EPA H2020 SC5 Info Day: Additional notes to accompany Irish Successes – Experiences - Tips for applicants - Eddie Shaw, Carr Communications

EPA H2020 SC5 Info Day: Additional notes to accompany Irish Successes – Experiences - Tips for applicants - Eddie Shaw, Carr Communications

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  EPA 2016 AnnualHorizon 2020 Societal Challenge 5 Information Day Friday 7th October 2016 – Croke Park Hotel and Conference Centre Additional notes from Eddie Shaw on the presentation topic H2020 - Irish Successes – Experiences – Tips for Applicants SCENT Project * These notes are confidential and intended for the exclusive use of those who attended the conference and saw/listened to the 10-minute presentation of this topic. Others read them at their peril. *The copyright of Bill Watterson as creator and author of Calvin and Hobbes is acknowledged in this non-commercial use of the illustrations above. Everyone should buy everything Bill Watterson has ever created, written and published. He is a genius simultaneous communicator to sensitive and imaginative adults, children and grandchildren.
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  In preparing thispresentation and these notes it seemed sensible to talk to a few people to get their views and feedback on slips, trips and lessons learned in the H2020 arena. I talked to NCPs, coordinators, researchers, partners, researchers, end-users, developers (as in software), people with EU Commission experience and some others experienced in administration and financials. I have tried to collate their feedback with my/our (as in Carr Communications) experience. I thank all for their help and support on this brief but fascinating exercise. The compilation is best taken as my view and the responsibility for any errors made, or upset caused to sensitive souls is mine alone. Forgiveness can’t be requested, only given. That will be your contribution and your choice. It anyone wishes to contact me with questions or additional insights my contact details do not appear at the end of these pages.
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  H2020 Societal Challenge5, Work Programme 2016 - 2017 Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials – my abbreviated speaking notes for 10-minute presentation Irish Successes – Experiences - Tips for Applicants The SCENT Project - poster Brief introduction to Carr Communications in H2020 • H2020 success rate 28% • Partner and role • WP leader on communication, dissemination and exploitation • Impact H2020 Calls, Proposals and Winning The context – proposals are about IMPACT and ACTION and CHANGING BEHAVIOUR • Benjamin Franklin and Roy Keane – ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ • H2020 - understanding and background reading • Understanding the Commission, policy, their requirements, the call provenance, journey and process, the proposal, the evaluator(s) (the first audience), impact • Key words and phrases, cross-cutting, innovation, creativity, collaboration, cooperation, knowledge transfer, GEOSS, COPERNICUS, definitions of communication, dissemination and exploitation Enterprise Ireland, Delegates and National Contact Points • A gold mine of contacts and information The Calls, the Impact, TRL, Research and Innovation, key words and phrases • The politics, reading between the lines, the competition, the players, the favourites, the big decision – go or no go The Proposal • Like a marriage, • Standing out from the crowd, differentiating, being different • Boring or riveting • Linking back to completed and current projects in the same space – lessons learned The Coordinator and The Partners • Work as hard selecting the right consortia to be part of - as you do in developing a proposal • Great coordinators are gold dust
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  Writing the Proposal •Purpose, military management, great ideas, time line, things will go wrong, review time, leave edit and proofing time • The first audience is/are the Evaluator(s) – implications, know and understand their task • Make the proposal easy to read, easier to understand, easy to search for key words and actions Structuring the Proposal • Working back from Impact – what does this mean? • Visuals, figures and grids The Summary – DOs and DONTs and self-destruction EAS 30 09 2016 (additional notes will be available with slides after the information day) END of PRESENTATION Additional Notes For FirstTime Applicants and The More Experienced Before The Call Read all relevant documentation and follow links that are given. Research the Commission view of Impact, Communications, Dissemination and Exploitation. Understand what the Commission want. Talk to Enterprise Ireland and the NCPs. Follow their advice. It is gold dust. The Call Attend the information days. Read all of the preparatory documentation. Talk to the Commission people present and ask questions. They are very helpful. They want Impact! No-one pays enough attention to the wording of the call – particularly the expected impact Each call is a challenging document to understand. Many hands may write each call. Lots of great ideas searching for a call for funding! This is the wrong way around. It is not what you think you can bring to the call. It is what the Impact of the call requires from you and the consortium Read the call carefully from the Impact perspective Write the proposal from the Impact perspective Be rigorous in your assessment of whether the proposal meets the call Get background information (NCP and Information day) If you think it is a bad proposal idea – it usually is!
