Just do it How to get on the funding list of FP7

1. Just do it How to get on the fundinglist of FP7 Michelle Epstein Medical University of Vienna Department of Dermatology, DIAID, Experimental Allergy

2. The Idea GM food and feed on human and animal health + Prescott paper: a transgenic protein in a non-native plant is allergenic = EU project

3. What to do next? • Go to Cordis.lu and find the actual call • Make appointment with Europabüro/MUW and with FFG responsible contact person for the call • Meet Europabüro and discuss the idea • Meet FFG person and discuss the idea again → input from both organizations is helpful

4. Reality hits • Europabüro & FFG person burst the bubble and you discover that: • there is not a lot of time before the deadline • you have a choice to follow or lead i.e. join a project or coordinate a project • if you want to do your own idea, you need to coordinate • you need to address the ENTIRE call • you need to get partners to do your project with you

5. Understand the CALL • Be sure that you understand the call- this is CRITICAL • You have to deal with every word of the call • If you don’t understand the call, pick up the phone and call the person in Brussels who is in charge of the call and ask them about it

6. What next? • You have to work fast • You decide to lead because then you can do your project, the one that you really want to do and don’t have to try to squeeze into someone else’s project • The nice FFG person offers to place information about your ideal project on the SMEs to go website, this is an ABSOLUTE MUST unless you already have partners • It’s not a big deal, you write a brief summary paragraph with your ideal project and then it is posted on the website and the form is sent out to all the other NCPs in Europe

7. Then what? • Depending on the call and your idea, you get a million emails from all over Europe asking and sometimes begging you to join your consortium- it’s wild! • At this point, I had no idea what to do and so I sent all the emails (over 25 from Turkey) to my nice FFG person asking, ‘what should I do now?’ • The answer: • tell the ones that are completely uninteresting that you are sorry but…. • ask the ones that are interesting to write a brief summary of how they think they can contribute to your project

8. Decisions decisions decisions • You have to choose the partners that you think will fit in your project • Once the partners are chosen, it’s really important that you meet them • I spoke to each one on the phone to see if they could really speak english and to be sure they weren’t crazy • One of them suggested a workshop (wasn’t my idea, I didn’t even think about it)- it was a great idea!

9. Meet your partners • Arrange a workshop in your place of work • Get a seminar room in your university or lab area and start planning the workshop • Tell your partners time and place and leave it to them to arrange the flights and hotels • I gave them a list of hotels and offered to help with the booking

10. The workshop • Invite your nice FFG person and your nice EU person ( Europabüro at MUW) • Plan the project: the aims, workpackages, the budget, the workpackage leaders, etc.

11. Proposal funding • Financial help is available for the preparation of the proposal from the Ministry of Science via the FFG • ANBAHNUNGSFINANZIERUNG- get started working on this application (ffg website) asap • It helps with organizing the workshop • Food, coffee, etc • Secretarial help (a bit problematic….) • Travel costs for some partners and accommodations for all the partners

12. After the workshop • Keep in touch with the partners and the nice FFG and University EU people: they are EXTREMELY HELPFUL- I would not have been able to do this project without their help and support • Start writing.. Keep your partners involved in the writing process and have your nice FFG and University EU people check your proposal- they give incredibly important bits of information

13. Don’t be intimidated • Don’t be intimidated by the process, it’s not as complicated as it appears at first glance • Be sure to read the guidelines • Be sure to follow Annex 4 • instructions for drafting part B of the proposal • it is the format for the proposal • follow it exactly as it is written • ask for help with the tables

14. my CALL There is a need to continually assess potential foreseen or unforeseen short- and long-term effects of GMOs on human and animal health. Currently these effects are estimated during the pre-market safety assessment but there is a requirement for post-market monitoring.The research shall develop appropriate techniques for such assessments and analyse their possible limits. It shall include the possible differentiation of the types of post-market monitoring according to the objectives and type of GMOs, the level of exposure and the ethical considerations that are raised.
Expected impact: Improved knowledge of GMO effects on human and animal health after authorisation. Improved techniques for post market monitoring of GMOs. Support to policy needs of the European Food Safety Authority, etc.

15. Things I picked up along the way • Don’t say that you will do something in the grant that you may not want to or can’t do later- because if you get the grant they do not allow you to remove tasks that you said that you would do • If you are a partner and not a coordinator, it’s easier. However, be sure that you fit into the project and that you really want to do the tasks that you have outlined in the grant

16. Things I picked up along the way • Only 75% of materials and personnel are paid for the project by the EU- this means that you need another source of money to pay the remaining 25% • The EC do not pay MwSt but our government will pay for it when it is incurred in Austria • Management costs should account for about 7% of the entire budget

17. Things I picked up along the way • Have a work package for management of the project and dissemination/training • Be sure that you understand what a sub-contractor is and whether it is acceptable for the EC • Be sure to be within the budget- your partners may not be reasonable about what they need to do the work. You need to be clear about this

18. Things I picked up along the way • Know that the review or your project is not only based on the science and technology section • You need to have good sections for impact, implementation, ethics and management • If your science and technology section is brilliant but you didn’t put enough time and energy in the other sections, your grant will get trashed

19. GOOD LUCK