Preparing Preparing Preparing Preparing a succesfula succesfula succesfula succesfulproposal proposal proposal proposal

for FRACTALS for FRACTALS for FRACTALS for FRACTALS Open CallOpen CallOpen CallOpen CallGrigoris ChatzikostasGrigoris ChatzikostasGrigoris ChatzikostasGrigoris Chatzikostas

BioSense CenterBioSense CenterBioSense CenterBioSense Center

1Sofia, 11.12.2014.

Purpose of this Purpose of this Purpose of this Purpose of this presentationpresentationpresentationpresentation

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The actual idea, the

work, choice of

people, etc.

The document that

describes the idea, work,

people, etc.

General principles for the General principles for the General principles for the General principles for the proposalproposalproposalproposal

The required sections are explained in the Guide for Applicants for the call.

Generating a proposal is an iterative process.

Plan key points before you write the full text - this helps in providing the structure.

1. FIWARE Usage

2. Relevance with the Call

3. Market potential

Proposal structureProposal structureProposal structureProposal structure

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Part A

• Administrative

details

• Applicant

description and details

• Personnel

description

• Experience in

projects and FIWARE

Part B

• Summary

• Technical

excellence

• FIWARE usage

• Market readiness

Part C

Pitch - might be a

link (in case of video,

podcast) or a pdf (in

case of power point

presentation)

No longer

than 10 pages

No longer than

5 minutesNo longer

than 4 pages

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Part A – Administrative details and experience

Applicant description Applicant description Applicant description Applicant description

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Short description of

the legal entityWrite about its size

and activities

Include all relevant

information for the

project

ALL applicants have EQUAL

TREATMENT, regardless of

size, country of origin, etc.

StartUps are

particularly

welcome!

Applicant detailsApplicant detailsApplicant detailsApplicant details

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EligibilityMake sure you are eligible in terms of your SME or Web

entrepreneur status according to the Commission

Recommendation 2003/361/EC.

Financial

data

You need to provide precise information from your last

closed financial year about your headcount, annual turnover

and annual balance sheet.

Linked

company?

If you are linked or a partner to another enterprise make

sure you are taking in account their financial numbers

Note: These information will be checked during evaluation/contracting phase

Personnel descriptionPersonnel descriptionPersonnel descriptionPersonnel description

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Complementarity

Mr. X. is an expert in Business Management, with 8 years of

experience in leading roles. Ms. Y. is an expert in software

development with 9 years in X Company as a senior

software architect. Mr. Z is an agronomist with 5 years of

experience in technologies for horticultural crops.

Your team must be 3 to

5 persons

Write relevant

information

about all team

members

Given the nature of this Call you

should focus on their:

1) Professional experience in ICT,

entrepreneurship or Agrifood

2) Academic qualifications in ICT, Agriculture,

Business administration or relevant

Earlier projectsEarlier projectsEarlier projectsEarlier projects

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You may consider making a list of your past projects with their links

and relevant details, focusing on your role in the project

These information gives indication that you have experience to

accomplish this project, BUT first-time applicants are more than

welcome!

Write about your experience in EU funded or other projects (if any)

Experience in FIWAREExperience in FIWAREExperience in FIWAREExperience in FIWARE

When writing about experience, you should stress individual roles for example: coordinator, senior or junior stuff, relevant training in FIWARE

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Indicate (if any) experience in FIWARE of all or any of the team members

Previous experience in FIWARE is positive, but it is NOT a must. The call is open to ALL good teams, even if they are

going to be working on FIWARE for the very first time…

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Part B – Technical excellence

Background and conceptBackground and conceptBackground and conceptBackground and concept

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Is your concept relevant to the call?

This is a call for SOFTWARE solutions, we are NOT funding the development of hardware

ObjectivesObjectivesObjectivesObjectives

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What is the

project for?

What are

we doing in

the project?

Make sure your objectives are:

1) Clear

2) Coherent with the concept

3) Measurable

4) Achievable

5) Realistic

Measurable: Provide numbers!

