Project Factory Horizon 2020 – Tips and tricks for a good proposal for Creative and Cultural industries

1. Project Factory Horizon 2020 – Tips
and tricks for a good proposal for
Creative and Cultural industries
Project factory workshop, Berlin Partner 15th June 2015
impulse.brussels
Mathilde Vivot, National Contact Point
Supported by

2. OVERVIEW
1. PREPARATION
2. REDACTION
3. TIPS AND TRICKS
2
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015
OVERVIEW

3. www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015
1. PREPARATION- INDICATIVE TIMELINE
1st Stage
Consortium
Meeting
Aim of the project, research question,
distribution of work
5-6 months before
deadline
2nd stage
Homework
Proposal writing
(inputs from Partners – WP leaders and coordinator to allocate
tasks)
4-5 months before
deadline
3rd stage
Preparation
of first draft of
Proposal
First proposal draft version
(based upon WP’s contributions and summarized by
Coordinator team)
3 months before
deadline
4th stage
Core group meeting
(WP leaders, coordinator)
Final agreement
(objectives and impact session
WP, timeline, outputs/ deliverables, budget)
3 months before
deadline
5th stage
Full proposal
completion
Proposal writing (including editing, proof read and external review)
(lead scientist, external experts as NCP’s)
Last 2 months before deadline

4. 1. PREPARATION
Market analysis  feasibility
Context analysis:
 Collect information on the topic: how much do you know
about it? EU bibliography (white papers, EU decisions,
regional and national documents, etc…)
 Past funded projects on the same topic -
www.cordis.europa.eu (projects and results section)
Consortium
 Coordinator or partner? Your existing network
 Roles within the project (Administrative coordinator; Communication
with European Commission; Scientific manager/coordinator; Work Package
(WP) leader / Task (T) leader / supporting partner; 3rd Party e.g.
subcontractor)
4
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

5. 1. PREPARATION – some opportunities in
ICT-cross sectorial cooperation - DRAFT
Relevant draft topics for the Creative and Cultural industries from 2016
 Media and content convergence
The media and content sector is driven more and more by the use of technology and new business models,
new ways of interaction, consumption and expression are appearing in the rise of the digital era. Europe's
media sector is strong in creating content. It is embracing new technologies and investing in innovation to
benefit from the digital market.. The challenge is to make the best use of technology for reaching out to
new audiences, adapting to the digital era and thriving in the connected Digital Single Market.
 Support technology transfer to the creative industries
The goal is to increase the competitiveness of the European creative industries by stimulating ICT
innovation in SMEs, by effectively building up and expanding a vibrant EU technological ecosystem for the
creative industries' needs and by fostering exchanges between the creative industries SMEs and providers of
innovative ICT solutions.
 Tools for smart digital content in the creative industries
High quality content is the main source of revenue for the Creative Industries and also instrumental for their
competitiveness in a large, international market. The challenge is to maximise the potential for re-use and
re-purposing of all types of digital content, for instance, by directly conceiving and creating content usable
in different contexts and technical environments; improving its granularity; increasing its ability to
dynamically adapt to the users; generating more realistic digital models; embedding semantic knowledge;
and other approaches to make content "smarter" thanks to new and emerging technologies.
5
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

6. 1. PREPARATION – some opportunities in
social sciences and humanities - DRAFT
Examples of draft topics- not official yet
 Applied co-creation to deliver public services
While efforts have been made to make public services user-friendly and reduce the administrative burden,
for example by making them increasingly available online, studies show that service design often does not
meet the expectations of citizens and businesses. Weak service design and high administrative burden often
lead to non-use or non-take up by citizens and businesses of the public services and benefits available to
them. Innovation actions will pilot the co-designing and co-creation of public services, using ICT and relying
on open data or open public services.
 Multi-stakeholder platform for enhancing youth digital opportunities
Young people in Europe need not only the space to discuss and to engage with multiple stakeholders and
decision makers across borders and boundaries, but also to be given the instruments to actively shape the
research agenda as well as to participate in research related to their use of digital technologies. Innovative
research methods are needed to empower children and young people by giving them an active role in
research
 Virtual museums and social platform on European digital heritage, memory, identity and cultural
interaction
The emergence of new social paradigms in the area of European Heritage induce the creation of specific
social platforms that will encourage an active participation of a large number of stakeholders aiming at a
better understanding of the European cultural heritage. The challenge is to support the multidisciplinary
awareness needed for providing a comprehensive framework for the accessibility, preservation and
participatory management of cultural resources, based on a holistic, social understanding of European
culture and cultural heritage.
6
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

