PREFEKT 2018
Preparing International Grant Application
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 2
Program
20. 4. 2018
 Search for a call
 Before you start…
 Proposal structure
 Tips and tricks
 Support at MU
27. 4. 2018
 IVF Grant Application
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 3
Why to write grants application
To have enough funding to:
run your studies,
purchase top-notch soft- and hardware,
pay respondents,
participate in conferences,
publish your results in high-impact journals.
Be aware:
 Only the best-in-class projects are funded.
 Winning grants is prestigious. It is also hard work.
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 4
Research Grants at MU (2017)
 Almost 60% annual research budget
 Providers (number of projects):
59%
41% Projects
Institutional Support
498
247
127
75
64
63
3018 Internal
GAČR
MEYS
EU
Ministry of Health
Other national
TAČR
Other international
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 5
Where to look, who to ask
Ask:
 your PI
 your colleagues
 project support staff at your department/faculty
 project support staff at RMU
 use searching tools
 sign for newsletters (news at provider’s webpages, Research Office
Newsletter, …)
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 6
Searching tools (example 1) - anlupa
International Providers
 Eureka
 European intergovernmental framework for
cooperation in science and technology
 European Commission
 L'Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
 Mezinárodní visegrádský fond
 Ministerstvo pro vzdělávání a výzkum
Spolkové republiky Německo
 National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Providers
 Česko-bavorská vysokoškolská agentura
 Fond rozvoje sdružení CESNET, z.s.p.o.
 Grantová agentura České republiky (GA ČR)
 Karlovarský kraj (KKV)
 Liberecký kraj (KLI)
 Ministerstvo kultury (MK)
 Ministerstvo obrany (MO)
 Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu (MPO)
 Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy
(MŠMT)
 Ministerstvo vnitra (MV)
 Ministerstvo zdravotnictví (MZ)
 Ministerstvo zemědělství (MZe)
 Norské fondy
 Technologická agentura České republiky (TA
ČR)
 Územně samosprávné celky (ÚSC)
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 7
Searching tools (example 2) – Participant Portal
 H2020
 3rd Health Programme
 Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
 Consumer Programme
 COSME
 Internal Security Fund - Borders
 Internal Security Fund - Police
 Justice Programme
 Pilot Projects & Preparatory Actions
 Promotion of Agricultural Products
 Research Fund for Coal & Steel
 Rights, Equality and Citizenship
Programme
 Union Civil Protection Mechanism
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 8
To enhance ability to get fundable score
 Clearly defined problem
 Ability of project to extend scientific knowledge
o Interesting, important, testable hypotheses that build on
previous research in the field
 Propose a scope of work that is appropriate
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 9
TASK 1 - Elevator speech
… a way to share your expertise and credentials quickly and effectively
with people who don't know you
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 10
Before you start I.
 Who
o is your audience? Understand the focus of the granting agency.
 What
o is the question you are addressing?
o tools will you use to address the question?
o will society have at the end of the research?
 Where
o will the research take us?
 Why
o is the time now to address the question?
o are you the person to perform the research?
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 11
Before you start II.
Check out the timeline for submission, and the funding cycle
Check to see if you meet the eligibility criteria
Check the size of grants offered, including min and max awards
Look at the number and kind of past awards given by the funder
If the grant requires partnering; is there a potential partner for this grant?
Before beginning, determine if you have the needed:
time,
energy
and other resources to prepare an successful grant application
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 12
Project proposal structure in general
 Different agencies = different requirements, different terminology
 All proposals: scientific + administrative/technical parts
 Horizon 2020:
o Scientific part = EXCELLENCE
o Technical parts = IMPACT + IMPLEMENTATION
 Two approaches towards selection of the topic:
o bottom-up
o top-down
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 13
TASK 2 – call analysis
 Who
o is your audience? Understand the focus of the granting agency
 What
o is the question you are addressing?
o tools will you use to address the question?
o will society have at the end of the research?
 Where
o will the research take us?
 Why
o is the time now to address the question?
o are you the person to perform the research?
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 14
Does the idea match the call?
Source: www.ous-research.no
 You do not need to cover the full call alone
 You can argue that you have a good focused idea even if it is not
covering the full call spot on.
your idea the call
Grant Application Template
 Answer all questions/fulfil all expectations
 Respect all page limitations for all sections
 Use the correct and last version
Why you should follow the template strictly:
 Evaluator expects the logic of the template
 She/he will have a much easier job finding the good points and
compare proposals
15PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Proposal Structure
 Administrative Part
o Title
o Acronym
o Abstract
o Budget
 Technical Part
o Excellence
o Impact
o Implementation
o PI / Consortium info
o Ethics
16PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Abstract
 Invitation to read the whole proposal.
 It must make the reader curious and full of expectations on what will
follow.
 Should be brief, informative and catchy.
 Often used for distribution of proposals among evaluators.
 Too vague abstract may be picked by unsuitable evaluator.
17PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
TASK 3, 4 – Abstracts
 Go through two different project abstracts and try to identify their
strengths and weaknesses.
 Which abstract is more convincing and why?
18PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Excellence
 Objectives – clear, measurable, realistic and achievable
 Relation to the call
 Concept and approach – your motivation, positioning in the
innovation chain, background, links to other initiatives, methodology,
gender issues
 Ambition – going beyond the state of the art, novelties, innovation
potential with reference to already available products or services,
results of any patent search
19PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
How to write objectives
 project is based on an idea or vision
 objectives = the achievements/goal of the project
 writing objectives = you should tell what you will achieve to fulfil the
project idea
o to show that this project will really bring something new
o to show the funding institution what they will get (before the project
start)
o to give them a way to follow up and control your work (during the
project period)
o to describe for yourself and your partners what goals you have set
20PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Objectives should be SMART
 Specific – What exactly will you achieve?
 Measurable – How to tell if the objective is reached? Provide clear
indicators or parameters to measure the objectives?
 Assignable – Specify who will do it.
 Realistic – State what results can realistically be achieved, given
available resources.
 Time-related – Specify when the result(s) can be achieved.
21PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Objectives are not activities!
 WPs and tasks are activities
 The wrong question: What am I going to do?
 The right question: What do I plan to achieve?
22PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Impact
 Contribution to the impacts listed in the call text, innovation
capacity, competitiveness, any other environmental and socially
important impacts
 who benefits from proposed research and in what ways (multiple
different levels of benefit)
23PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Implementation – I.
 Work plan – Work packages, deliverables and
milestones
o Description and timing of the WPs and their
components (Gantt chart)
o WP tables, Deliverables
o Graphical representation of the interrelation of the
WPs (PERT diagram)
 Management structure and procedures
o Organisational structure and decision-making
mechanisms
o Innovation management
o Critical risks relating to project implementation and
mitigation measures
24PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Implementation – II.
 Consortium as a whole
o description of the consortium
o complementarity of the partners
o how the partners individually contribute to the project
o how they will effectively work together
 Resources to be committed
25PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Budget
 Direct costs
o Personnel Cost (all benefits included)
o Other direct costs, including
 Travel cost
 Equipment and infrastructure costs
 Other costs and services (materials, supplies)
o Subcontracting
 Indirect costs
26PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Remember
 The most important is the good, logic story
 Be consistent
o structure writing based on what you set out in the start to achieve
o use the same word for the same thing throughout the proposal
 Focus and do not deviate
 If you get new ideas add an objective and restructure accordingly
27PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Using the right words…
 Use the concepts and terms used by the call text, supporting documents,
and the funding sources
 Read their text a try to match your text with their vocabulary:
o It is easier to read and understand by the evaluator
o It shows that you have read the text yourself
o It gives the impression of you as an “insider” close to the call
o It avoids misunderstandings and “not having addressed the
questions”
28PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Bad words I.
 background
o everybody knows it from before
o describe current SoA – this is the base for your research
 continue with how you are going to go beyond SoA
 will be agreed later, depending on the outcome, will be assigned when
the project starts, may be changes in course of the project, will be
decided post project
o avoid any open or unanswered questions in your text
o even if you are not 110% sure make a choice and be clear
29PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
Bad words II.
 aim
o objectives or my main goals sound much better
 may lead to, if successful, could have an impact on, will probably lead to
an improvement
o you should not write as if in doubt
o your project is ambitious Research; the winner is high risk high gain
o be realistic and clear in your goals and work plan
o any doubts – show in the risk plan what may fail; however, then you
have a mitigation strategy ready
30PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 31
Grant Application Process - Some General Tips
Begin early.
Apply early and often.
Answer all questions. (Pre-empt all unstated questions.)
If rejected, revise your proposal and apply again.
Give them what they want. Follow the application guidelines exactly.
Be explicit and specific.
Be realistic in designing the project.
Make explicit the connections between
your research questions and objectives,
your objectives and methods,
your methods and results,
your results and dissemination plan.
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 32
Reasons for failure
 More than half (60%) are rejected on first reading because:
o Proposal did not match program
o Applicant did not follow directions
(New & Quick, Grantseeker’s Toolkit, 1998)
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 33
Support at Masaryk University
 Project support at faculties – first contact
 Research Office (Rectorate)
o Information service: web, newsletter & e-mail news, workshops
 H2020 project preparation (SSH) – 14. 5. 2018
 Grants Week – October 2018
o Individual support: consultations of project proposals/ grant
opportunities
o Financial support: for preparation of project proposals
(prestigious schemes)
 Technology Transfer Office (IPR)
Visegrad grants
 Supports projects focused on V4 regional cooperation in various
areas such as:
Culture and common identity
Regional development, environment and tourism
Education and capacity building
Public policy, legislation and justice
Democratic values and the media
Social development
 No budget limit (typically approx. 5 000–30 000 €)
 Project duration: max. 18 months
 Covers total project costs (co-financing encouraged)
 Participants from at least three V4 countries
34
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application
PREFEKT – Preparing International Grant Application 35
Thank you for your attention.
Sources and links: Horizon 2020, International Visegrad Fund
Ida Součková Olšová
i.souckova@rect.muni.cz
Radka Martincová
radka.martincova@gmail.com