When a project proposal is a good

proposal

Josep Niubò
4 June 2019
 We will talk about…

• How research proposals are usually

evaluated;
• Keys to prepare a good proposal:
– The first impression matters;
– Explaining your project;
– The impact of your research;
– Management.

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 A project
evaluation

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 The evaluation process
Independent experts evaluate proposals following this 3-
steps process:

• Phase 1 — Individual evaluation;

• Phase 2 — Consensus group;
• Phase 3 — Panel review.

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 Who can be an evaluator?

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 An evaluator

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 Particularities of evaluators
• Will have different backgrounds;
• They have other duties;
• Remote evaluations: outside of their schedule and
workplace;
• Are paid a given amount per proposal.

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 Convince the evaluator
• Write in an attractive and easy to follow
style;
• Customize your statistics;
• Build on the consequences of your project;
• Short sentences increase the impact;
• Be consistent;
• Include references to support the hypotheses;
• Use figures.

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 Keys to prepare a
good proposal

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 Keys to prepare a proposal
• Have a clear idea of the project:
– specific objectives;
– expected results;
• Verify the level of innovation of the idea
and go beyond the state of the art;
• Establish the ideal consortia;
• Obtain support;
• Plan.
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 The
first impression
matters

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 Make the evaluator remember
your proposal
• The title must be meaningful;
• Choose an attractive acronym: short, easy to pronounce
and easy to remember
− PESCaDO: Personalized Environmental Service Configuration
and Delivery Orchestration;
− HoNESt: History of Nuclear Energy and Society;
− MYWeB: Measuring Youth Well-Being;
− TROMPA: Towards Richer Online Music Public-domain
Archives.
• Acronymcreator.net & acronymify.com

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 Abstract/ Executive summary
• There is a problem/opportunity;
• It is big enough;
• No one has a satisfying solution so far;
• We have a promising solution for it;
• We cannot do it alone because…;
• Grant funding can help in the following specific
ways…;
• If the solution is developed, the benefits will be
significant.

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 Format
• Format matters: be nice to evaluators;
• Follow the template;
• Write a concise text; but with well-founded
ideas;
• A picture/table/diagram is worth 1,000 words;
• Highlight the most relevant.

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 Explaining
your ideas

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 Research approach
• Coherent, solid and realistic;
• With specific objectives clearly exposed
and contextualized:
– what is the starting point;
– how far it goes;
– why it is important;
• Ambitious: innovation, EU objectives, etc.;
• Credible: the goals are aligned with the
chosen partners.

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 Fit your project into the big
picture
• Answer to what the call asks;
• Take into consideration specific and
general Work Programmes (when
applicable);
• Do not forget cross-cutting issues and
political priorities.

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 Political priorities

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 Cross-cutting concepts

• Responsible Research and

Innovation (RRI);
• Open Access: “as open as possible, as
closed as necessary”;
• Gender dimension.

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 Gender dimension
• Integrating the gender dimension in research
content means taking into account:
– the biological characteristics of both females
and males (sex) and
– the evolving social and cultural features of
women and men, girls and boys (gender).
• It leads to an in-depth understanding of
citizens’ needs, behaviours and attitudes and
it is an added value in terms of excellence and
innovation.

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 Resources
• Understanding gender dimension for MSCA
projects;
• GenPORT: on-line community of practionners for
sharing knowledge and inspire collaboration;
• GenderToolkit;
• CostAction GenderSTE;
• Introduction to Gendered Innovations;
• Definition of sex and gender & how sex and gender
interact.

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 Your research’s
impact

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 Impact

• What will be the project’s results?

• Who will own them and for what purpose;
• How will the IPR be managed?
• What is the plan to give continuity to the
project until it reaches the society and/or
the market?

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 Impact

A research project shall:

• Cover the impacts detailed in the call;
• Search for effectiveness:
– Integrate prior knowledge;
– Develop the future exploitation of the results;
– Design a solid communication, dissemination
and exploitation plan.

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 Impact
COMMUNICATION DISSEMINATION EXPLOITATION

Promotion of the action and Public disclosure of the Utilisation of results in

Definition its results, possibly engaging
in a two-way exchange
Reach out to society and
show the impact and
Objective benefits of R&I activities
results
Transfer knowledge &
results with the aim to
enable others to use and
take up results
further research activities
Use project to turn R&I
actions into concrete value
and impact for society

Inform about and promote Results Make concrete use of

Focus the project and its research results
results/success
Multiple audiences beyond Interested in the potential People/organisations
the project’s own use of the results (including project
Targeted community partners) that make
audience concrete use of the project
results

Starts at the outset of the Only once results are Only once results are
When
project available available

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 Impact
Informing Informing Making results Facilitating Making use of
about the about results available further use of results
project results

Innovation Patent, spin-off,

Project website
management start-up

Scientific Copyright
Press release PhD thesis
publications management

Project factsheets, Policy brief, Data management

Videos, interviews Further research
brochures… roadmap plan

Articles in Training, Stakeholder Societal

Newsletter
magazines workshops engagement engagement

Exhibitions, open Sharing results on

Social media Policy changes
days, guided visits online repository

Conference
presentations
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 Resources
• Communicating EU Research & Innovation -
Guidance for project participant
• Plan for the Exploitation and Dissemination of
Results in Horizon 2020
• Outreach and Communication Activities in the
MSCA under Horizon 2020
• Guidelines on Open Access to Scientific
Publications and Research Data in Horizon 2020
• Open Access in Horizon 2020

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 Management

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 Implementation
• Coherent work plan:
– Distribute tasks and resources in a balanced way
between WPs and partners;
– Define appropriate deliverables and milestones;
– Subcontract the minimum and justify it well;
– Use diagrams, calendars, infographics...;
• Include the necessary partners: number,
geographic distribution, multidisciplinarity…
• Explain internal management rules and
critical risks.
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 Consortium

• It must be complementary and shall

cover the entire value chain;
• Items to consider:
– Experience and technical and scientific know-
how;
– Geographical distribution;
– What can each partner provide?

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 Consortium

• Implements the project

Global • Has to comply with all
the requirements of the
consortium call
• Representative
geographic composition

• Core of the project

Principal • Basic partners to build

partners the project

• With previous joint work

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 Work Packages

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 Gantt Chart

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 Gantt Chart

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 Management structure

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 Your CV

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 Your CV
• It should include the standard academic and
research record.
• Any research career gaps and/or unconventional
paths should be clearly explained.
• It should contain:
− the name of the researcher ;
− professional experience (in reverse chronological
order, using exact dates) ;
− education (in reverse chronological order, using exact
dates).

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 Your CV
It should also include information on:
• Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, peer-reviewed conference
proceedings and/or monographs indicating also the number of
citations (excluding self-citations) they have attracted;
• Granted patent(s);
• Research monographs, chapters in collective volumes and any translations
thereof;
• Invited presentations to internationally established conferences and/or
international advanced schools;
• Organisation of international conferences in your field(s) of research,
including membership in the steering and/or programme committee;
• Examples of participation in industrial innovation;
• Prizes and Awards;
• Funding received so far.
• Supervising and mentoring activities.

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 Conclusions

• The first impression is critical;

• Format matters: be nice to evaluators;
• Follow the template;
• Write a concise text; but with well-
founded ideas;
• Do not forget about the implementation of
the project.

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 To wrap-up

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 Thank you!

josep.niubo@upf.edu

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