The Grant

Some time ago I noticed a nice post from a guy called Sean Jones that posted a video interview called Thought Leaders as part of the communication strategy of an EU project. It was quite different communication approach than I am used to so I reached out to Sean for an interview. It showed that Sean is an enthusiastic guy focused on doing communication and dissemination activities with a big focus on real values and not copy-paste approach as many they do. He has even formed his own NGO with exactly this focus. In other words, Sean has a big heart for this and it became a very nice talk with some sharp edges along the way towards back-spine practices.

We discuss the background for communication and dissemination and we dig into the tools the Sean is using in his NGO when they involve themselves in EU proposals and projects. There is a strong focus in this talk on starting to take these sections of the proposals serious and to get rid of automatic-reactions and copy-paste approaches when developing the input - both for proposal text and the proposed actions. 

This is a vital episode for people who are developing content for the communication, dissemination and exploitation parts of proposals with lots of tips and tricks how to make your proposal stand out as extraordinary.     

Founder and Director of the Israeli grants consultancy company Enspire – Yoram Bar-Zeev - asked if he could join the show and share his knowledge on how to fold out the research input for the Excellence section.

Of course he received a big YES from me and I am happy he reached out because this conversation became a very nice talk about how to develop the Excellence section from scratch and . The key focus in the talk is on what the evaluators are paying attention to, what you have a big influence on yourself when developing the text and how to sharpen the text and narrative.

This is a Timeline Series episode. I have reached to the Implementation section and have already shared with you all the guest episode with Georg Melzer-Venturi on the work package descriptions. We didn’t manage to cover the remaining part of the Implementation section 3 which mainly consists of a large handful of tables and diagrammes.

I have decided to make a solo episode on this. Mainly because I have dealt with this many times myself, but also because it is pretty straight forward. The tables and diagrammes are summing up on efforts, things to deliver to the EU Commission, timelines for the tasks and so on. In other words this is where you give the evaluators and the EU Commission the overview of the hard facts of your organisations. It can seem like a cacophony of templates and tables and indeed it is good to have a cool head when you attack this part of the proposal. Which is tricky, because most of it you can’t do before the very end. And in the very end few people have a calm head.

In this episode I run through all the elements of the Implementation section and give you all some tips, tricks and advice on how to deal with it especially towards the end of the proposal process where most of these need to be developed and filled in. 

I have now reached to the Implementation section 3. Or more precisely: Section 3 Quality and efficiency of the implementation. This is where you describe how you will actually in all practicality carry out the activities to reach the projects targets and it is also here you will have to share the organization between the work packages, detailed timeline and so on.

This is the second half of a double-episode on the Work Package descriptions. I have invited independent grants consultant, Georg Melzer-Venturi into the virtual podcast studio to share his views, experience, tips and tricks with you and me on this crucial part of the proposal and how to work with the partners. First half focused on preparation and structure. This second half focuses on the complexity of all the information that comes together in the Work Package descriptions, making sure that the descriptions reflects what is in the Excellence and Impact sections and how to deal with structuring your effort and proposal management.

Of course, the episode contains plenty of good advices, tips and tricks on how deal with the complexity, cacophony of information and how to structure your approach as a proposal developer.

Recently I have been running through the actual proposal sections, bit by bit, and have now reached to the Implementation section 3. Or more precisely: Section 3 Quality and efficiency of the implementation. This is where you describe how you will actually in all practicality carry out the activities to reach the projects targets and it is also here you will have to share the organization between the work packages, detailed timeline and so on.

This is one of the proposals sections I have been doing on a regular basis, but to make sure I get critical mass in these crucial episodes I have invited independent grants consultant, Georg Melzer-Venturi into the virtual podcast studio to share his views, experience, tips and tricks with you and me.

In this episode we focus on the Work Package descriptions. It became a long talk and hence I have divided it into two parts. In this first part we discuss how to prepare the work developing the Work Package descriptions together with the partners and we move into the structure of the descriptions and what should be included.

The episode contains plenty of good advices, tips and tricks on how to work with your partners in the brainstorm phase and how to attack the descriptions. 

In this episode I am exploring the idea development for EIC Accelerator proposals. Through LinkedIn I got in contact with Sandra Anic who is a Business development manager in the Croation grants consultancy company Aestus Consulting.

