Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 1 Writing successful proposals Pro_NMS workshop Michael Huch VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH ph:

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 2 Why you shall participate in the Framework Programme  Internationalisation – getting to know highly specialised partners from throughout Europe; eventually not merely partners for technological co-operation  EC research has a high reputation; once in, market it!  Substantial funding, e.g. to realise internal research objectives

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 3 Obstacles  Top-down approach: pre-defined topics  It´s hard to get through - Relatively low success rate - Varying, but usually high efforts for each application  Bureaucracy – lots of paperwork  Long time span from the idea to the project start: - Topics must be called for  Tentative long-term orientated research, i.e. long time-to-market period  Project's heavily depend on the commitment of the partners

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 4 Structure of this talk 1. Finding ideas and making them adaptable 2. Proposal preparation and submission

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 5 The proposal process Project outline Consortium Open callsAdjust ideaAdjust consortium Write proposal SubmitEvaluation Negotiation + Consortium Agreement Project start

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 6  Bottom-up  Bottom-up from within the organisation How to generate project ideas  Top-down  Top-down as a reaction to the Framework Programme

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 7 Knowledge of the Framework Programme is essential, in order to classify your project ideas accordingly.  Funding instruments, i.e. project types  Participation criterions  Structure of the consortium  Research topics and  Development procedures Orientation for ideas

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 8 Funding instruments of FP6

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 9 Instruments - 2 Networks of Excellence Industrial exploitation Current Industrial strength / presence Fundamental research Basic research Industry-driven research Targeted Research Projects « Monolitihic » Incremental Integrated Projects

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 10 Work addressed within an Integrated Project BasicResearch Demonstration AppliedResearch SystemValidation TechnologyDevelopment Transfer of Knowledge/ Dissemination Analysis & Assessment Mid-term perspective Gender Aspects Exploitation Standardisation

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 11 The minimum requirements are rarely helpful:  3 independent legal entities from 3 different MS or AS, with at least 2 MS or ACC  Orientation is provided by an average size of project-participant of the past, and above all  the convincing contribution of each partner. Participation criterions

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 12 Time-to-market Depending on research field (Strategic objectives):  Research with 3-8 years time-to-market periods  different industry or university dominance  the more applied oriented, the more industry (user) involvement

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 13 Structure of the consortium  Use existing networks! The better you know your partners, the better the project will run  Partner selection according to relevant input! - consider vertical value chains - exploitation potential  Balance of financing across countries and partners

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 14 Roles in EU research  Industry – large enterprises - applying internal research roadmaps - brings in partners from own networks - open knowledge-transfer? - Participation encounters high interest from the EU Commission - growing reluctance being the Co-ordinator  SME: Problems? - Time-to-market - Bureaucracy - Consortium Agreements; IPR issues

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 15 Roles in EU research - 2  Applied research - Licensing – they need to make their living - Co-financing  Universities - Increasing need for co-financing - Bureaucracy - Interested in publishing results is in conflict to non- disclosure agreements  EU Commission - Arrange successfully the contest with the USA and Japan, therefore high impact on exploitation potential

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 16 Cost models in FP6 Full Cost (FC): actual direct and indirect costs - 50% Research - 35% Demonstration - 100% Management and Training Full Cost Flat Rate (FCF): direct Costs plus 20% Overheads Additional Costs (AC): 100% additional Costs plus 20% Overheads Enterprises, Applied research organisations Universities

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 17 Research topics Analysis of topics is crucial:  Work programmes specify topics - regular updates for each call  Technology Platforms - currently 22 under platforms/ platforms/ - play a role for the definition of projected research topics  Workshops organised by the Commission - via:

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 18 Research topics - 2  Project research (FP5 und FP6 Projects) - What has been already funded? - Which partners have been successful  many ongoing projects offer information services - Newsletter, for instance:

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 19 Structure 1. Finding ideas and making them adaptable 2. Proposal preparation and submission

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 20 Time periods  Strategic preparation starts (long, i.e. 1 year) before the publication of the proposal  Pre-information often earlier at disposal - IST Call 5 information with deadline Sep 05 have been already published on Dec 04  it will be always a “core” group to actually write the proposal  Possibility to „jump up“?

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 21 Time periods - 2 t0t6/7t10/11t18/24 Preparation: up to one year before submission Deadlines: 3 to 4 months from the publication to the submission date Contract negotiations: 8 to 12 months

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 22 Costs of participating  High acquisition cost in proposal preparation, although unequally distributed thus, quality instead of quantity!  Fraunhofer estimated costs of ~ € per prepared Integrated project

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 23 Success?  differs widely within FP6  sometimes < 10% (e.g. Priority 3, CRAFT)  in IST approx. 20%, i.e. 1 out of 5 will make it

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 24 Partner search – Online  CORDIS partner search: Collection of Research interests – who reads it?  Concrete IST-proposal ideas:  Innovation Relay Centres: RTD partners for concrete proposal ideas (all topics) contact local IRC via:

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 25 Use advice/prepare yourself  Many experts are at your disposal: - Consult your National Contact Points - Discuss your idea directly with EC staff  Present short project sketches (1-2 pages) - Problem situation - Planned activities, organisation - Planned duration - Overall and requested funding budget - Partner constellation: oChart overview: Who (organisation, country) is doing what?

