PROPOSAL WRITING

PROPOSAL WRITING Proposal Development Proposal Structure • Part A – Administrative and statistical information • A1 – General information on proposal (title, abstract, etc) • A2 – Information on co-ordinator and other partners • A3 – Cost breakdown by type of cost categories and partner – Outline budget – Standard forms – Eligibility check • Part B – Core (technical) proposal Proposal Development Core Proposal Structure • ―Technical‖ Components I (Parts B1-B3) – B1 – Project Objectives – B2 – Relevance to IST ALL PARTNERS Need to provide monthly manand overhead rates & cost model – B3 – Potential Impact • B4 – Project Consortium and Resources • B5 – Project Management Structure ALL PARTNERS • B6 – Technical Components II Need to describe management procedures and agree on coordinator – Project Workplan • B7 – Other Issues (Gender / Ethical) Proposal Development Before Starting… • Objectives and scope of project • Deliverables, work needed to achieve them & milestones • Work packages • Schedule for developing proposal • Roles and responsibilities: co-ordinator, work package leaders, etc • Formal relationship – consortium agreement or Memorandum of Understanding Proposal Development Partner Responsibilities Project Partner • Provide – A2 info – Cost model and if FC, overhead rate – Man month rate in € – Short paragraph on own organisation – Two short CVs Draft Part B components (as asked) Signed any DNA / MoU required Project Co-ordinator • Registers with EPPS • Fills in A1 and A3 forms • Collates and develops technical proposal incorporating partner contributions • Uploads technical proposal • • Proposal Development Part A Components • Form A1 – Find the right activity codes and keywords – Proposal abstract (< 2,000 characters) – is also used in Part B • Form A2 – Fill in completely based on instructions • Partner numbering should be the same as in Part B – Get a letter of commitment (LOC) from the partners to participate in the proposal and later-on in the project • Form A3 – Fill in at the very end Proposal Development B1 Section Structure • Exact structure depends on instrument type, e.g. – STREP • B1.1 Scientific and technological objectives of the project • B1.2 State of the Art • SSA – B1 Objectives of the proposed project B1 – Scientific and Technological Objectives and State-of-the-Art Section Objectives • Should provide clear answers to – What is the problem to be solved? – What is the state-of-the art in the area concerned? – What exactly will come out of the work? – How will the proposed project enhance the state-of-theart in its area? – Who will be the next user – who will use the project results? – How will the project deliver the results to these users – routes of exploitation (publications, licences, spin offs) Recommended Length = 3 Pages B1 – Scientific and Technological Objectives and State-of-the-Art Required Response (1/2) • Proposal objective(s) – Should be those achievable within the project – not through subsequent development – Should be few in number at higher levels – if possible, just one – and subsequently broken down in more specific aims, goals, etc – Should reflect state-of-the-art in the area concerned and align with key European Policies • But Community contribution alone is not a sufficient driver B1 – Scientific and Technological Objectives and State-of-the-Art Required Response (2/2) • Goals – Should be directly relevant to objective(s) – Should be stated in a measurable and verifiable form – Should be accompanied by delineation of project • Approach • Means • Output, e.g. – Selection and validation of promising technologies; – Mitigation of existing problems; – Anticipation of future trends, etc Proposal Development Sections B2 & B3 • B2 ― based on scientific, technical, wider societal or policy objectives of the IST Priority in working call • B3 ― Based on information on European policies and initiatives as described, for instance, in – Related Work Programme – Europa web site (http://europa.eu.int) Recommended Total Length = 5 Pages Proposal Development B3 – Potential Impact • B3 ― Must address – Any related activities issues (if applicable – e.g. EUREKA, national research programmes) – Standardisation • How will your work impact existing standards? – Dissemination and exploitation plans • How will the partners exploit the project results? – Be specific and quantify things Proposal Development Summary of B1-B3 • What is the problem to be solved? • What is the state-of-the art in the area concerned? • What exactly will come out of the work? • How will the proposed project enhance the state-of-the-art in its area? • Who will