Submitting a strong application Anthony Vickers

In summary Reading and understanding the call. The stages of preparing an application. Good things to have!

Reading and understanding the call Do not read the call with the aim to make it fit! Read the call with Commission eyes! Read the call with an Evaluators eyes

The stages of preparing an application (1) An academic identifies a project they want to do either by inspiration or in discussion with other potential partners. The project should fit to the current requirements within the current Tempus call. In particular it should be RELEVANT.

The stages of preparing an application (2) The academic (to be coordinator) converts an early idea into a written statement of the project in no more than 2 or 3 pages. This provides a clear focus document for all potential partners.

The stages of preparing an application (3) The academic needs to gain Institutional ownership for the idea. If their own Institution does not think it fits into their vision the project will struggle. It is quite easy as an assessor to spot lack of Institutional support. This goes for all partners.

The stages of preparing an application (4) Once the coordinators has Institutional approval he/she needs to start the process of mapping the project onto Workpackages. This mapping may determine to some extent the project partners. It is also useful at this stage to have a clear idea of the measurable project deliverables against each WP. Write the LFM. This can take time but will be the guiding document for the project.

The stages of preparing an application (5) Given the overall budget the coordinator needs to start thinking about how the budget should be spread across the WPs, even if this is just an outline. Early misunderstanding about budgets can cause delays and potentially flawed applications. Make sure you or someone in the team understands the budget rules.

The stages of preparing an application (6) The coordinator needs to identify the project partners and which WPs each partner will manage and/or contribute to. It is critical to identify partners that have the competency to undertake the management of the WP assigned to them. All the partners must provide an early statement that they have Institutional approval for the project.

The stages of preparing an application (7) If you have followed the preceding steps, completing the application form should be enjoyable. You will know your project! Mainly take input in from partners but keep the authors down to one or two. You need to show coherence. This can be lost with multiple authors. Always keep the evaluation in mind. Evaluators are trying to fund a project not reject it. They are required to score against each attribute.

Good things to have! Make sure you have clear management structures and decision making arrangements. Ideally the project should have someone who is the idea pusher and someone who can take care of project management.