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  Don’t waste timeon bad ideas/ consortia Face to face partner meetings, if at all possible, are good for exploring and agreeing The quality of coordinators varies massively This has a huge impact on the amount of time invested in proposal preparation Writing the proposal is a massive investment of time and resource Don’t be afraid to pull out, but do so appropriately and timely Build a good network with successful partners Don’t be afraid to ask people their real proposal success rate Some of the larger (experienced) organisations are running many horses (proposals) - sometimes two in the same race (call) They put most effort into their favourites! Know them Read between the lines of the call – know the competition Talk to the NCP and PO responsible for the call to review your idea Ideally face to face Get a list of SMEs who you can ‘bring’ with you Be willing to support the SMEs initially Work as hard selecting the right consortia to be part of - as you do in developing a proposal Writing The Proposal If you are the Coordinator make a plan and leave a clear 10 days at the end for final review (EI and NCP) revisions, editing and proofing If you are not the coordinator, ask the coordinator to make a plan and leave a clear 10 days . . . The most frequent and destructive error is rushing the last few days to complete. This can destroy the integrity of a potentially great proposal Coordinating a proposal is demanding. The plan will give your first insight into the coordinator. Excellent coordinators are scarce and invaluable Rather have a great coordinator with a bad call than a bad coordinator and a great call? Work harder selecting the right consortia to be part of – and enjoy developing a great proposal! Write the summary Impact first. Even the summary must address every Impact requirement in the call. Draft the proposal from the Impact back to the start. Expand the detail of the Impact as the proposal develops - always checking back to the call Impact requirement. Remember your first audience is the evaluators. If you do not convince them, you have no project.
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  Make the proposaleasy for the evaluators to evaluate in the way they evaluate. Talk to evaluators. Listen to evaluators. Talk to NCPs during the drafting. Leave time. Is the proposal really creative, innovative? Does it convince? Can the consortium deliver what it says on the tin? Read previous evaluations. Examine the difference between success and failure. There is an issue in the way proposals are written and presented. The maximum number of words are squeezed into the available space. This is not a good idea but is a common outcome. Make the critical parts of the proposal easy to read with proper layout and spacing. Use creative effective visuals. Sometimes evaluation can feel like a lottery - after the event! It doesn’t matter. Once you commit, you give it 100 percent. Some words about the Future – focus on Impact H2020 Calls – IMPACT and ACTION Some calls, and the language used, can be difficult to understand and identify what Impact is really required and how to achieve? Better editing and clearer focus could improve the quality of the proposal response The Academic Challenge Research (Academics/Scientists) and Communication, Dissemination, Exploitation and Impact Science matters and it needs to be communicated in a way that is understandable Communicate in language that various audiences, stakeholders, end users and ordinary folk understand Be engaging, interesting and understandable. Talking about benefits. What are the benefits? Are the benefits relevant, meaningful and really beneficial? Are they crystal clear and innovative? More research required that investigates and produces case studies of successful Impact in EU research Projects – identifies barriers, blockages Research that connects Behavioural Science to Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation to Impact and Action and behavioural change results – measurable and successful Impact results Behavioural Science Behavioural Science – economics and psychology, potential contribution is huge in improving Impact Applying Behavioural Science research in the’ Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Triangle’ will improve Impact and action and behavioural change for the Common Good This is Science in Action
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  Eddie Shaw Carr Communications October7 2016 086 2463635 [email protected]