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 26 Assistance  ETI (Economic and Technological Intelligence) - projects provide: SME assistance, audits, writing assistance, partner matching  List of projects: e.g.: Naomitec:

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 27 Guide for Proposers Important to read:  Explains the proposal forms  Contains a binding outline with a suggested, or predetermined page account  Describes briefly the evaluation procedure

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 28 Structure of the proposal  A1: (Short description)  A2: Partner contact details (no signatures at this stage)  A3: Budget overview  Part B: Technical description of the project When successful, data will be used for Contract Preparation Forms during negotiation. Only here, a signature is needed as well as business data (simplified balance and profit – loss data)

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 29 Part B.1 / B.2  B.1 Scientific and technological objectives of the project and state of the art (3 pages) - Describe what will have been achieved at the end of the project. It is recommended to define indicators to measure the success (milestones, impact, etc.) - Quote leading publications and scientists, provide statistical data, use graphics etc.  B.2 Relevance to the objectives of the IST Priority (2 p) - Refer to first pages of the relevant work programme(s); - Keywords to be mentioned: European leadership, competitiveness - knowledge economy, everyday environment, easy-to-use human interfaces; "ambient intelligence", eEurope 2005 objectives

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 30 B.3 Potential Impact (4 p) - Change of /impact on production costs, employment, environment, gender, behaviour patterns - Focus on non-technical issues, training measures, technology transfer, socio-economic research, etc. - Describe the dissemination plans which are foreseen to ensure use of the project results. Which dissemination platforms are foreseen? Web-based services (Website, e- mailings); conferences; licensing agreements, patenting strategy - Describe the exploitation plans which are foreseen to ensure use of the project results. Should be clearly industry driven – high proprietary interest; provide details of consortium agreement (how is the IPR issue solved, etc.) - Describe the added-value in carrying out the work at a European level. Necessity of critical mass of European players, Contribution to the European Research Area - Describe existing research initiatives on national / international level, at least within the participating big countries B.3.1 Contributions to standards

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 31 B.4 Outline implementation plan (25 pages) Whereas chapter B.1 refers to the achieved objectives at the end of the project, this chapter should explain in detail the way to achieve these objectives. Use pictures, e.g. Pertt- Diagramms  B.4.1 Research, technological development and innovation activities  B.4.2 Demonstration activities Attention: 35% funding for demonstration activities  B.4.3 Training activities Note: Training activities are funded up to 100%. Dissemination efforts are funded to 50% only  B.4.4 Consortium management activities Funded to 100%, but restricted to 7% of EC grant

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 32 Part B.5  B.5 Description of the consortium (5 p) Roles and main tasks of each partner, short partner description (1 paragraph general description, 1 describing the expertise in the proposed topic, 1 – 2 short CVs of main staff)  B.5.1 New participants describe work for new partners currently not identified  B.5.2 Sub-contracting describe work involved and justify subcontract approach  B.5.3 Other countries describe the level of importance of participants from third countries

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 33 B.6 + B.7  B.6 Description of project management (5 p) Describe project organisational structure and decision- making mechanisms (Attention: Use same model as in Consortium Agreement!)  B.7 Project resources - B.7.1 IP Project Effort Form Overview of person-months per participant associated with each activity - B.7.2 IP management level justification of resources and budget (3 p): justification of all major project costs

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 34 B.7 Projects Efforts  Use Excel!

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 35 Part B.8  B.8 Detailed implementation plan – first 18 months (15 p + forms) - Detailed implementation plan introduction plus A3 costs overview for first 18 months - Timing of work plan: Gannt Chart - Graphic overview of work: Pert Diagram - Detailed work description broken down into work packages

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 36 B.8 Work package list Use Excel!

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 37 B.8 Deliverables List Deliverable No [1] [1] Deliverable titleDelivery date [2] [2] Nature [3] [3] Dissemina tion level [4] [4] D.1.1Specification reportM6RRE D.1.21st demonstrator …M9DCO … [1] [1] Deliverable numbers in order of delivery dates: D1 – Dn [2] [2] Month in which the deliverables will be available. Month 0 marking the start of the project, and all delivery dates being relative to this start date. [3] [3] Please indicate the nature of the deliverable using one of the following codes: R = Report P = Prototype D = Demonstrator O = Other [4] [4] Please indicate the dissemination level using one of the following codes: PU = Public PP = Restricted to other programme participants (including the Commission Services). RE = Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services). CO = Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services).

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 38 B.8 Work packages summaries, 1 to 2 pages each Workpackage number 1 Start date or starting event: M3 Workpackage title: Reference Design Participant id Person-months per participant: 53,2274,5 Objectives Description of work Deliverables Milestones[1] and expected result[1] [1] Milestones are control points at which decisions are needed; for example concerning which of several technologies will be adopted as the basis for the next phase of the project. Short repetition of earlier parts! Use listings! Balanced number of deliverables Meaningful Milestones!

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 39 B.9 / B.10  B.9 Other issues - B.9.1 Ethical issues regulations, if any - B.9.2 Policy issues engage with actors beyond the research  B.10 Gender issues - B.10.1 Gender Action plan promote gender equality - B.10.2 Gender issues

Pro-NMS Workshop – Kosice – 27 Sep 2005 – M. Huch © VDI/VDE-IT 40 Thank you for your attention!