Self-evaluation of project concepts for application in Horizon 2020 Dr. Thies Wittig

We just heard what you should and should not do to prepare a winning proposal. We also got a good impression of the Evaluation Criteria that will be applied to your proposal. So what can you do to be sure that it will win ? The main point is to get organised ! You will deal with a lot of information (documents, emails, phone calls, …), quietly and relaxed at the beginning and very hectic close to the deadline.

1. Get yourself organised Create a Project Environment Folder Ddownload and copy relevant policies, work programs, reference documents, market/industry analysis, research results, national strategies and other relevant non-state initiatives important for your project idea Create a Project Development document Create a development document for your project using Application form, GFA, Evaluation criteria and paragraphs, sentences and words from the reference documents.

The Project Environment Folder - PEF The PEF is an effective tool for Research and Analysis to manage the large amount of necessary information! Download into PEF all relevant documents (and share them): Policy level: EU Policies, strategies, action plans.. EU Funding Programme level: work programmes, action plans, guidelines, FAQ ... Project level: market/industry analysis, Research papers, publications, project models.. Regional National and Local level (if relevant) ..

… for example

The Project Development Document Create a Development document for your project Use the project Application Form (Part B) as template GFA – Guidelines for applicants Add evaluation criteria where it’s appropriate And copy expected impact / outcomes During the proposal preparation this document will develop into the final Part B of the proposal.

Add the Evaluation Criteria

Copy the Expected Impact and answer Experimental capability at European level that covers a variety of networking technology areas and allows tens of experiments to be run on top of them each year. The proposed project will achieve this impact because … A reliable, diversified infrastructure of approximately ten world-class experimental facilities and platforms, covering different aspects of advanced networking and applications. The proposed project will develop an infrastructure with 12 experimental facilities … Potential to experiment without the constraints of the physical location or access to a specific experimental facility. Our infrastructure …. Development of common architectures across the various prototypes and experiments across a variety of settings and/or application areas. .

Choose the right instrument for your idea ! Rule no. 1 Choose the right instrument for your idea ! Research Action - RA Research and Innovation Action – RIA Coordination and Support Action – CSA

Work programme example: ICT 11 – 2014: FIRE+ (Future Internet Research & Experimentation) Specific Challenge: Experimentally-driven research and innovation … Scope: a. Research & Innovation Actions: proposals are expected to cover one or more.. b. Innovation Actions: Proposals for a collaborative project that would identify, evaluate ... c. Coordination and Support Actions: proposals are expected to cover Types of action: a. Research & Innovation Actions: Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected b. Innovation Action: Proposals requesting a Large contribution are expected c. Coordination and Support Actions

Rule no. 2 Remember that every half-mark will count ! Think of the finishing touches which signal quality work: in presentation clear language well-organised contents no typos, no inconsistencies, no obvious paste-ins, no numbers which don’t add up, no missing pages …….. in content ethical issues gender issues

Rule no. 3 You are going to need consistently high marks on all criteria ! 1. Make it easy for the evaluators to give you high marks. Don’t make them work at it ! Don’t write too little; cover what is requested Don’t write too much Don’t leave them to figure out why it’s good, tell them why it’s good Leave nothing to the imagination 2. Divide your effort over the evaluation criteria 3. And never fill a Part B section with hot air instead of content

Rule no. 4 Use the Guidance notes for evaluators ! Give the Guidance notes and your draft proposal to experienced colleagues Then re-write your proposal following their recommendations

Rule no. 5 Make sure your Project Workplan reflects the promises you make in the rest of Part B ! For example: Strong impact implies an important dissemination effort S&T excellence implies an adequate and well-organised research effort Good consortium management implies clear Workpackage leadership

Use all the help you can get - don’t wait till it’s too late) ! Rule no. 6 Use all the help you can get - don’t wait till it’s too late) ! Commission contact person for each objective open in a call A help desk for proposers questions A help desk for electronic submission problems

Fatal Mistakes No respect for instructions. Be intelligent in implementing the instructions. Every word of the policy document has a meaning. The text of different parts of a proposal is not consistent so evaluators get confused Lack of understanding of Evaluation criteria (objective vs subjective) Poor needs analysis and description of the starting point (stakeholders, problems, target groups, state-of-the-art, markets, etc) Small relevance for the call objectives Insufficient detail given of planned activities as evidence to convince evaluators of impact Poor impact analysis

Key factors for success in project development Educate evaluators in simple and easy to understand language using references from background documentation; Answer evaluators’ questions and make sure you understand assessment criteria before you start writing; Provide ‘just enough’ details needs analysis, activity description and impact analysis; Provide measurable evidence of your claims from credible info sources; Present information in the best format for the readers to understand it. Make sure to respect the Causality principle: interconnect why – what – how – etc.