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How to write a successfulEU funded project proposal?
Fred de Vries
Brussels 21 April 2004
Seminar Networking eLearning Practitioners
Overview
• What is a good proposal?
• How is a proposal assessed?
• Filling the forms
• Relevant sections of the proposal
• Do’s and Don’t
• Short break for lunch
• Discussion & Questions
What is a good proposal?
• Novel & innovative idea in your context
• Relevant for you and your partners
• Relevant under the EU Call
• Clear, Complete & Concise in writing
• Following the Call guidelines
How is a proposal assessed?
• all proposals are registered; countries, organisations ,language of submitted text
• eligibility check (see call text)
• each proposal is evaluated by 2 independent experts
• panel meeting with in-depth discussion of best proposals
• commission selects projects for funding
Filling your forms
• Respect the guidelines– Your proposal may otherwise be ineligible– Example: project budget / funding percentage– Example: countries involved
• Running text, work plan and budget should match in activities, hours, expenses
• Sometime tedious for you, but doing it right definitely helps
Your proposal as a whole
• Is the proposed idea interesting as such
• Is it novel? crisp?
• Innovative? Common practise in adult education can be truly innovative in primary education
• Are target groups seriously involved? Project for SME’s without SME’s involved?
Some questions for you
• Who has proposed projects for EU funding before?
• Success? Nil - 1 out of 4 - 1 out of 2 - allNil - 1 out of 4 - 1 out of 2 - all
• Why was your proposal NOT ACCEPTED?
• Why was your proposal ACCEPTED
Relevant sections of the proposal
1. European added value
2. Relevance
3. Methodology
4. State-of-the-Art & Innovation
5. Validation
6. Transfer, dissemination, exploitation
7. Cultural dimensions
8. Work plan
9. Distribution of effort, use of resources, value for money
1. European added value
• Added value , means that it is new nationally/regionally + European Union
• Transfer of experience and knowledge
• Generalizing results
• Explain why you bother asking for community funding. Only money? Or networking? Cooperating? …
2. Relevance
• Activities and product should be relevant to the objectives of the Call
• Activities and product should be relevant to the subject area chosen
• Not be contrary to the EU policies
• Many times “wheels are reinvented”
3. Methodology
• Strategy for achieving the objectives should be clear and appropriate
• Many times one reads proposals in which this is very loosely organised
• Many times activities are not coherent, not explained, Products show up out of the blue.
4. State-of-the-Art & Innovation
• Innovative is a broad concept, but just stating that you are innovative is not enough, explain in your context for your target groups
• State of the art is often neglected, while you can back up your proposal by relevant references; literature, hyperlinks, standards and methods.
5. Validation
• Actually check the results with the original objectives…
• This validation activities are mostly neglected. Many times is the formative / summative evaluation not independent
• No results is also a result, which can help new project prevent falling in pitfalls.
Transfer Dissemination exploitation
• Promotion, dissemination of results
• Many opportunities here:– Transfer to other regions, organisations– Translate & localize– Incorporate the results in existing
organisations and networks
• Mostly product oriented and not process oriented
Transfer Dissemination exploitation
• Do an effort in making the results taken up by users at the end of the project
• Be clear on making the products / results available (for money, for free, limited groups, licensed, can make changes)
• The mistake made most is concentrating on means to disseminate instead of explaining a vision or strategy
7. Cultural dimension
• European culture … different languages
• Intercultural dialogue
• If not applicable, do not fantasize
• If applicable, maximize on it to promote your project
8. Work plan
• Detailed enough?
• Realistic (relation objectives & means)
• Deliverables (what, when, for whom)
• Budgets often overrated (too much travelling, generic computer equipment)
• Plans are kept vague in many cases
9. Effort, resources, Value for M
• Divide the work among the partners
• Let partners contribute on their actual strong sides, no use for artificial partners
• Realistic planning and budget; it is easy to overestimate
Do’s & Don’t’s
• Copy text from EU Call
• Make lists of the tools you use + choosing one in a later stage
• Design your own Electronic learning environment from scratch
• Explain in your own words the relevance
• Describe what you are going to do with the tools (scenario’s)
• (Re)use already available systems + add essential non existing functionality
Do’s & Don’t’s
• Send in the forms without checking it by someone not involved
• Cover up that you want to prolong an existing project by a new fund
• Be vague about your intentions and the results of the project
• Be open for constructive criticism from colleagues
• Build on the results of other project(s) taking in account existing products and results
• Be precise and explicit about the project
Embarrassment check!
• Make an electronic copy of your proposal
• Remove EU funding and references
• Send it to a relevant Higher Manager with the request for supporting and funding!
• Would you dare to do so? YES NOYES NO
• If yes, send the proposal to Brussels
• If no, consider revising or withdrawing
Conclusions
• Is it difficult to have a successful Project proposal?
Break for lunch
• Discussion
• Work out a project idea for example for eLearning Call
• Present idea’s and look for partners
Formulate a proposal idea?
• Explain the idea in half a page?– Is it a novel idea in itself?– Does it address an eLearning action line?
• Then, who else do you need in Europe
• Which specific target groups does the project address
• What are the results of the project?
Present your idea for a project
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