In this exchange Sandra shares with me how to unfold the technology concept that you have developed into a full proposal concept. How to understand lab test concept, how to fold out a strong business model and market analysis and what tools you can use for this. Especially the canvas tool is presented and discussed. In short, we discuss how to calibrate the technology idea into the EU Commissions frame of EIC Accelerator.

The episodes especially offers advice for grants consultants on how to work with the clients' starting point and input and it gives advices how to approach the different core proposal parts. However, all people working on EIC Accelerator proposals will get something out of this, as well as people working with Horizon Europe Pillar II proposals.

This summer I released an episode focusing on the hardships of writing proposals over the summer and on the deadline structure in Horizon Europe. It is one the most popular episodes and many people got back to me afterwards thanking me for picking up the subject.

Briefly after I picked up a LinkedIn post by the Cypriotic grants consultancy company GrantXperts that flagged that they were running a 4-day working week over summer. 

Therefore I invited Head of Erasmus Unit Christina Achilleos from GrantXperts into the virtual podcast studio for a talk about how they managed to scale down on working days and give their employees a break in what is one of the most difficult periods as a grants writer. 

This episode has insights into alternative ways to arrange and manage working hours for employees within this highly resource-intensive sector of grants consultancy.   

The Grant has finally reached the university world. Under the label The Grant Campus I will also cover this crucial area as I move on.

First episode zooms in on the Brussels Office of the Norwegian University for Science and Technology. Many universities throughout Europe have chosen to establish an office in Brussels to get closer to the EU R&D eco-system both decision-makers, influencers and collaboration partners of strategic importance for the university faculties.

I have invited Head of NTNU Brussels Office Massimo Busuoli into the virtual podcast studio to share with us the why NTNU established an office in Brussels, how they use the representation strategically, what the university gets out of it and finally – and not least – the crucial question of how they efficiently coordinate work with more than 1000 kilometers apart and secure a strong connection to all corners of a big university.

The episode has been divided into two and in this second half we have a talk about how their office work practically, learn about the key role the Brussels office has in NTNUs strategic lobby activities and shed light on how it helps the university in getting into a bunch of flagship Horizon Europe proposals with just the right consortia.

The episode offers advice on how to strategically and practically approach running a Brussels liaison office and how to get the most out of your lobby efforts towards Horizon Europe work programmes and at the same time benefit on joining concrete top-ranging proposals.

The Grant has finally reached the university world. Under the label The Grant Campus I will also cover this crucial area as I move on. 

First episode zooms in on the Brussels Office of the Norwegian University for Science and Technology. Many universities throughout Europe have chosen to establish an office in Brussels to get closer to the EU R&D eco-system both decision-makers, influencers and collaboration partners of strategic importance for the university faculties.

I have invited Head of NTNU Brussels Office Massimo Busuoli into the virtual podcast studio to share with us the why NTNU established an office in Brussels, how they use the representation strategically, what the university gets out of it and finally – and not least – the crucial question of how they efficiently coordinate work with more than 1000 kilometers apart and secure a strong connection to all corners of a big university.

The episode has been divided into two and in this first half we focus on how to secure a strong connection back home with a vibrant collaboration and achieving important results when the physical distance between the liaison office and the university is more than a 1000 kilometers.

The episode offers advice on how to strategically and practically approach running a Brussels liaison office and securing a strong organisational connection between the two entities. 

I have reached to the actual proposal writing and now it is time to dig into the Impact section. I am now looking at chapter 2.2 Measures to maximize impact. This is where you describe how you will spread your results, communicate to different segments about your great project and exploit the results for the benefit of your organization, the sector and society.

I have invited Director of Europa Media, Gabriella Lovasz onboard sharing her career-long experience working with exactly this for clients – communication, dissemination and exploitation. Both in writing proposals and implementing. Further, Europa Media is one of the leading providers of trainings and courses on EU R&D funding.

In this second episode we reflect and discuss how to best structure the input for the section when putting pen to paper and how to get the best out of the partners that often find it hard to deal with this specific - but crucial – chapter. The episode has lots of tips, tricks and hacks for proposal writers on how to make this sectio tiptop. 

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