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Top Tips for writing LIFE+ Proposals

The EC has highlighted to National Contact Points a number of issues and common problems that have caused LIFE+ proposals to be rejected in previous calls. Below is a generic top tip list for all LIFE+ strands. Specific tips for Nature and Biodiversity, Environment Policy & Governance and Information and Communication can be found in our I Drive folder: I:\CRKT\Public\LIFE Proposal Rejections

  • Ensure proposals provide sufficient detail to enable a proper evaluation to be undertaken.  Explain fully what is proposed.  Many proposals fall down on the lack of detail in Forms B2, which set out the project description and problem to be targeted.
  • Ensure you fully explain the relevance of the proposal to EU policy and why the problem targeted is a concern at EU level.  Proposals are evaluated for European added value, with this criterion scoring up to 30 points at the Award Phase of the evaluation. 
  • Provide more detail on the demonstration/ innovative elements of the proposal, such as explaining why the innovative aspect is innovative in the project’s area; and that the innovation has not already been applied elsewhere.
  • Ensure that agreements on any co-funding are in place before proposal submission, to avoid possible disappointment at a later stage, should the proposal have to be pulled through withdrawal of co-funding.
  • Know your stakeholders before submitting the proposal e.g. get them on board at an early stage; know who you need to work with to deliver project actions.  

Youth in Action Programme – Call for Proposals

Youth in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future.

It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU’s borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background.

The total level of funding available for 2011 is over €122 million and the prioritise are European Year of Volunteering; Youth Unemployment; Inclusive Growth; Global environmental challenges and climate change; Creativity and entrepreneurship; and EU-China Year of Youth.

The call is open to non-profit or non-governmental organisations, local, regional public bodies, informal groups of young people, bodies active at European level in the youth field, international non-profit organisations, and profit-making organisations organising an event in the area of youth, sport or culture. 

The next closing date for applications under its Youth in Action Programme is the 1st September 2011.

Funding available to enhance youth work in Europe

Youth in Action is the EU Programme for young people aged 15-28 (in some cases 13-30). It aims to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future. The European Commission has announced a new call for proposals to support the professional development of youth workers.  Grants of up to €25,000 are available to those active in the field of youth to develop transnational partnerships and preference will be given to projects that address the issue of youth unemployment.

Projects should involve a partnership between two partners from two different programme countries of which at least one is from an EU Member State, acting respectively as sending and host organisation of the youth worker involved in the project.  Projects will have a maximum duration of 12 months and must start between 1 January 2012 and 1 June 2012. 

The closing date for applications is the 1st September 2011

Funding for ‘risky research’ foreseen at the ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council is set to announce changes to its funding schemes, according to the blog Research Fundermentals.  Reporting on an ESRC event in London on 2 June, Phil Ward, research funding manager at the University of Kent, said the council would introduce a mechanism for funding innovative or risky research.  This would involve a pilot stage, which, if successful, would be followed by a second stage of funding, said Ward.

According the blog, the council announced that its Centres and Large Grants schemes would have a strong steer towards areas of priority, such as analysing economic performance, influencing behaviour and social mobility.  According to Ward, full details of the changes will be made available on the council’s website in the next few weeks.

Research missing in NHS reform?

The Association of Medical Research Charities has joined a coalition of charities and organisations calling for research to be better embedded and supported within the NHS.  In a response to the government’s “listening exercise” on the future of the healthcare system, submitted on 31 May, the group propose that the duty to promote research be included throughout the NHS.  The health secretary should take on a duty to promote research within his remit, and incentives to carry out research should be developed, it adds.  The exercise is a response to criticisms of the coalition government’s plans to shake up the NHS.

Parliamentary group flags natural resources crisis

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has published briefing notes on Evidence Based Conservation and Landscapes of the Future, which looks at tackling limited resources in the future.  The reports, intended to guide MPs, look at policy structures that might help the UK meet future challenges and how evidence can be used to support decisions within conservation.

Up in Arms?

University of Oxford investments in arms companies have been criticised by a group of students, graduates and lecturers in this week’s Lancet.  Freedom of Information requests made by the Oxford Anti-War Action group show that between 2008 and 2010 the university invested £4.5 million of its assets, through third-party funds, in BAE Systems, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and other UK and US arms manufacturers. The group has not said which other UK universities it believes invest their endowments in arms firms.

