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Procedure: Preparing a grant application (view source)
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The preparation of a | The preparation of a grant application is a necessary and important part of life at [[Future Worlds Center]]. One, because our survival depends on securing competitive funding, and two, because we want our associates to feel independent in the sense that once trained how to write successful applications, they can survive anywhere. | ||
The preparation of a successful grant application requires careful consideration of the following: | |||
# Find (or better expect) the call early enough | # Find (or better expect) the call early enough | ||
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=Roles and Responsibilities= | =Roles and Responsibilities= | ||
==Person in charge of logistics== | |||
A lot of time and effort for the preparation of an application is invested in logistics such as collecting materials from partners, downloading and sending files, communicating with people, photocopying and preparing the final documents etc. It is important that there is a ''reliable'' person in place to take this burden away from those involved with the actual juice of the application. This role is not to be underestimated! | |||
==Person in charge of creativity and innovation== | ==Person in charge of creativity and innovation== | ||
Most applications require that the project is creative and/or innovative. This begins from the short name of the project, to | Most applications require that the project is creative and/or innovative. This begins from the short name of the project, to its logo and of course the content and its exploitation. Innovation is everywhere, not just in a name or in the inclusion of an innovative process or a deliverable. The person in charge of this process does not necessarily need to come up with hire or her own ideas. S/he is however: | ||
* Responsible to arrange meetings between project members to brainstorm about the project ideas | |||
* Responsible to choose from alternatives in case there are disagreements | |||
This person must know the call requirements regarding the angle of innovation, the current and future priorities and the evaluation and scoring process and methodology of the innovative character of the proposal. Coming up with ideas is not enough; what is required is that the innovative character blends in and is mentioned (like putting worlds in the mouth of the evaluator) across the whole application. | |||
In some calls, up to 20% of the score might come from the innovative character of the application. | |||
==Person in charge of preparing the actual content of the proposal== | ==Person in charge of preparing the actual content of the proposal== | ||
The whole '''Preparing a grant application''' | Almost everybody at [[Future Worlds Center]] has great ideas for projects. However, they rarely have enough time to prepare a competitive application. The whole '''Preparing a grant application''' procedure was put in place so that this person can focus on preparing an excellent application capitalizing on his/her personal interests and expertise. All others take the burden of more or less standardized processes and tasks away, so that this person can remain focused at all times to the juice of the proposal. | ||
This includes both the Background information and Methodology as well as the WPs that are relevant to the development and/or implementation of whatever is proposed. | This includes both the Background information and Methodology as well as the WPs that are relevant to the development and/or implementation of whatever is proposed. | ||
In most calls, up to 40% of the score might come from the methodology and activities parts of the application. | |||
==Person in charge of the budget== | ==Person in charge of the budget== | ||
The preparation of the budget is not easy. It might consume more than 30% of the time/effort invested. The reason is because it includes a number of complexities: | The preparation of the budget is not easy. It might consume more than 30% of the total time/effort invested. The reason is because it includes a number of complexities: | ||
# The budget must be prepared according to requirements that differ from call to call | # The budget must be prepared according to requirements that differ from call to call | ||
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# The budget might continuously change because of changes in the distribution of tasks and/or changes in the consortium or contributions of partners | # The budget might continuously change because of changes in the distribution of tasks and/or changes in the consortium or contributions of partners | ||
In order to deal with these complexities Future Worlds Center uses its own spreadsheets especially developed for different types of applications. This means that the budget will have to be moved to the proper forms | In order to deal with these complexities [[Future Worlds Center]] uses its own spreadsheets especially developed for different types of applications. This means that the budget will have to be moved to the proper forms before the deadline. However, this process is sometimes underestimated. This is why one should invest the time to prepare the actual budget forms even though they might change. | ||
In most calls, the budget might have no or low score. But if wrong the application might be considered ineligible. One might get a grant with a bad budget and the organization will incur financial losses or extreme difficulties in materializing the activities. Even worse, the project might have to be modified in ways that can contradict the contract and lead to project delays and or needs for amendments. | |||
==Person in charge of the management and evaluation WPs== | ==Person in charge of the management and evaluation WPs== | ||
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==Person in charge of the Work program WPs== | ==Person in charge of the Work program WPs== | ||
These processes are to a great extent standardized. On the average about 10% of the score goes here. There is no excuse to loose even one point. | |||
In most calls, up to 20% of the score might come from the methodology and activities parts of the application. | |||