Lorraine Tagliaferro
While the prospect of participating in EU-funding as a single entity sounds very appealing to SMEs, the challenge of preparing a successful proposal is by no means an easy task. This article presents some tips and tricks provided by experts from Ateknea Solutions, an international organisation with over 15 years of EU participation experience and responsible for the implementation of more than 170 projects.
A good proposal is like a good sales pitch, so a concise, organised and well written document will be favourably received by the evaluators. A research proposal goes through a number of stages and faces tough competition from all across Europe, therefore, meticulous care should be taken to ensure that the material presented is in line with the project call and that all the information requested from the EC to ensure eligibility is made available.
It is important to keep in mind that the key to writing successful proposals is the ability to sell the idea and to convince the reviewer that what is being proposed will disrupt the market. Writing a research proposal requires time, dedication and attention to detail, and furthermore, the ability to look at the bigger picture.
Proposals should focus on targeting a key scientific challenge which should be clearly explained in the first page of the write-up. The rest of the proposal should pivot around this topic and the objectives, workplan and business propositions should all reflect the ambition to provide a solution to the identified challenge in a smart, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound manner.
Once submitted, the proposal will be reviewed from evaluators that are not necessary in the field of expertise of the writer, hence the story must appeal to all readers irrespective of the area of their specialisation. Discussing a proposal with experts from different fields will provide the writer with indispensable feedback and also help him/her to see the idea in a more clear light.
At Ateknea we believe that polishing the proposal over and over again will enhance the quality and increase the chances for finance. Ateknea is a multidiscipline organisation with offices in Spain, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Portugal with years of experience in supporting over 600 SMEs tap into EU-funding.
More information on successful writing tips and how Ateknea supports SMEs to access funding will be provided at the event, European Funding for SMEs- Info day on Horizon 2020, which will be held at the Palace Hotel Malta on 2 October. Participation is free but registration is recommended as places are limited.
For registrations send an email to: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] or phone on 9940 6743, 9926 0164
About the author
Lorraine Tagliaferro executes the role of innovations manager and proposal writer at Ateknea Solutions Malta. She is responsible for overseeing clients' needs in the processes of idea evaluation, project planning, proposal writing and submission. Lorraine has a background in communications, psychology and management and was involved also in the implementation of a number of FP6 and FP7 projects.