The Grant

The consortium agreement is one of the first things you need to deal with when you receive the best email in the world from the EU Commission announcing that your proposal has been granted funding.

Here in the second episode in The Implementation Series The Grant zooms in on how what on earth the consortium agreement actually is and how to approach the development of it.

I have again aligned myself with the great capacity independent consultant Georg Melzer-Venturi, who has done consortium agreements a lot of times. He takes us through the important steps in the process and shares tips, tricks, do’s and don’t’s from his many years of experience.

This episode contains an endless amount of crucial tips and heads-up’s for both professionals who will ever be coordinating a project and professionals that have done it already.

Episode page

Time codes:

00:01:41 Introduction

00:03:25 Fly in on consortium agreement

00:06:35 Sections of the consortium agreement

00:16:13 Process explained

00:37:49 The IPR issue

00:52:33 Connection with overall project process

00:59:16 Do's & don't's

01:03:44 The toughest challenge

Test and demonstration facilities plays a vital role in the green transition of our society. Simply because before new technical solutions and innovation processes can be implemented in production and industry there is a need to understand in a safe isolated environment how they function in real life.

The EU Commission funds a lot of research and innovation projects that pushes the boundaries of technologies which means that test activities are needed in the last steps of the development processes.

The Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant is such a facility. The test plant is specialized – as the company name suggests – within the bio-based and circular sectors. Hence, the facility plays a key role on testing and demonstrating a lot of the ground-breaking solutions within the food and agricultural sectors and in developing sustainable production methods to remove chemicals and other harmful ingredients from our daily life.

I invited European Project Manager, Tanja Meyer, from the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant into the virtual podcast studio for a talk about what they are doing at the plant and how they are working practically and strategically with EU funding. Follow the time codes in the episode notes if you want to skip the bio-based conversation and go directly to the EU funding conversation.

Time codes:

00:02:02 Introduction

00:03:57 Fly in on the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant

00:05:52 The organisation in a nutshell

00:22:33 The services and the functions

00:44:38 Test facilities and EU funding

01:19:18 Practical examples

01:22:46 Future perspectives

01:24:35 The toughest challenge

This podcast episode is part of a collaboration between Enspire Science and The Grant.

Creating a strong narrative for your EU project can be quite a challenge. The ERC funding scheme targeted towards research is one of the most popular funding schemes for the European research community and, hence, it is also challenging to get the funding. In other words, to stand out against other proposals it is vital to create a strong narrative around your research idea.

Marianna Rutin is a Life Science Consultant at Enspire Science. Especially the life science area is fitting the ERC programme and therefore she has a lot of experience in creating captivating and solid narratives for proposals towards this funding scheme. In this great podcast episode she shares with you and me the key elements to be aware of in order to create a strong narrative – whether you already have a project idea or would like to shape one from your research.

Time codes:

00:01:49 Introduction

00:08:09 Fly in on ERC

00:12:15 Starting point

00:55:22 What elements should it include

01:14:20 Visual effects

01:22:34 Advice

We are halfway through the Horizon Europe framework programme period and slowly the game is on for the next framework programme – labelled FP10. Over the last months governments and stakeholder interest organisations have been releasing their position papers as they are called. In other words, ‘this is how we would like the future funding landscape to look like’

This process naturally attracts a lot of attention, because the Framework Programme has reached a level importance and magnitude which means it receives prime attention from governments across the continent. Why? Because the level of external funding coming from EU can be of significant positive difference or any country’s research and innovation areas of strategic importance.

I invited one of my most dedicated contacts to this discussion, Science Journalist Thomas Brent from ScienceBusiness, into the virtual podcast studio for a talk about the status of what’s going on with the FP10 process and to take us all through what happens from now towards settling the new framework programme.

This episode gives you what many of you are craving right now: a view into what on earth is going on!

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Time codes:

00:01:58 Introduction

00:09:02 Fly in on the Framework Programme

00:14:51 Insigths on FP10 process

00:25:09 Rundown on how FP10 is made

00:46:00 Indicative thematics

00:57:09 Current discussions on FP10

01:17:11 How to have your say

01:22:47 The toughest challenge

Last year one of the close collaboration partners of the organisation I work for, invited us into an Erasmus+ proposal. Regulars will know that I normally hesitate due to the intense work pressure of proposal preparation, but here the effort from our side was minimal and the focus of the proposal fitted hand-in-glove with our core missions. Hence, we accepted to join.

Luckily, it was a well-conducted proposal and a strong coordinator which without doubt was a key reason for the proposal to be funded – together with a strong project concept, naturally.

The project is now running and for the Kick Off meeting in Hamburg in the beginning of April 2024. I decided to bring my recording kit for the occasion that a opportunity would pop up for doing an episode. And of course it did.

Representatives from the coordinator organisation, Hanse-Parlament, President Max Hogeforster and Project Manager Anna Maria Czarny agreed to record an episode introducing the project and then zooming in on the kick off meeting, the function of a kick off meeting and how they have planned this one.

So, welcome to my very first face-to-recording. The sound is a little different, so bear with me.

Episode site

Time codes:

00:01:56 Introduction

00:04:40 The WIN4SMES project in a nutshell

00:14:54 The COVE concept

00:21:24 Kick Off meeting considerations

00:35:17 Next steps

The one thing that has the potential to fundamentally change the area of EU R&D funding for good is the development of Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT broke through a year and a half ago and the development of this technology and available services – free as well as paid – are going at the speed of light.

