As I have just finished the full Grant Writing for Horizon Europe (GW4HEU), I wanted to share some quick thoughts and my experience. Even after years of working with the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and contributing to more than 45 collaborative Horizon Europe proposals, there are always new things to learn!
I wanted to share some of the key lessons and learning I took from the training sessions.
This was a complete deep dive into Horizon Europe Pillar II. It covered the whole process from finding the topic, reading the call text, all the way to submission. It allowed us to prepare the first conversation with our ‘core consortia’ to get a head start on the next deadlines.
The training was split up into three days online and two in person in the beautiful Portuguese city of Porto. I will mainly talk about the in-person days here – but all days were packed full of useful information and insights! To keep things simple, I wanted to give an overview of the main lessons that I took from the training:
Lesson 1: The topic is the bridge between ourselves and the evaluators
We started with the Topic, as all good proposals do, and we kept coming back to the topic text throughout the proposal development. Rita described the topic text as a ‘bridge’ because both the evaluators and participants will work from this.
Using the topic text as a starting point creates a clear source of truth for proposal decisions. This allows us to detach ourselves from some decision-making processes (such as when new partners join) and really focus on what the call is looking for, rather than our own judgments or intrinsic biases.
First, we printed off the Topic text that we had each chosen, it was good to have this in front of us across the whole training to keep reminding ourselves. We identified:
1) main activities – including mandatory R&D activities and optional ones and
2) stakeholders – may be well positioned to get involved in the project.
I don’t want to give away ALL of the tips and tricks we learnt in this training (you should go and do the training!) – but we all had our own MIRO BOARD, worked collaboratively and each built up our own proposal.
Lesson 2: Horizon Europe follows a distinct logic of impact
Next, we really took a deep dive into the meaning and significance of Impact in Horizon Europe. As I am sure you know, there is a lot of specific language and jargon used in European projects that can be easily intimidating or confusing. It was good to clarify some of the language including:
- Scope = activities
- Results = what the project produces
- Objectives = what we plan to achieve
- Expected Outcomes = short-to-medium term changes
- Impacts = long term changes
We also saw a very useful breakdown of how policy priorities work in Horizon Europe:
Strategic Orientations -> Impact Areas -> Expected impacts (destinations) -> Expected outcomes (topics) -> Project Results.
The project level logic works along the lines of:
-> Results
-> Expected Outcomes
-> Impacts
An interesting takeaway for me was that we are responsible for the results and activities of these projects (more on this below under Lesson 7). The EC has its own logic and assumptions that several smaller, accumulated specific objectives in several projects will deliver results that will eventually have an exponential effect and lead to desired wider societal impacts.
Lesson 3: Objectives anchor the activities of the proposal
Defining the objectives was part of the fundamental work. We took our time with this as it is key to establish a strong core consortium design, impact pathways, budgets and more.
Having these objectives in place early on sets the groundwork for a smooth proposal preparation process. Each objective we developed was in line with SMART principles, using active verbs that describe what will be achieved (rather than what will be done).
We each wrote out our objectives and used Rita’s concept of the Impact Lake® to visualise how the project will work. These objectives go on to shape the work plan, impact pathway, consortium structure and ultimately how the project addresses the societal challenge outlined in the topic.
Lesson 4: Consortium design is more than half the battle
Our focus for these sessions was mainly on the proposal development, in preparation for the first kick off meeting with the consortia. We talked through all the elements that went into a winning application, the structure and nature of the consortium itself kept coming up.
This is not just about having the most world-leading institutions named in the proposal, but also having people who are engaged, motivated and reliable from the very beginning.
Setting up a strong core consortium from the outset helps to refine and define the project’s objectives. Rather than having ten different organisations in a single video call, having a strong foundation based on inputs of a small, motivated group gives you the best chance of a stress-free submission.
Lesson 5: Plan proposal preparation like a project
Treating the proposal development like a project is key with collaborative projects. Inputs and internal procedures always take longer than expected. We worked backwards from the submission deadline, taking into account a 48h buffer before the ‘official’ deadline to allow time for internal checks and submission.
It’s easy to forget (and to take into account) that consortia are made up of human beings. Any proposal development timeline needs to account for partner reviews, internal approval processes, holidays, conferences, family commitments and everything in between.
It is best practice to agree on a shared timeline and schedule key meetings at the very beginning of the proposal development process. Successful Horizon Europe proposals are rarely written at the last minute, they are managed and well organised.
Lesson 6: DEC should not be an afterthought
It’s always helpful to get a refresher on DEC, mandatory in every project and that often receives less attention than the technical aspects of a proposal. I think a common misconception is that DEC happens once the research has finished, rather than being fundamental to achieving impact itself.
For anyone that is unfamiliar with the terminology:
- Communication is raising awareness of the project and informing relevant audiences about its results.
- Dissemination is making results accessible so others can use, learn from and build upon them.
- Exploitation is the use of project results such as commercialisation, influencing policies or wider societal benefits.
These activities should not be seen as simply a compliance exercise. These are the mechanisms which projects create value and impact in the real world. In some cases, a strong DEC strategy can be just as important as an additional technical case study when it comes to demonstrating impact.
Lesson 7: Impact is all about showing credibility (and a bit of futurology)
One of the most valuable lessons was understanding the distinction between activities, results, outcomes and impacts, and how evaluators assess the credibility of the pathway connecting them.
In this sense, although the impact section can sometimes feel like futurology, we are making a case for how the project’s activities will lead to results. The keyword here is ‘credibility’. Evaluators are not looking for the most ambitious claims. They are looking for plausible and well-supported pathways to impact.
If we claim reductions in emissions, improvements in healthcare or changes in policy, we need to demonstrate both that these outcomes are realistic and how the project’s results contribute to them.
Final reflections
Attending GW4HEU was a bit of a full circle moment for me. Having worked with Rita in the past on numerous proposals, I had always wanted to attend one of her training sessions. Safe to say that I was not disappointed. The experience exceeded my already high expectations and reinforced something important: no matter how many proposals you have worked on, there is always something new to learn.
It was good to both reinforce some of the fundamentals that can get lost in the pressure of deadlines and dive deep into some of the specifics. Whether defining objectives, selecting partners or building the pathways to impact, the topic is the bridge that connects everything.
Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to Rita and the FUNDamentally SCIENCE team for putting on such a great few days!
Oliver Cressall
I help businesses unlock grant funding to fuel groundbreaking research and innovation. With expertise in both UK and European grants including Innovate UK (IUK), Eureka, Horizon Europe, UKRI, CINEA, and the European Research Council – I specialise in guiding research teams and innovation-led businesses through every stage of the grant process.
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