder:

02:22 Gæsteintroduktion

05:52 Åbning: Hvorfor er det her spørgsmål vigtigt?

13:58 Hvad er særligt ved missionsdreven forskning?

24:02 Fra teknologi til samfund: TRL, SRL og implementeringskraft

30:59 Impact framework: Hvordan bygger man en ramme for at forstå effekt?

40:12 Tippepunkter: Hvornår kan vi se, at noget har flyttet sig?

51:05 Hvad betyder det for forskerne?

01:04:50 Afslutning: Hvad er næste skridt?

Adjusting the Course – When EU Projects Don’t Go to Plan

Implementation Series #17 with Antonietta Pizza from ENCO ConsultingSee how you can collaborate with The Grant

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Nothing goes exactly according to plan in a multi-year EU project. Activities are delayed, technical results differ from expectations, one work package becomes dependent on another, partners go quiet, or assumptions made during proposal writing simply turn out not to hold.

In episode #17 of the Implementation Series, I’m joined by Antonietta Pizza, Head of EU Projects Unit at ENCO Consulting, to look at how coordinators should respond when this happens. We discuss the difference between ordinary turbulence and a structural problem, why bilateral conversations with partners matter, how to keep the consortium aligned and why the project officer should hear about emerging problems early rather than receive surprises later.

We then move into adjusting the project itself: tasks, resources, budgets, formal amendments, documentation and the knock-on effects across the rest of the project. Antonietta also explains why a technically disappointing result does not necessarily mean that the work has no value—and why negotiations around money and budget reallocation can be the toughest challenge of all.

Time codes:

02:11 Guest introduction and fly in

05:56 Recognising That the Plan Is No Longer Working

19:02 Leading the Consortium Through Uncertainty

28:47 Adjusting the Project Without Losing the Project

45:04 When Failure Creates Better Results

53:57 Reflections and Advice

56:53 The toughest challenge

Inside the Proposal Deadline – Life at a Grant Consultancy
An in-person recording with Søren Houmøller, Maria Battistel and Tereza Marie-Jo Berk from 1st Mile

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What does a grant consultancy actually look like when several proposal deadlines are approaching at once?

For episode #243, I visit 1st Mile at DTU during a busy proposal period. Together with founder Søren Houmøller and team members Maria Battistel and Tereza Marie-Jo Berk, I look behind the scenes at how a small consultancy organises several applications in parallel: who manages the proposal, who writes what, how budgets and work plans are handled, how people move between teams, and what happens when something goes wrong close to submission.

But this episode is just as much about people as proposals. We talk about the relationships with clients, why team fit matters, how 1st Mile tries to create enough redundancy for colleagues to step in when needed, and why being able to say “no” early can be healthier than promising something you cannot deliver. Finally, Søren explains how he thinks about leadership, recovery after deadlines and building a workplace where intense periods do not become the permanent norm.

Time codes:

00:00 Arrival & Introduction

04:40 What's on the Table?

13:31 Building Proposals as a Team

33:32 When the Deadline Takes Over

52:20 Managing the People Behind the Proposals

01:03:24 After the Deadline

01:12:03 Goodbye

Testing the RM Framework – What the Pilots Taught Us
RM Framework Series #10 with Marcos Gomes

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In episode #10 of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined again by Marcos Gomes from the University of Coimbra to look at the first lessons from the project’s pilot-testing phase. Different training providers across Europe have been using the draft handbook, working with RM Comp and testing elements of the proposed quality label in real training environments. The purpose was simple: does the framework actually work outside the project consortium?

Marcos shares the patterns emerging from the feedback. The framework provides useful structure, but testers also asked for more practical examples, templates and guidance. And one message comes through particularly strongly: the goal is not to create one standard European training programme. It is to establish a shared foundation that different organisations can adapt to their own educational, institutional and national realities.

Time codes:

01:50 Guest introduction and fly in

05:24 How the Pilot Testing Was Done

09:15 What Did the Pilots Tell Us?

30:20 Reflections & Next Steps

From Idea to Market – Building Walk With Path with EU Funding
An in-person conversation with founder Lise Pape

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For episode #242, I travelled to Walk With Path’s Copenhagen office for an in-person conversation with founder Lise Pape. We start with the technology and the story behind it: a medtech journey influenced by Lise’s experience of her father’s Parkinson’s disease, followed by more than a decade of product development, clinical validation and work with users. Today, Walk With Path develops wearable technology including a connected sensor-based insole for mobility, gait analysis and diabetic foot care.

Then we follow the funding journey. Smaller grants eventually led to a €2.3 million SME Instrument project, and Walk With Path has since built experience across several European funding schemes and collaborative projects. Lise explains how a five-person company manages multiple funded projects alongside the commercial business, when external consultants make sense, how public support services can help, and why the long-term goal is increasingly to move from project funding towards commercial growth.

Time codes:

00:00 Arrival in Copenhagen

05:47 Guest introduction and fly in

08:22 The Company and the Story Behind

16:35 Experience with Funded Projects

39:12 Help and Support

44:40 What Have You Learned?

49:47 Future

52:33 Reflections and The Toughest Challenge