Preparing a proposal

1. Preparing a proposal How does it work? Nathalie CliquotProject Officer Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation nathalie.cliquot@ec.europa.eu Czech Info Day, Intelligent Energy – Europe Prague, 18 February 2011

2. Topics • Before you (effectively) start… • Designing your proposal • Finish line and submission • Frequent mishaps • IEE as information source 2

3. Start early ….. Start NOW !! 12 weeks until deadline 12th May 2011 3

4. Call 2011 timeline : from proposal to Grant Agreement Results: November 2011 18th January Project implementation Call forproposals Evaluationof proposals Contractnegotiation Deadline*: 12 May Jan/Feb 2012 * Exception: 15 June 2011 for Priority 10.4.4 of the Call for proposals 4

5. Do not miss the ‘musts’:eligibility & selection criteria … Proposals can ONLY be submitted through on-line application system Proposals must be on time Proposal must be complete Minimum 3 independent partners from 3 different eligible countries (EU27, Croatia, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein)** Proposers must prove their financial & technical capacity 5 ** Different/additional Criteria for ‘Building Workforce Training & Qualification Initiative’ and ‘Mobilising local energy investment’ – refer to Call text

6. …and convince on the award criteria: 5 criteria with 3 sub-criteria each 0-10 points per criterion threshold 50% (6+) Threshold for recommended proposals: 70% (score 35+) No secret – published in Call for proposals Instructions & Advice included in ‘Guide for proposers’

7. …and convince on the award criteria: 5 criteria with 3 sub-criteria each 0-10 points per criterion threshold 50% (6+) Threshold for recommended proposals: 70% (score 35+) No secret – published in Call for proposals Instructions & Advice included in ‘Guide for proposers’

8. Before we start: to lift the fog of the IEE terminology • Proposal: Your application • Part A -- on-line forms with administrative data + proposal abstract • Part B -- your (technical) work programme • Part C -- your budget in summary and by partner • Annexes -- financial & legal documents + letters of support • EPSS:On-line proposal submission tool – obligatory for IEE proposals • Consortium: A team of organisations submitting the IEE proposal – with one defined Coordinator. 8

9. Before you start… key documents • ‘Call for Proposals’: eligibility & selection & award criteria, priorities and deadlines • ‘Work Programme’: background, priorities and budgets • Application forms & Guide for Proposers: essential forms and guides to draw up and submit your proposal • These are annual documents – not identical to Call 2010 !

10. The IEE Call triggers your inspiration… • Reflect on your motivation and criteria to decide to go for a project proposal …first check carefully the 2011 Call priorities and the market need – about 20% of proposals failed on criterion 1 in 2010 10

11. Example: What is a “priority” in the Work Programme? 12.1.2 SAVE — Industrial excellence in energy Explanatory Note: Over the last twenty years, industry has improved its energy efficiency more than any other sector. However, the potential for savings remains high, so there is still a strong case for carefully focused actions in this sector. […] Priorities for action in 2011 • Sector-specific actions to reap the maximum savings in specific branches with large untapped potential • Establishment of cross-sector large-scale energy conservation schemes, in particular audit or financing schemes targeted on SMEs or waste heat recovery schemes. […] 11

12. Topics • Before you (effectively) start… • Designing your proposal • Finish line and submission • Frequent mishaps • IEE as information source 12

13. Define your specific objective & target group • What concretely would you like to achieve? • Whom do you want to address? (not too many)? • Make sure you know the current (market) situation and your starting point • Make sure you check IEE project database • Invest in a reality check: investigate the interest amongst target group and major stakeholders 13

14. Produce a first outline of your idea • Write up an early 2-3 paper on • objectives • target group • major steps (work packages) • intended consortium (countries, types of organisations) • Use it as first base to discuss with potential partners • Consult with market actors – check their understanding and interest • Profit from their feedback to decide whether to take your idea forward 14

15. Design and invite your consortium • Be picky – make an appealing choice! • Stay consistent – keep your objective & target group • Do not cover the EU map artificially – make a fitting choice • Explore alternatives early, but be ready to change plan – change/renounce a country if you do not secure THE right partner • Keep your partners motivated - agree a working method for the proposal phase, make a plan for their contributions 15

16. There is no single rule for how to design a consortium, but a lot of examples that work: • PROSTO Project: • Renewable Local Planningproject developing best practice implementations of Solar Thermal Obligations (STOs) • The Region of Lazio, the Cities of Lisbon, Murcia, Stuttgart and Giurgiu joined with one ‘facilitator’ each - from a research institute, local energy agency or consulting • BIOGRACE Project: • Biofuel project to ensure a harmonised approach in calculating the GHG balance of different fuels • Organisations mandated to help national authorities in 6 Member States setting up monitoring and certification schemes for biofuels sustainability 16

17. Start writing the detailed proposal – Work Programme • Fine-tune your aim and your target group • Take your time to decide the best methodology to be applied – can it deliver? Think impact! • Define your main working steps • Follow the guidance of the Guide for Proposers and make your partners read them too! • Follow the guide on number of pages – an average proposal must be able to convince with around 45 pages of main text (excluding description of organisations & CV’s) 17

18. Finish with the fine-tuning - Work Programme • Work out Work Packages. Do not write extensive text. 3-5 pages per WP will be fully enough in most cases • But: explain your activities sufficiently • Invest time in planning your outputs and deliverables – what are useful, meaningful, attractive products for your target group? • Involve your partners – in particular Work Package Leaders • BUT: a Coordinator must understand the various starting points and all work packages. • Think smart to increase your chances: You can add a scheme, a time line, a table with extra information if that helps increase clarity. BUT: add no more than 1-2 pages in total. 18

