Developing an FP6 Proposal and How We Can Help

METU - Office of EU Affairs

Steps to follow

Preparing a 2-page project outline

Deciding whether to be the project leader or not

Finding partners

Developing an outline

Writing it up properly

Submitting, negotiating and signing the contract

What to include in the 2 Page Outline

Objectives = the aim you want to achieveInnovation = your contribution to the state-of-the-art Partners = those you would like to be involvedOutcomes = only the results of the project itself?Impact = the extent of impact your project will

have: (economic, social, environmental)Policies = parallelism with relevant EC policiesDuration = months/years it would take to completeBudget = amount needed for the successsful

completion of the project

Why bother with a 2-page outline?

1. You turn your project idea into a precise, clearly expressed yet detailed statement

We may help by commenting on draft

2. We can use the outline to: Identify timing of FP6 opportunities Help you consider your IPR situation Show ways to find partners Test out your idea with the related Turkish

NCP

Which one would you prefer to be :

Coordinator or Partner?

Coordinators NEED to have project management experience, particularly of multi-partner projects

The burden of proposal development falls mostly on the co-ordinator

If you do NOT want to be the coordinator, related NCP can help you find a project to join

Finding partners

Alternatives to find partners Your own networking (best alternative) NCPs CORDIS (as the last resource)

Use your project outline to prepare Non-confidential project outline Non-disclosure agreement Confidential project outline

DO NOT DELAY! you need to find most partners before you can develop your proposal

Steps Along the Way

2 page project outline

Project leader or not?

Partner / project finding

Developing an outline

Writing it up properly

Submitting, negotiating and signing the contract

Proposal Assistance

NCPs can help Turkish SMEs, universities, other institutions to participate in FP6

A grant from TUBITAK to financially help you in participating in FP6 by: Awarding the project proposals that are eligible and

have been elected for evaluation Meeting travelling costs to meet with partners Grants up to 12,000 Euros Forms and guide at www.fp6.org.tr

You do not have to be a project coordinator to apply

Fleshing out your outline

With most partners in place begin to define content of the project budget of the project how the project is going to be managed

• Tasks, finance, IPR issues• Communications (meetings and disputes)

GET PARTNERS INVOLVED IN THIS

Writing it up is not magic!!

‘Guide for Proposers’ Format, content and length of proposal are

given Follow it precisely Do not waffle or duck the questions asked

Know how the evaluators work What kind of questions are they asking? How do they allocate marks? This information is all published Ignoring it can be very costly !

NCPs may comment on your draft proposal

Please the evaluator

Evaluators have 1 hour to read and score your proposal Many other proposals to score

Make life easy for them! The first 2 pages must excite them! Make it easy for them to give you marks Diagrams and charts are easy to

understand

Remember you need to aim for > 80%

Steps Along the Way

2 page project outline

Project leader or not?

Partner / project finding

Developing the outline

Writing it up properly

Submitting, negotiating and signing the contract

Submission

The Call for Proposals tells you the exact date and time by when proposal must be received Electronic submission is mandatory now It is possible to submit your proposal earlier

and to modify it before the deadline Do not leave it to the last minute as EC

server may be overloaded

Negotiations

Evaluation of proposals can take up to 3-4 months

Contract negotiations start soon after You need to be ready for suggestions to

- reduce the budget

- modify the project- join with other consortiums, etc.

There are 2 contracts

Contract between EC and each partner The basic legal framework

Consortium Agreement between all partners Adds details to this framework, especially

• Project management • IPR protection and exploitation

Must be in place before EC awards the Contract

TIPS Do not aim to be a coordinator if you are a

new starter Best way to find good, reliable partners is to

attend conferences, seminars, workshops in your related scientific area

Do not ‘open’ your project to your potential partners in detail at first

IPR issues are vital and needs detailed reading due to the participation of SMEs in projects

Related documents can be found on the Cordis site and it is extremely useful

Consortium Agreement is very important since it details all the phases of the project with relation to all partners, their job descriptions, responsibilities, etc. Read it in detail before it is too late!

Never think that the thresholds given in the Call for Proposals are enough for your proposal to be evaluated as successful. Aim for the highest, the best

Submit your proposal well ahead of the deadline for practical purposes

THANK YOU !

METU - Office of EU AffairsMiddle East Technical University

06531 Ankara / TurkeyPhone: 0 312 210 3834 Fax: 0 312 210 1348

http://www.euoffice.metu.edu.tr