Meanwhile, another university is in hot water over its financial associations. Cancer Research UK has criticised Durham for accepting donations from British American Tobacco and claim that the tobacco industry seeks to gain unwarranted respectability by association with credible bodies such as universities.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Call for Proposals launched

The Call has a budget of 109M€ and a deadline of August 18th. A webinar organised by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Group of the Energy Generation & Supply KTN was held last week  and the slides and a recording of the presentation are available on the pages of the Focus Working Group on the FCH JU 2011 Call. You will need to be a member of the Group to access these materials and the added benefits of joining are that you will also be able to work with other members of the fuel cell and hydrogen community to explore how to prepare a successful bid into the FCH JU Call, exchange experiences, gain insights into the 2011 topics, search for collaboration partners and find a range of information on how to work and apply for European funding.

Glasgow crowned green ‘super city’ of the future

Research commissioned by the HSBC, has found that thanks to its strong research and engineering capabilities, Glasgow will grow into a renewable-energy “super-city” in the coming decade. The report, Future of Business, was published on 2 June. It is based on a survey of some 500 British entrepreneurs and business managers from small and medium-sized companies.

Lecture Series – Reminder “Saving the Sound – Spreading the Word”

A reminder that Professor Sean Street will be holding a lecture “Saving the Sound – Spreading the Word” on Wednesday 8 June with registration from 5 pm at the EBC.

Despite the fact that the recording of sound and image is a relatively young science, the capacity and potential for electronic media to act as both chronicle and witness to our lives is enormous. The Centre for Broadcasting History Research in the Media School at Bournemouth University, has been working to save, preserve and digitise archives in a wide variety of forms, as well acquiring  paper collections relating to media regulation and history, for more than 10 years. In this lecture I want to argue that these are the new historical documents of our time, as important in their own way as the precious texts and artefacts preserved in our national archives, museums and libraries.

 There remains however in some cases the issue of making these valuable collections more widely available; matters relating to intellectual property rights restrict how much and how widely we can ‘spread the word’. There will come a time when such access is easier than it is today; in the meantime, it is important that we concentrate on preservation, and continue to enhance our teaching and learning as much as possible with these precious recordings. It is our responsibility as custodians on behalf of future generations, to ensure that the voice of the yesterday and today is saved securely, in order that it can provide a vital witness for tomorrow’s educational experience at every level.

Further details can also be found on the Research Blog’s Upcoming Events and the University’s Lecture Series Webpage

Peer to Patent website aims to strengthen applications

The Intellectual Property Office launched a Peer to Patent website on 1 June, enabling the science and technology community to view and comment on patent applications.  The office will upload some 200 applications in computing during a six-month pilot scheme, commentating that a similar scheme has been successfully run in the US and Australia. 

“Patent applications granted after using the Peer to Patent website review will be potentially stronger, giving businesses better protection to grow their innovative ideas. This will give the IPO access to a wider body of knowledge when deciding whether a patent should be granted,” said IP minister Judith Wilcox in a statement.  “The pilot will give experts the opportunity to comment on patent applications and share their vital expertise before patents are granted. It will also mean that inventions already known in the wider community will be filtered out more readily,” she added.

LIFE Programme & Resource Efficiency: Decoupling Growth from Resource Use

The EU’s 2020 Strategy sets the priority of moving to a more resource efficient, green and competitive economy. The LIFE programme has a long track record of innovative approaches for building a resource efficient Europe. This LIFE Focus publication aims to showcase how LIFE funding has generated a vast portfolio of know-how for a diverse range of beneficiaries and sectors: from LIFE Environment projects that have helped improve the resource efficiency of production processes to products that incorporate eco-design principles throughout their lifecycle. Other exemplary projects highlight approaches that can save water, reduce the negative impacts of transport, agriculture, fisheries and the food and beverage sector and lead to more energy-efficient buildings. The publication also shows how LIFE projects are helping to realise key EU policy goals such as better land use and planning, the development of green skills and Green Public Procurement. Todownload the publication,  click here.

Questionnaire launched on future of researcher development

The research careers development body, Vitae, is inviting post-docs and other research staff to complete a questionnaire on the future of research careers. It especially wants to find out how do to ensure that the UK can continue to produce a flow of highly skilled researchers in economically challenging times.  Together with other organisations, including Research Councils UK, the Confederation of British Industry and universities, Vitae will draft a national professional and career development strategy for researchers from 2012 to 2017. Submissions are due by 8 June