be the next user – who will use the project results? • How will the project deliver the results to these users – routes of exploitation (publications, licences, spin offs) B4 – Consortium Budget & Resources • Description of the Consortium – Participant nationalities, types of partners, etc • Sub-contracting • Other Countries • Description of Participants • Quality of Participants: involvement of users and SMEs • Overall financial plan • Project Effort Form B4 – Consortium Budget & Resources Key Questions • What resources? – Money – Personnel – Travel – Equipment, consumables – Partners – Time • Must justify the resources you plan to use Recommended Length = 5 Pages B4 – Consortium Budget & Resources Budget Breakdown • Must be split between types of activity as rates can vary. For instance – Project Management ― 100% up to 7% of total budget – Research and innovation ― 50% – Demonstration ― 35% – Training costs ― 100% B4 – Consortium Budget & Resources Resource Effort Form P1 PLANET Coordination Activities Personnel(wo PM) Travel Kick-off & 2 review meetings for Planet, NTUA, HUA, UNIDO, POLIMI, Kick-off and other meetings EC-JRC, 1 plenary meeting, more travels for NTUA, HUA 1 travel for workshop, more for NTUA 1 national travel for partners involved in WP 1 national travel for partners involved in WP (5-person team) 1 national travel 2*travels (to 2 horizontal events) 1*travel to workshop / conference 1500 3000 1500 3000 15.000 P2 GNHM 29.250 P3 NTUA 64.000 P4 HUA 40.500 ORGANISATION P5 OF ATHENS 36.000 P6 METU 10.000 P7 UA 5.000 P8 POLIMI 26.000 P9 UNIDO 34.300 WP1: Project Management WP2: Existing Knowledge, Models WP3: Creation of Local Networks WP4: Com. Events with Public & Enterprises WP5: Dissemination & Exhibitions WP6: Com. Events among Experts and Officials WP7: Reporting on Com. Events and Good Practices WP8: Horizontal networking and cooperation WP9: Vertical Cooperation Workshop WP10: Conference WP11: Final Report Travel total 6000 3000 1500 10500 3000 500 2500 10500 1500 500 2500 3000 1500 3000 1500 500 2500 3000 1500 500 2500 500 6000 1500 500 2500 6000 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 500 1500 7500 6000 21000 19500 6000 9000 9500 11000 9000 Other specific costs For Website Registration Brochures, Posters 1* Local 1* Local Communicati Communicati 1 * National on Event in on Event in 1* Local 1* Local Communication 1* Local WP4, 1* WP4 & 1* 1* Horizontal Communication Communicatio Event with Communicati National National Workshop in Event in n Event in Experts in WP6, on Event in Communicati Communicati WP8 WP4+hardware WP4 hardware and WP4 on Event with on Event with software Experts in Experts in WP6 WP6 7.000 5.000 21.000 8.000 5.000 8.000 9.000 Flood Control Agency of Cologne 20.000 72.300 10.460 82.760 500 3.000 Subcontracting portal 15.000 38.000 30.800 4.600 42.600 30.000 20.533 6.000 36.000 78.600 100% 78.600 exhibition costs 15.000 53.250 7.650 60.900 Total direct costs Overhead costs actual Overhead costs funding Total Coordination Activities Consortium Management Activities Personnel Subcontracting (audit certificate) Overhead costs actual Overhead costs funding Total Consortium Management Total percentage of funding funding 92.000 18.400 110.400 12.000 65.000 13.000 78.000 63.000 12.600 75.600 27.000 5.400 32.400 19.500 3.900 23.400 45.000 9.000 54.000 0 60.900 100% 60.900 2.400 14.400 124.800 100% 124.800 0 78.000 100% 78.000 0 75.600 100% 75.600 0 32.400 100% 32.400 0 23.400 100% 23.400 0 54.000 100% 54.000 0 82.760 100% 82.760 B5 – Description of Project Management B5 Section Structure • • • • • • • • Project Co-ordinator & Project Manager Management Structure Work Monitoring and Crisis Management Quality Procedures Communication and Reporting Consortium Agreement IPR and Knowledge Management Evaluation and Assessment – Mid Term and Final Project Review Recommended Length = 3 Pages B5 – Description of Project Management Resource Roles Partner No. 1 2 3 4 5 Partner  P1  P2  P3  P4  P5 Role Project Co-Ordinator Project S&T Co-Ordinator Workpackage [111] Leader Partner Partner Name Proposal Development B6 – Work Plan • Overview of Work Plan ― should include rationale for technical approach • Research and Technological Aspects • Potential Risks and Fall Backs / Contingency Plan • Phasing and Check Points / Milestones • Graphical presentation of the project components – Gannt and Pert charts • Workpackage list • Deliverables list • Workpackage description B6 – Work Plan Workpackage Design • Each Objective becomes a single Work Package • For each Work Package – What is the end point?  end point becomes the milestone – What steps are needed to get there?  