How to develop a proposal?

Evaluation criteria overview

Excellence: Credibility of the approach, soundness of concept, clarity and pertinence of the objectives, extent of ambition, innovation potential

Impact: As explained in Work Programme, exploitation communication and dissemination plan

Quality & Efficiency of Implementation: Coherence, effectiveness, complementarity in the consortium, risk and innovation management, appropriateness of management structures and procedures

Excellence

• Objectives should be consistent with the expected exploitation and impact of the project;
• Describe research and innovation activities linked with the project;
• Describe the advance of your project beyond the state-of-art, and the extent the proposed work is ambitious;
• Describe the innovation potential;
• Refer to the results of any patent search carried out.

Exploitation & Dissemination of results

• A plan for dissemination and exploitation plan at proposal stage;
• The plan should contain measure to be implemented both during and after the end of the project.
• Focus on the project results, which address the challenges of the call and contribute to expected impact;
• Outline the strategy for knowledge management and protection;
• Coordinate communication, dissemination and exploitation activities to avoid conflicts and mixed messages.

Impact

• Describe how your project will contribute to:
  • The expected impacts mentioned in the work programme
  • Any substantial impacts, that would enhance innovation capacity; create new market opportunities, strengthen competitiveness and growth of companies, issues related to climate change and benefits for society
• Describe any barriers and any framework conditions that may determine whether and to what extent the expected impacts will be achieved.

Implementation

• Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources;
• Complementary of the participants within the consortium
• Appropriateness of the management structures and procedures, including risk and innovation management

Sum up and success factors

• Address IP, Impact and Innovation in all 3 sections of the proposal;
• Get strategic intelligence by analysing the whole landscape (scientific, technical, market, IPR, regulations, standards, etc.), so you can justify the concept, objectives, and methodology.
• Plan to create the project results (work plan)
• Plan to get the project results used (Dissemination and exploitation plan)
• Show that you have the structures and procedures to implement the plans (including innovation management).

Success Factors

• High potential job generating market;
• A highly innovative project that outperforms the competition;
• Marketing plan within 18-24 months;
• Strong ambition for internationalization;
• relation with the priority themes of Europe;
• Simple language (experts are non native speakers);
• Make information easy to find;
• Relevant summary tables, graphs & pictures;
• Be clear on TRL, no room for doubt.