Planning your proposal – the critical path
GIVE DETAILED EXPLANATIONS IN YOUR PROPOSAL ! Starting point - What is the existing situation ? What is the problem to be solved ? What has been done so far, and by whom ? Where do you come into the picture – and why ? Work packages - What exactly do you propose to do ? Results - What will be different when the project has ended ? When you have finished, how will anyone know that you have succeeded ? – monitor your impacts !
TARGET GROUP: Who do you need to influence / engage? IMPACT: What measurable change will you achieve ?
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Writing your proposal
“Help” in Application Forms and Proposers‟ Guide
Strong competition: you need a good idea ! Be imaginative, start early ! It takes longer than you think ! Easy to read? - evaluators assess it in ~2-4 hours. Have it read by an outsider (no jargon, simple for non mother tongue readers)
Respect limits of length, but give as much detail as possible in each work package, and explain what each partner will actually do, how (methodology), and what will be delivered
Provide evidence of :
the problem that you plan to address / solve (market failure), your expertise (strong CV‟s), your co-financing (letters of support, with funding commitments), stakeholders who are committed to use the results (ideally they will be partners or co-sponsors)
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« European added value of IEE projects»
Value generated by countries / cultures working together:
Tackling barriers to the achievement of EU targets, by means of real collaboration, interaction, reflection and learning across countries / cultures, creating and sharing ideas together
IEE projects add value to local, regional & national actions
They cover the right countries – no rule „one fits all‟: depending on the scope of the action and its markets They offer high transferability – to other EU regions and/or with trigger effects on regional / local level They have high visibility
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More thoughts on „European Added Value‟
Multi-cultural working is difficult and expensive, so it must really deliver added value, with results which are transferable to others
A consortium of partners from different countries is not enough Working in parallel in different countries is not enough Working on issues addressed by EU policies is not enough
Remember: Comparatively small (<500k€) actions can nevertheless have high added value and impacts at EU level Actions, which fit better at national or local level, because of timescale, involvement of SME‟s, intellectual property rights, etc, should be excluded
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Co-financing
Funding from EU tax payers must be justified – who is interested in the project results?
Explain WHY your organisation is willing to cofinance the action – how will you use the results after end of project State clearly the status of negotiations in case of an application for co-financing from a 3rd party
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Result / impact indicators “SMART”
Indicators to measure the impact of your work:
“Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely”
For example: Increased 7% of solar collectors in EU to carry a new product label Increased 10% of installers trained and certified in target regions Planning approval delays reduced from 2 to 1 year Audits leading to energy savings of 0,5 Mtoe per year in schools Increased 5% of cyclists in target cities
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