In The Grant editor’s office I am of course following this closely. So, I have decided to make an AI series where I dig into this in more detail. And of course I do this with some of the sharpest professionals on the topic: independent consultant and AI-Chat-guru Kristjan Zemljic and Senior Consultant and very pro-active AI-Chat-user Rita Gil Mata.

In this third episode I discuss and reflect with my two distinguished guests on the more philosophical and ethical aspects versus the practical use of the new tools. An important part of this whole process that we are all going through with these tools developing at such a quick pace. A wonderful conversation.

Episode page

Time codes:

00:01:47 Introduction

00:04:16 How to percieve the tools and what they bring

00:24:42 How to establish limits

00:32:17 Critical partners and clients towards LLMs

00:45:17 Ethical considerations

00:46:52 Reflections on the position of the EU Commission

00:54:32 Recommendations on what to be aware of

This podcast episode is part of a collaboration between Enspire Science and The Grant.

The introduction of the lump sum budget principle in Horizon Europe is one of the biggest changes in the EU framework programme for research and development for a decade. The principle has been introduced to secure more simplicity and less bureaucracy in the project implementation. In short, the principle secures more freedom in how to spend the allocated funding and less demanding financial reporting practices.

However, the devil is - as we all know - in the detail and some of the regulation in relation to the lump sum principle might create some unforeseen challenges both for the beneficiaries and the funding administrators in the European Commission.

Managing Director in Enspire Science Yoram Bar-Zeev is an expert in financial principles of the framework programmes. We teamed up for him to share with you and me the main principles of the lump sum approach and sharing some reflections on the positive elements and the implications we might run into.

Episode page

Time codes:

00:01:58 Introduction

00:05:07 Fly in on Lump sum

00:27:50 Business as usual

00:32:59 How does it work?

01:14:34 News and updates

The National Contact Point institution is probably the most important support function in connection with EU funding schemes. It provides free local support and advice in all countries connected to the EU Framework Programme for Research and Development.

With the big enlargement in 2004 lifting EU to be a fully European Union marking the practical end of The Cold War, a large number of countries had to get acquainted with the practices of the European Union including the EU R&D funding schemes, building the NCP functions and getting beneficiaries accustomed to these new possibilities. A huge task.

Fast forward 20 years and all these countries have done an extraordinary work. Many now en par with the old member states. I decided to invite representatives from one of them – Poland – into the virtual podcast studio to enlighten you and me on their successful path, how Poland has organized its EU R&D support structures and the division of labour between their Brussels R&D liaison office and the NCP department in Warsaw.

This episode offers inspiration for other countries on how to strategically structure the EU R&D support and influencing activities towards the programme committees.

Episode page

Time codes:

00:02:04 Introduction

00:08:54 Fly in on Poland and Horizon Europe

00:24:39 A little bit of history

00:32:26 In Warsaw

00:50:05 In Brussels

01:14:38 Effects

01:27:04 The toughest challenge

There are lots of possibilities for municipalities and local public authorities in the EU funding system to attract external funding for local initiatives and activities. However, many municipalities shy away from getting engaged and getting involved.

And it’s not like you can’t understand why: the system seems immense to dig into, the rules are different and often more complex from national funding schemes and human resources in the municipalities are often overburdened with core activities.

Nonetheless, there are a wonderful world of opportunities at the other side for the municipalities that invest in building up knowledge and capacities on working with EU funding schemes.

One of the core stakeholders I support in my daytime job is Vejle Municipality – a municipality at the shores of Southeast Denmark. Over the last 6-7 years their business support unit has built up capacities and experience attracting EU funding to ram up impact of their activities supporting local SMEs and industry.

I invited Business Consultant Maibrit Lajgaard Pedersen into the virtual podcast studio to carve out why they do it and how they do it. It became a wonderful conversation about conditions and approaches for municipalities within the field of EU funding. A must-listen for all municipality stakeholders to get insights on how this work and how you can get started.

www.thegrant.eu/112

Episode site

Time codes:

00:02:10 Introduction

00:04:40 Fly in

00:14:44 Vejle Municipality and EU funding

00:32:11 Organisation

00:55:10 Finding proposals

00:57:23 Implementation

01:05:12 Challenges for public organisations in EU funding

01:10:26 The toughest challenge

It is time to finally make a continuation series that follows up on The Timeline Series. The Timeline Series breaks down the proposal preparation process into every single step towards submitting an EU R&D funding proposal. Now, it is time to look at what happens after submission.

Welcome to The Implementation Series where I together with guests will zoom in on all aspects and elements of the process of implementing an EU funded project. And following the same method I start from the beginning: the contract negotiations.

I have allied myself with Georg Melzer-Venturi – old friend of The Grant house – who has done lots of contract negotiations in his career. So, we have a look at the pre-preparations for the negotiations, preparations, the negotiations themselves and then we have a talk about the exchange with the EU Commission and the importance of building a solid trustful collaboration at the earliest stage. This will be a great series!

Episode page

Time codes:

00:01:48 Introduction

00:05:52 When you get the message

00:11:32 GAP pre-preparations

00:32:57 GAP preparations

00:38:17 The negotiations themselves

00:49:42 Post-negotiations

01:02:52 Communication with the Commission

01:09:05 Coordinating the consortium

01:16:33 Learnings, do's and don't's

01:19:17 The toughest challenge