The Grant

For many many years there has been an imbalance between all the funding for projects and efforts carried out in these projects versus the actual utilization of the project results after the projects end. The EU Commission has over many years tried to deal with this fundamental and critical imbalance in the whole funding-based system.

I therefore invited Catherine into the virtual podcast studio for a talk about her article and about this paradox that has been prevailing for decades in the EU funding system – lots of funding, but many results never being used. But also on all the things that the EU Commission has actively done to overcome the paradox.

Digging into specific sectors and how they work with EU funding is also part of what I intent to unfold in this podcast. It is through examples from the stakeholders out there that the importance of EU funding really becomes clear.

The Technological Platform of Wine (or PTV) from Spain is an association that facilitates innovation and development for the wine producing sector in Spain. The organisation has in recent years started to engage itself and its members in regionally funded and EU funded projects. The sector is, like agriculture in general, facing many challenges due to climate change and to a growing push for circularity and sustainability in its agricultural praxises.

I invited Andrea Casquete Bureba, Project Manager at Technological Platform of Wine (PTV), into the virtual podcast studio for a talk about the innovation challenges of the wine sector, how PTV helps its members and how they are using the EU funded projects to help solving these challenges.

A wonderful talk that gives similar organisations an idea of how to approach EU funding, which strategies to follow and how to involve members and stakeholders in proposals, projects and lobbying.

The Horizon Europe framework programme for R&D funding is a bush with many flowers. I have troughout the last year built up content on particular Horizon Europe Pillar II which is focused on collaboration projects solving socio-economic challenges. Now it is time to have a look at one of the other flowers in the bush: The ERC programme for researchers.

The programme is THE most important funding programme for the research community broadly speaking. It has a quite different structure and characteristic than the Pillar II part of Horizon Europe. Focus is here to support the individual researchers with the in-depth investigation of their research area giving them the resources that all researchers per se is needing to go ever further into unveiling yet unknown revelations to advance European research in all corners. Added to this, the ERC is a bottom-up programme with no strategic calls.

I have never worked with this funding scheme so to get it right I invited in Yoram Bar-Zeev, Managing Director of Enspire Science, into the virtual podcast studio to give us all a thorough introduction to this fundamental funding source for the European research community.

In this second half we are digging deeply into the evaluation regime of the ERC programme and Yoram shares how you should approach the different implicit and explicit evaluation criteria. And of course Yoram gives us an overview of the main pitfalls that most stumble down in when preparing proposals for ERC.

The Horizon Europe framework programme for R&D funding is a bush with many flowers. I have troughout the last year built up content on particular Horizon Europe Pillar II which is focused on collaboration projects solving socio-economic challenges. Now it is time to have a look at one of the other flowers in the bush: The ERC programme for researchers.

The programme is THE most important funding programme for the research community broadly speaking. It has a quite different structure and characteristic than the Pillar II part of Horizon Europe. Focus is here to support the individual researchers with the in-depth investigation of their research area giving them the resources that all researchers per se is needing to go ever further into unveiling yet unknown revelations to advance European research in all corners. Added to this, the ERC is a bottom-up programme with no strategic calls.

I have never worked with this funding scheme so to get it right I invited in Yoram Bar-Zeev, Managing Director of Enspire Science, into the virtual podcast studio to give us all a thorough introduction to this fundamental funding source for the European research community.

Lately the Erasmus+ programme has opened up to me. I have gained nice contacts that work with the programme regularly and through them of course I am becoming aware of the large dedicated community working with this funding scheme. So, I decided to open up The Grant for this area and start giving the stakeholders a voice.

The gender aspect in the EU R&D framework programmes has long lived a life as sections of the R&D proposals that was not really taken serious. Standard generic 10-lines paragraphs, rolling eyes, frowns and in general being ridiculed as absolutely irrelevant. Those times are slowly fading away. The EU Commission keeps pushing for real gender-related reflections and input both in specific sections and organically in for example the Excellence section. And the Commission has here shown itself a head of time. Most people acknowledges - at least – that it is a subject you need to have an opinion about as a consortium. And if not, you wont be in that last 5% toptier that brings you the funding. It is that simple. The barrier has moved.

In the beginning of the year ChatGPT blew to world away – and continues to do so. The level of complexity of the feedback from ChatGPT made it clear for all that here we are dealing with a ground-breaking technology that will have a major impact on development of society. Very quickly after the launch of ChatGPT the number of posts on the impact on grants proposal writing exploded In my LinkedIn feed. Because indeed this technology will have a huge impact on the proposa-based funding system and whoever is employed and involved in it. A couple of my LinkedIn contacts started digging into the technology, shared their findings and discussed the implications for the whole system.

I have slowly moved into including other funding schemes than Horizon Europe. The Grant is thought to cover broadly the main European funding schemes. Not long ago I had a double-episode presenting an Erasmus+ project, so the natural step for me was move to Erasmus+ next. Therefore, this episode is an introduction to the Erasmus+ programme. Or Erasmus+ the EU programme for education, training, youth and sports as it is officially named.

I have little experience with this funding scheme. So I have invited one of my good old contacts Ulla-Alexandra Mattl, Project director at the consultancy company Eurakom and external evaluator, into the virtual podcast studio to guide me through the Erasmus+ programme. Making a solid introduction to a funding scheme takes a little time, so this became a double episode. In this second half we will go through How to apply, Evaluation, What happens when funding is received and Do's and don't's. Excellent for any Erasmus+ applicant or would-be applicant.

I have slowly moved into including other funding schemes than Horizon Europe. The Grant is thought to cover broadly the main European funding schemes. Not long ago I had a double-episode presenting an Erasmus+ project, so the natural step for me was move to Erasmus+ next. Therefore, this episode is an introduction to the Erasmus+ programme. Or Erasmus+ the EU programme for education, training, youth and sports as it is officially named.

I have little experience with this funding scheme. So I have invited one of my good old contacts Ulla-Alexandra Mattl, Project director at the consultancy company Eurakom and external evaluator, into the virtual podcast studio to guide me through the Erasmus+ programme. Making a solid introduction to a funding scheme takes a little time, so this became a double episode. In this first half we start off looking at the EUs purpose with the funding scheme, the structure of the programme and the target groups. Excellent for any Erasmus+ applicant or would-be applicant.