7. 2. REDACTION – SSH relevant terms
 “Embedding SSH” , i.e list of calls for proposals in other
societal challenges and pillar 2 Industrial Leadership
 Social Sciences and Humanities = one of the cross-cutting
issues in Horizon 2020 with e.g gender and international
cooperation
 Interdisciplinarity = Researchers should “get out of their
silos”² Terms not explicitly defined, understood within open
and challenge-based approach of H2020, bring together all
the research disciplines, knowledge and methods needed to
create impact.
 Societal acceptance: Social acceptability of the new technology/
product/service developed by the proposal
7
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

8. 2. Excellence
How to address the topic - Concepts and objectives
 Present a realistic plan with clear objectives
 Be ambitious and innovative
 Relation with the work programme
 Write for the evaluator to convince him
 Be easy to read & understandable
8
S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable
R Result-oriented
T Time-related
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

9. REDACTION : IMPACT
Expected impacts as in Work Programme
9
 Describe how your project will contribute towards the expected impacts
listed in the work programme in relation to the topic in question.
 Economic impact: more evaluators from the business and investor
domains involved in the selection process
 Social and environmental impact (almost everything has impact!)
 Mention the steps that will be needed to bring about these impacts.
 Explain why this contribution requires a European (rather than a national
or local) approach. Indicate how account is taken of other national or
international research activities.
 Mention any assumptions and external factors that may determine
whether the impacts will be achieved
 business plan not mandatory but worthwile for I.A
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

10. REDACTION - implementation
how to manage it?
10
Problem + State of the art
(call for proposal)
Innovation!
Beyond the state of the art
Objectives
Work Packages (WP)
- Broken down in Tasks (T)
- With designated WP and T
leaders
Deliverables
Milestones &
Contingency plan
Risk analysis
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015
Impact of the project
Commercialization
Exploitation
plan

11. 2. REDACTION - implementation
Definitions:
 Work plan: A work plan is an outline of all tasks that need to be complete in
order to finish an entire project. A work plan includes managements layout for
each member in the team and the tasks that each individual will be performing.
 Work Package: major sub-division of the proposed project and defined by brief
statements of Activity Description, Activity Resources of Skill and Expertise,
Activity Estimates of Effort and Duration, Activity Schedule, Activity Risks, and
Activity Budget
 Deliverable: means a distinct output of the project, meaningful in terms of the
project’s overall objectives and constituted by a report, a document, a technical
diagram, a software etc.
 Milestones: means control points in the project that can help to chart progress.
Milestones may correspond to the completion of a key deliverable, allowing the
next phase of the work to begin. They may also be needed at intermediary points
so that, if problems have arisen, corrective measures can be taken. A milestone
may be a critical decision point in the project where, for example, the consortium
must decide which several technologies to adopt for further development
11
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

12. 3. TIPS – useful tools
One page proposal
 Topic
 Title (Slogan) + Acronym (Brand name)
 Objective: What you are planning to do
 Background: Why you are doing it (-> 5 key questions)
 Impact: Results + Target groups (who wants them)
 Science: How the work will be done
 Consortium: Who will do the work
 Cost & duration: How much + How long
Acknowledgments: Hyperion – Sean Mc Carthy
12
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

13. 3. Why should you maybe NOT apply?
Asking the right questions
 Why bother?
 What new knowledge are you generating?
 What problem are you trying to solve?
 Is it of EU relevance?
 Could it be solved at national level?
 Will this establish Europe as international leader?
 Is the knowledge / solution already available?
 State of the art
 Why now?
 Why you? Are you the best people to do the job?
Acknowledgments: Hyperion – Sean Mc Carthy
13
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015

14. 3. TIPS – how to write a good proposal
10 Common mistakes:
 Proposal is hard to read and boring
 Unclear and over complex language
 Insufficient detail provided to understand the key aspects
 Inconsistencies between the sections
 Confusing work plan lacking in detail
 Unclear state of the art
 Overlapping expertise of partners
 Poorly defined and justified resources
 Insufficient details about potential impact
 Lack of evidence to support stated claims
14
www.ncpbrussels.be © impulse.brussels 2015