Proposal Management

Call identification and analysis is a crucial step in the management of EU funded research projects. It involves identifying and analysing calls for proposals by the European Commission to determine which ones are relevant to the client's idea, scientific, technological capabilities, business or research objectives etc.

Our Research & Innovation Programme Management team understands the importance of meeting your needs when matching the call with your project idea. We work closely with you to understand your needs and analyse the available calls for proposals to identify the most suitable ones. This process involves a thorough analysis of the call's requirements, eligibility criteria, and expected outcomes.

Consortium building is Privanova's specialty. Our team conducts a thorough analysis of potential partners to ensure that they have the required expertise and experience, and that the resulting consortium is well balanced both in terms of expertise and geographical distribution. This approach ensures that the consortium looks very convincing to the proposal evaluators and is capable of delivering the project's objectives. 

During the Consortium building phase, Privanova relies on our vaste network of partners, and our professional affiliations with organisations such as INTERPOL, UNODC, and Crowdhelix. We are also partnering with EU initiatives like EU Community for European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS) and Living-in.EU. This gives us an excellent outreach covering academia, RTOs, industry, SMEs, NGOs and other categories of potential partners. Our strong point is the connection with the global law enforcement and security community. 

The team also considers different financial instruments and requirements, such as cost estimating and assessment, to ensure that the budget is realistic and feasible. Negotiating with project partners is another critical aspect of consortium building. The goal of negotiations is not to achieve the lowest costs, but to achieve the greatest value for the project. Understanding different financial instruments and requirements can help project managers prepare a convincing budget. 

Privanova implements a very streamlined, efficient proposal drafting process based on the collaborative, transparent approach. The process involves clearly defined roles and responsibilities for various sections of the proposal

Large, interdisciplinary proposals addressing Research and Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions or Coordination and Support Actions involve, from our side, multiple team members with very specific, dedicated roles so that all relevant administrative and scientific aspects are covered. In cases where we support a project partner such as a large university or industry representative with specific expertise relevant to the call, roles such as scientific leadership, technical management or coordination are often dedicated to external partners, consortium members with relevant operational and scientific capacity.

Specific proposals targeting European Innovation Council funding (EIC Accelerator, EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition schemes) are being handled by a dedicated team of experts, financial and business advisors who are also working for the EIC as coaches and evaluators. We aim to enable entrepreneurs and innovative startups who are willing to partake in research around high-risk, high-impact technologies to apply and win EU funding under the EIC Accelerator programme. 

In the context of EU funded projects, transversal issues such as ethics, security, management of research data, and gender play a crucial role in ensuring the success and impact of the project. At Privanova, we understand the importance of addressing these issues and integrating them into the project's design and implementation.

Ethics

We rely on our Ethics Advisory expertise and work closely with project partners to ensure the ethics compliance of the proposal. This can include obtaining the necessary ethical approvals, ensuring the protection of human subjects, establishment of an independent Ethics Advisory Board and addressing any potential ethical concerns that may arise during the project's implementation. We will also align the proposal with the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ECCRI).

Data Management

Management of research data is our core expertise. We assist partners in developing data management plans that outline how data will be collected, stored, and shared throughout the project's lifecycle. We will help you understand the FAIR data principles and their use, develop a FAIR and GDPR-compliant Horizon Europe Data Management Plan, or address legal issues concerning management of personal data within the project, often in specific sensitive contexts such as Clinical Trials. 

Legal Compliance

Legal analysis, regulatory compliance, policy recommendations and in particular all issues related to privacy and protection of personal data are handled with special attention as they relate to our vast expertise in the field. The focus of our legal compliance activities will shift as the project develops: from the initial requirements gathering and analysis, over development and validation of technologies to increased exploitation capacity of project outcomes due to regulatory compliance. 

Security and Confidentiality

Our team of experts is experienced in navigating the complexities related to security and confidentiality due to our close collaboration with the global law enforcement community. To fulfill security-related requirements or have the necessary partners on board, we often interact with entities or experts from the INTERPOL Cybercrime Knowledge Exchange network, Information Security Forum, UNODC etc. 

Gender

Gender equality is a key priority for the European Commission. We help project partners integrate a gender perspective into their project design and implementation, ensuring that the project promotes gender equality and addresses the call requirements or any other specific needs and challenges.

Privanova's pre-submission evaluation process, financial and administrative management of EU funded projects involves several key steps and requirements, including overall proposal evaluation, quality assurance, graphic design, budgeting, collection and upload of administrative information (Part A), submission of required annexes (ethics, security, clinical studies and trials, identification of end-users such as LEAs etc). 

• Administrative management: Proposals for EU funding must be submitted electronically through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal using the application forms available on the call topic page. Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register before submitting the proposal and will have to be validated. We will assist you to register the proposal on the portal, collect all the information required for a successful submission, including call eligibility conditions, administrative forms, annexes and the standardised application form.
• Pre-submission evaluation: Performed by our team of experts who all work for the EC as proposal evaluators, ongoing project reviewers and ethics experts, our pre-submission evaluation involves assessment of proposal quality against selection and award criteria (excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of implementation). We will also check other conditions such as the respect of  principles of equal treatment, transparency, co-financing, no double financing, and no-profit.

During the whole Proposal Management phase, we will be in touch with several National Contact Points, to seek official advice and guidance. If needed, we will also reach out to the European Commission's unit responsible for management of the Call under which the proposal will be submitted. 

Cascade funding, also known as Financial Support for Third Parties (FSTP), is a mechanism used by the European Commission to distribute public funding to assist beneficiaries such as start-ups, scale-ups, SMEs, and mid-caps in the uptake or development of digital innovation. One of the main advantages of the cascade funding relates to its simplified administrative procedures compared with other funding opportunities. In fact, the cascade funding is conceived to enable smaller companies, usually start-ups, to access EU funding without the need to follow more complex administrative procedures. This is of interest to SMEs who may not have the resources to compete with larger organizations in more well-known funding calls.

Privanova's proposal drafting services can help potential open call applicants by providing assistance in proposal writing preparation, finding the right partners for the call, or even having a double-check on what they are currently preparing. With Privanova's expertise in proposal drafting, applicants can increase their chances of success in securing cascade funding and advancing their innovative ideas.