We will reduce the use ofpesticides by 15%

We will increase farm profitability by 10%

We will develop an app for optimizing the use of pesticides

InnovationInnovationInnovationInnovation

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Do you know the

market and

already existing

solutions?Knowing the existing

solutions will help you

explain why yours is

going to be better.

Is your solution

totally new or

improvement

of an existing

solution?

Your project

idea

It is OK to deliver an improvement of an existing solution…

…just make sure you explain the improvements

Technical description Technical description Technical description Technical description

Consider making the work plan with work packages and tasks

Timetable should be achievable and realistic15

What work will be done?

How will the work will be organized?

How will it be reported and verified?

What are the risks that something goes wrong?

Organization of workOrganization of workOrganization of workOrganization of work

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Work

Package 1

Task 1.1

Task 1.n

...Work

Package 2

Task 2.1

Task 2.n

......

All work, including management, must be part of a work package.

Work packages do not usually exactly match the proposal objectives.

The work packages can be divided into tasks.

Deliverables listDeliverables listDeliverables listDeliverables list

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Normally each WP

should finish with a

deliverable. If it does

not, the reason should

be explained

For each work package

there should be

deliverables

Deliverables should

have meaning and

content

Deliverables are often

reports, but they can be

other items (prototype,

software, pilot, etc.)

No Deliverable Name/Description Type Delivery Date

1 R M01

2 …

If your project exceeds 5 months and you are planning an interim report please ensure that

you list an adequate number of deliverables that should be achieved during the first period.

Name 1-3 of these deliverables as “milestones” for the first reporting period

For the Type of deliverable use one of the following codes:

R: Document, report (excluding the periodic and

final reports)

DEM: Demonstrator, pilot, prototype, plan designs

DEC: Websites, patents filing, press & media actions,

videos, etc.

OTHER: Software, technical diagram, etc.

MilestonesMilestonesMilestonesMilestones

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GOAL

Milestones represent key

achievements in the

project as a whole

Together with deliverables

they help to assess whether

a project is on schedule

There should be a milestone when a

particular stage is complete, or a

target has been reached

There should be milestones in

each periods of the project, so

that reviews can be effective

BudgetBudgetBudgetBudget

RTD Dissemination Management

1. Personnel costs

2. Other direct costs (travel, equipment,

software, services, etc.)

3. Total direct costs (Sum of row 1 and 2)

4. Indirect costs 60% of direct costs 60% of direct costs 60% of direct costs

5. Total costs (Sum of row 3 and 4)

6. Requested EC contribution 75% 100% 100%

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Are your resources allocation and budget realistic?

Cost justificationCost justificationCost justificationCost justification

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Justify all your costs by filling in the following table

Budget JustificationPersonnel Cost (N° of man months / cost per man month)

Travel Cost Where? Why?

Equipment Cost What? Why?

Software & services What? Why?

Budget Justification

Personnel Cost 16 man months for development/ 2000€ each

Travel Cost Cherkovo – interaction with the end-user

Equipment Cost 2 sensors for app testing, 1500€

Software & services S-W lisence, 1500€

Risk managementRisk managementRisk managementRisk management

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All projects carry both

technical and

non-technical risks

• Research projects carry

particularly high risk

Risks may be

internal (problem

with the project)

or external

(change in outside

world, for example

a new technology).

Internal risks may

relate to one

WP or to

Interdependencies

Good risk management

• Be able to recognize the risks

• Assess how likely they

are to occur and

how severe their effect

would be

• Have a plan for dealing with it –

mitigation measures and a pivot

strategy

FIWARE usageFIWARE usageFIWARE usageFIWARE usage

How will the FIWARE technologies be used in your project?

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NO FIWARE=

NO FUNDING

ArchitectureArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture

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Use a diagram to explain architecture of your solution

Indicate all the GEs/SEs you are planning to use

FIWARE technologies to FIWARE technologies to FIWARE technologies to FIWARE technologies to be utilizedbe utilizedbe utilizedbe utilized

Are you using the most appropriate GEs/SEs for your

solution?