steps become the tasks B6 – Work Plan Workpackage List Workpackage No Workpackage title Lead contractor Personmonths Start month End month Deliverable(s) No WP1 WP2 WP3 WP4 WP5 aaa Project Management P1 P6 P2 P3 P5 8 36 6 11 18 7.5 1 1 4 9 12 1 30 4 9 13 30 30 D1.1, D1.2, D1.3,… D2.1, D2.2, D2.3,… D3.1,… D4.1, D4.2,.. D5.1, D5.2, … D6.1, D6.2, … Dissemination & Exploitation P4 TOTAL 117 B6 – Work Plan List of Deliverables Del. No D5.1 D2.1 D1.1 D6.1 Deliverable title Delivery date 3 8 6 8 Nature O (website) R R R Dissem. level PU PU PU CO Project website Generic guidelines for … 1st Interim Report Proceedings and conclusions on WP…. B6 – Work Plan Gannt Charts B6 – Work Plan Pert Charts T1.1: State-of-the-art Analysis T1.2: E-Gov Lifecycle Specification M1: Availability of OntoGov Platform Specifications T2.1: Investigation of PA Services T2.2: Determination of Service Criteria T2.3: Selection and Analysis of Suitable Service for OntoGov T3.1: User Requirements T3.2: Platform Specifications T4.1: Development of Ontology Editor T4.2: Development of Ontology Management System T5.1: Development of the Service Configuration System M3: Finalisation of Software Components M2: Availability of the Ontology Editor M4: Availability of Integrated Platform M5: Executed and Evaluated User Trials T6.1: Integration T6.2: Deployment T7.1: Development of Trial & Evaluation Plan T7.2: Execution & Evaluation of Trials B6 – Work Plan Detailed Workpackage Descriptions Workpackage description: [Workpackage Number and Title] Workpackage number Participant Person-months per participant: Start date or starting event: Objectives  Description of work Task A Task B Task C Deliverables D1 D2 D3 Proposal Development B7 ― Ethical and Gender Issues • Any ethical or gender issues associated with proposal must be addressed – Research must contribute to promoting gender equality ― participation of women must be encouraged at all levels • Indications of relevant gender issues and suggestions on how gender dimension can be integrated into projects are available from: rtd-sciencesociety@cec.eu.int • No max length B7 ― Ethical and Gender Issues Ethical Issues Form Does your proposed research raise sensitive ethical questions related to: Human beings YES NO Human biological samples Personal data (whether identified by name or not) Genetic information Animals Proposal Development Completing • Check for other costs per partner per WP (e.g. dissemination cost – printing, booths, …) • Iterate costs to fit via spread sheet • Update all tables with man months, deliverables • Add financial plan rationale to B4 • Update A3 with costs • Fine tuning, proofing, spell check • Final agreement of partners • Before uploading – Do a final dummy evaluation using manual – have a nonexpert read the proposal • Initial submittal via EPSS Proposal Submission The EPSS Submission Tool • The basic templates are given by EPSS – EPSS = internet-based application providing a secure work space for proposal preparation and submission • https://www.epss-fp6.org/epss/welcome.jsp – System allows you to submit updated versions – There is some freedom to add own subheadings and own templates for tables, etc Proposal Development Finalising… • Double-check with Evaluation Criteria – Relevance (Threshold 3/5) – Potential Impact (Threshold 3/5) – S&T Excellence / Quality of the Co-ordination Action / Quality of Integration (Threshold 4/5) !!! – Quality of the Support Action (Threshold 3/5) – Quality of the Consortium / Excellence of Participants (Threshold 3/5) – Quality of the Management (Threshold 3/5) – Mobilisation of Resources (Threshold 3/5) – Overall Remarks Finalising… Evaluation Criteria – A Thing to Remember The proposal will ONLY progress if all individual thresholds PLUS the overall threshold are reached Following are main links you will require • http://www.cordis.lu/ist • https://www.epss-fp6.org/epss/welcome.jsp • http://www.cordis.lu/experts/fp6_candidature.htm 3 — Proposal Development Key Steps (1/2) • Develop abstract and proposal template, 1st draft • Register with EPSS (Electronic Proposal Submission System) • (Pre-consortium meeting) • Provide partners with appropriate information – Preceded by MOU or NDA, if deemed necessary • Set dates for all partner contributions for Part B at coordinator – Date for first complete draft – Date for critical review – Date for A2 forms 3 — Proposal Development Key Steps (1/2) – Date for final draft and first submission (1 week before deadline) – Date for final critical review • Fill-in EPSS A1 + A2 forms • Work on technical proposal • Final submission (1 day before deadline)