LEUVEN MINDGATE

Competitive FP7 Proposal Writing


The K.U.Leuven Research Coordination Office (DOC) invited Dr Sean McCarthy from Hyperion Ltd to provide a course on 'How
to write a competitive proposal for Framework 7'. The course is intended for all reseachers (group leaders, professors, as well
as postdocs) who are or will be involved in applications for EU funding.
The course will cover different subjects to turn your idea into a succesful FP7 proposal, including 'lobbying', building your
consortium, managing the consortium, as well as writing strategies for the impact section and valorisation. The emphasis will
be on multipartner multinational research proposals of the Cooperation programme from FP7.

ID: Hyperion and Dr. Sean McCarthy
The course that Dr. Sean McCarthy will present at K.U.Leuven is based on almost 30 years of proposal writing, project
management and project administration of European Union R&D contacts. Sean McCarthy, PhD in Electrical Engineering, has
been involved in the writing of over 150 proposals for EU R&D programmes. He has been a partner in over 60 research
contracts and has acted as the coordinator in 16 of these. He has been an evaluator in 10 different EU programmes.
In 1988, he established Hyperion Ltd., to sell the expertise that he had developed in his research activities. Today, the
company specialises in the development and delivery of training courses for Research Managers. Between 1997 and 2008, Dr
McCarthy gave training sessions to over 27,000 researchers in 250 different research organisations across Europe.

Course modules
The aim of this course is to train researchers, research managers and administrators in writing professional and competitive
proposals for the Framework 7. The course describes the relevance of Framework 7 to EU policies, the common problems in
proposal writing and the success criteria for proposals. The course provides tips on how to collect information, how to select
strategic partners and how to avoid duplication in proposal writing. The final section describes a strategy for proposal writing.
Module 1: A Quick Overview of Framework 7
Sources of Information on Framework 7
The Structure of Framework 7
Terminology used in Framework 7
Module 2: How Proposal are Evaluated
Evaluation Criteria for Framework 7 Proposals
The Evaluation Process
The Evaluation Manual and the Forms used by Evaluators
The role of the 'Expert Evaluator' + how to become an 'Expert'
Key websites and documents on the Evaluation of FP7 Proposals
Module 3: The Secrets of Framework 7
Who decided the Structure of Framework 7
Who prepared the workprogrammes for the Research Priorities
Who's Who in the Technology Platforms
Background to the Evaluation Criteria
Key websites on the Who's Who in Framework 7
Module 4: How to Find the Best Partners
Which countries can participate ?
The different roles in the consortium
The role of the coordinator
How to find best partners
Key websites to select the 'Strategic Partners'
Module 5: How to Write the 'Potential Impact' of the Proposal
Background to 'Potential Impact'
Template for writing the 'Impact'
Example of 'Potential Impact'
Ten Routes for Exploiting Research Results
Websites to write the 'Potential Impact'

Module 6: How to Write the 'Project Implementation'
How to Manage R&D Projects
Potential problems managing Framework Projects
The Pert Chart, The Gantt Chart
Work Package Description
The Deliverables Table
Work Breakdown per partner
Websites, Templates and Webservices for Management of Framework projects
Module 7: How to Streamline Proposal Writing
Step by Step guide to preparing a proposal
How ideas for research proposals are identified
How to kill 'bad' ideas
The 'One Page Proposal'
How to avoid repetition in R&D Proposals (Templates)
Templates to prepare 'One Page Proposals'
Module 8: Administrative and budgetary issues (by K.U.Leuven EU-team)
How to submit a proposal: practical concerns and support by EU-team
How to set-up a budget and fulfill the administrative requirements
How to manage your project

Time schedule
This course is intended for anybody interested in or busy with applying for FP7 research funding:
08:45: reception and coffee
09:00: (sharp!) introduction (by K.U.Leuven EU-team)
09:10: course part I (modules 1-3) (by Sean McCarthy)
10:30: coffee break
10:40: course part II (modules 3-5) (by Sean McCarthy)
12:30: lunch break (with sandwiches)
13:30: course part III (modules 6-7) (by Sean McCarthy)
15:15: coffee break
15:45: course part IV (module 8) (by K.U.Leuven EU-team)
17:15: questions & closing

Venue
Place to be: auditorium Wolfspoort, Dienst Onderzoekscoördinatie, Schapenstraat 34, Leuven
Parking space available

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