How to write a successful proposal

Soft Skills Training Workshop at AEI Golm; July 7-8, 2010

When	Jul 07, 2010 09:00 AM to Jul 08, 2010 05:00 PM
Where	Albert-Einstein-Institut Golm
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This interdisciplinary two day course will train scientists in writing professional and successful proposals for research and education programmes funded by national, European and worldwide funding institutions.

Projects funded by third parties are not only safeguarding jobs but also help young scientists to gain professional experience and to qualify for their future careers. Scientific institutions of all kinds rely on these kinds of projects in order to strengthen their statistics and to compete nationally and internationally.

This course provides a step by step approach from the first idea to the finished proposal giving all kinds of practical advice every step of the way. It takes a look at the philosophy behind the programmes, provide tips on how to collect relevant information and give advice on how to find suitable partners. Furthermore, it explains how to take a first idea and develop it from a rough abstract into detailed work plans.

Examples will be presented on all topics covered in the course. Aspects of project management will also be taken into account in order to prevent mistakes during the proposal drafting phase which might lead to serious consequences when the project is carried out.

We will also deal with the following issues:

How to elaborate the first idea step by step into a detailed work plan.
How to find suitable partners and set up a successful consortium.
How to approach the set-up of a financial plan and how to collect preliminary information.
How to write a letter of intent and how to deal with legal matters.

Each programme has a different set of conditions. The course will, therefore, concentrate on the structure and contents of the following programmes:

National programmes financed e.g. by Federal Ministries and the German Research Foundation
European Programmes, e.g. the European Research Framework Programme
Other programmes will be covered on demand of the participants.

The basic strategy of proposal writing is, however, transferable to most of the other funding programmes as well.

All project phases and important topics will be dealt with in small working groups. Participants are encouraged to think about a project idea of their own and present this shortly during the seminar. The seminar group will jointly decide which idea will be developed further during the two days. This implies getting important feedback from the other participants and the two lecturers.

Agenda

Day 1

The pre-proposal strategy

How to develop a project idea – from idea to sketch
Creativity Techniques
Drafting an abstract
Networking
How to deal with funding organisations
Funding Policy and the philosophy behind it

Searching phase

Searching for programmes
How to find the right programme!
Information about various funding programmes:
Framework Programme 7, European Social Fund, European and national education programmes, National Funding Organisations such as Federal Ministries, German Research Foundation etc.
Doing research: Is my idea really unique?

Planning phase

Optimising and adapting the abstract
Forms and Bureaucracy: How to survive the administrative part of the proposal
Adapting your idea to the funding conditions
From sketch to concept; how to further develop the proposal as regards contents
Choosing partners, Negotiations with potential partners
Further adaptations of the concept Day

Day 2

Planning further details

Project organisation: Partners and their roles and tasks
Formulating the project structure: Starting the project management
Planning the project, overall planning: phases, milestones, deliverables
Legal questions: Letter of intent, Consortium Agreements, Contracts etc.
Setting up a financial plan
The personal wish list
Financing conditions of the funding institution
Which additional effort is needed to realise the project?
What is likely to get funding for? Cost categories and accounting rules
Calculating the co-financing

About the trainers

We have been carrying out seminars on drafting and writing proposals in German and English for the last ten years. References include Universität Konstanz, Technische Universität Dresden, TU Berlin Servicegesellschaft GmbH (master studies "Science Marketing"), Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin (ASFH),Technische Universität Berlin (Scientific continuing education), several Max Planck Institutes in Berlin and Potsdam, Fraunhofer FOKUS Institute in Berlin and University of Tromsø, Norway.

Three recent joint publications on topics like "How to deal with funding organisations", "What makes a proposal successful?", "Choosing partners" in Handbuch Praxis Wissenschaftsfinanzierung, Focus Erfolgreiche Drittmittelakquise und professionelles Projektmanagement, Raabe Fachverlag für Wissenschaftsinformation (2007-08) and co-authors of the course book on "Research promotion and third-party funds" of the master studies "Science Marketing" of TU Berlin Servicegesellschaft GmbH.

Cornelia Borek, LLM (University of London), Assessorin

Professional background:

Lawyer with focus on European Community Law
Scientific Employee of the EU-Bureau of the German Ministry for Education and Science (located at the Project Management Agency of the German Aerospace Center) since 1 September 2008. Tasks: National Contact Point for the “Regions of Knowledge” and “Research Potential” programmes of Framework Programme 7 of the European Commission and member of the National Contact Point for Legal and Financial Issues
EC Liaison Officer of Technische Universität Berlin from July 1995 until August 2008
2000 – 2003: scientific employee of the European liaison office of the German research organisations (Koordinierungsstelle EG der Wissenschaftsorganisationen (KoWi)), the EU Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Science (BMBF) and desk officer of the EC Unit for Research of the BMBF

Iris Löhrmann, Diploma in Politics (University of Munich)