19. Establish the budget • Design your budget “bottom-up” • Once the tasks are sufficiently specified and agreed • Check consistency regularly while advancing on your Work Programme - share of resources, appropriate levels between partners, appropriate weight of hours between major work steps Translate hours into EUR Estimate efforts needed (hours of work) Define tasks 19

20. Recall of important budget principles: IEE projects are cost-shared projects: no profit making allowed staff costs + overhead costs are predominant cost items staff costs based on actual, real salary + social charges evidence required for staff costs (e.g.: copies of payslips, timesheets) Flat Rate of 60% on staff costs to cover indirect costs (“overheads”) – do not need to be justified No basic research or hardware costs accepted EU Funding of up to 75% of total eligible costs 20

21. Topics • Before you (effectively) start… • Designing your proposal • Finish line and submission • Frequent mishaps • IEE as information source 21

22. Get the administrative / financial documents right Make sure the Coordinator has 2 weeks before the deadline: • Online Forms A 2 filled: administrative data of each partner (can be filled by the Coordinator or the respective partners) • Part B: technical information of each partner • Description of organisation • Short CV of key personnel • List of previous projects • Annexes: • legal, financial, administrative evidence • Letters of support

23. Last check: consistency / language • Involve an “informed outsider” for critical reading • Check consistency of data (including budget) • Check consistency of terminology (names of organisation, key documents, deliverables, work packages etc) • If you have the chance, then have a native speaker check the English • But remember : no perfect English is necessary, it is the clarity which counts and increases your chances 23

24. Submit on time • Fill out the on-line forms well before the deadline – perform “validation checks” • Upload administrative, legal and financial annexes early – they will not change unless you change partners • Use the advantage of EPSS – ‘overwrite’ your proposal any time - Submit a version of your proposal to be safe - at the latest one day before the submission deadline • Preparing a proposal in EPSS is straightforward – but needs time • No mystery: Only limited data need are encoded in on-line forms. Main proposal parts B & C & Annexes will be ‘uploaded’ as pdf or excel files. 24

25. Topics • Before you (effectively) start… • Designing your proposal • Finish line and submission • Frequent mishaps • IEE as information source 25

26. Frequent mishaps, misunderstandings, mis-readings « Starting Point »: your opportunity for your unique selling point ! • Proposal often miss a clear starting point • Develop a clear red line: • Describe the problem - user needs or market barriers • And: What is your motivation in this? • Be precise: describe the market, show the market size • Explain! 26

27. Frequent mishaps, misunderstandings, mis-readings « Objectives and Impacts »: convincing ideas for 2020 targets! • Proposals often suffer from lack of focus and do not convince on assumptions • Be courageous: • Limit your objectives, not more than 3! • Be clear on outputs and outcomes, seriously reflect on assumptions - quantify where appropriate • Plan activities to monitor your performance • Be aware: missing link to actual activities! 27

28. Frequent mishaps, misunderstandings, mis-readings « Target Groups & Key Actors»: Engagement is key! • Many proposals try to tackle too many target groups or do not find a good design for engagement • Have an effective project, choose your way • Limit. Invest time. Communicate with your target group. What works? • Avoid key actors which are not “mandated” to respond • Ensure that you have fit-for-purpose engagement activities. • Avoid stakeholder consultations too late, or too burdensome 28

29. Frequent mishaps, misunderstandings, mis-readings « Work Programme»: your main asset for delivery! • Many proposals fail to convince on an ultimate delivery • Invest time in a solid methodology – together with your team, this is THE CORE of your proposal • Find your way: Good amount of text – clear terminology – clear activities • Make your case: show in a simple way the scale of activities and ambition • Think value for money after you – transferability & sustainability • Take time for planning & define your deliverables, leave fine-tunes for (much) later 29

30. Frequent mishaps, misunderstandings, mis-readings « Budget»: • Evaluation shows no real concern on specific cost items – but 4 main issues to highlight: • Hourly rates – understand the concept of real cost • Balance – Volume of hours against activities • Balance – Sharing of skills and EU sharing between partners • Co-financing: avoid identical arguments – make a short, but honest case of the motivation of the partners 30

31. But let us highlight that perfect proposals do not exist… • We hope for inspired proposals • submitted by motivated and inspired project teams • aiming to deliver and make a “change” 31

32. Topics • Before you (effectively) start… • Designing your proposal • Finish line and submission • Frequent mishaps • IEE as information source 32

33. IEE Key documents & EACI assistance How can the EACI (further) guide you: • EACI IEE enquiry service: questions related to the call & rules & application form through the ‘contact’ area of the IEE website • Pre-proposal check: check of your proposal idea with regard to fitting-to-priority • Application Forms: assist in understanding the forms and instructions What can we not do: • No pre-judgement of your proposal idea • No recommendation on consortium partner 33

34. Who can help finding partners ? Check with your regional/national associations for their contacts in other countries Partner search facility Manag’Energy Consult your National Contact Point (NCP) ! (see IEE website) EACI cannot recommend partners • New launch of partner search facility: www.managenergy.net

35. IEE website as source of information IEE News Calls for proposals & how to apply Project database with details of all IEE projects (>400 projects) Call for expert evaluators & how to apply Information on how to implement a project Contacts & help 35 http://ec.europa.eu/intelligentenergy

36. Take a(nother) look at the IEE website : we look forward to your proposal! http://ec.europa.eu/intelligentenergy 36