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Indicate all the GEs/SEs you are going to use

explaining how and why you are going to

use these particular technologies

How are you planning to integrate GEs/SEs

with the rest of the components of your

solution?

Do you have a plan for testing and validation

of your solution using the FIWARE Lab?

Target groupsTarget groupsTarget groupsTarget groups

Who is your target group?

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Why are you addressing your solution to them?

What are their needs?

Problem and solutionProblem and solutionProblem and solutionProblem and solution

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Are the improvements

measurable?

Does your solution solve the problem

or just provides some improvements?

How are you addressing

the problem?

Identify the problem you are aiming to solve

Is this problem significant

to the target group?

Economic and other (i.e. Economic and other (i.e. Economic and other (i.e. Economic and other (i.e. environmental, social) environmental, social) environmental, social) environmental, social) benefitsbenefitsbenefitsbenefits

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JustifiedQuantified

SubstantialBy increasing the quality of the product, we will enable farmers to sell their products with a 10% premium

Our solution will reduce the need for irrigation by 20%, thus saving valuable water resources

The app will directly connect farmers with end customers and will increase employment opportunities in rural areas

Validation from endValidation from endValidation from endValidation from end----usersusersusersusers

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Have you planned to engage end-users in validation?

Identify the measures, motives and procedures to engage end-users

Measures: bi-weekly communication with end-user to receive

feedback and suggestions

Motives: One free product license to the farmer that engages in

validation activities

Procedures: Communication will be handled through a Redmine

application, with provision of mockups and access to demos.

MarketMarketMarketMarket

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Have you done your research?

DO NOT write that there is no competition, explain why you are better

than competitors

• Market size

• Geographical coverage

• Do you know the market you are addressing?

• Who is your competition?

• Quantitative data

Sustainability planSustainability planSustainability planSustainability plan

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Positioning and unique selling points

Market penetration

strategy

Business and growth model

Estimation of your sales

BOTH achievable and

ambitious

• Business Model Canvas

• Talk with numbers

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Part C - Pitch

Prepare the pitchPrepare the pitchPrepare the pitchPrepare the pitch

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To craft a great pitch, follow these steps:

• Identify your goal.

• Explain what you do.

• Explain your project idea.

• Engage with a question.

• Put it all together.

• Practice.

Pitch might be sent as a link (in case of video, podcast) or a pdf (in case of power point presentation)

It should not be longer than 5 minutes

A few hints and tips for A few hints and tips for A few hints and tips for A few hints and tips for the pitch the pitch the pitch the pitch

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1. Keep it simple and non-technical, no complicated jargon or

scientific terms needed.

3. Focus on your solution and its benefits to the customer.

Demonstrate full confidence and show that you really know

what you are talking about.

2. This is a pitch towards an imaginary customer, not a pitch

towards an investor, so try to think like a salesman, NOT like a

CEO.

4. Show them the money. How much money can they make?

How much money can they save? Why should they buy?

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Some additional practical information

Formatting your proposalFormatting your proposalFormatting your proposalFormatting your proposal

The page size is A4, and all margins (top, bottom, left and right) should be at least 15 mm (not including any footers or headers)

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The minimum allowed font size is 11 points

The paragraph spacing 6pt and the line spacing single

Respect the length for the

sections. Excess contents

will not be evaluated!

EvaluatorsEvaluatorsEvaluatorsEvaluators

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For most

evaluators,

English is not

their first

language.

Evaluators are

human! They

can get bored,

tired, ill,

confused...

The proposal

must be easy

to follow,

even by a

non-expert.

It must be easy

for the evaluators

to find the key

points relevant to

the Call and to

the evaluation

criteria.

Evaluators

might not have

time to read

every word of

your proposal.

Respect the page limits Respect the page limits Respect the page limits Respect the page limits ––––Write only what is Write only what is Write only what is Write only what is essential!essential!essential!essential!

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Thank you for your Thank you for your Thank you for your Thank you for your attention!attention!attention!attention!

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http://fractals-fp7.com

administrative@fractals-fp7.comAbout eligibility, budget, proposal writing etc:

About FIWARE: tech@fractals-fp7.com