As a potential newcomer to the EU funding, you need to be critical to your skills and capacities to coordinate and deliver a multinational and interdisciplinary consortium. The preparation procedures for a challenging proposal require profound knowledge of the application process. Additionally, these application protocols take time, energy and involve a multidisciplinary approach. Before making this important decision, you need to dig into some vital questions, such as whether you have the right network of international partners who can join you in these collaborative efforts, whether you deliver a globally disruptive product or service that may create new global markets, and whether you have a dedicated and committed research & development and business team.

Another consideration in this decision-making process is the actual nature of your innovation, namely if you are someone that provides an underlying technology, a module or a component to a larger system, thus not developing a stand-alone proprietary solution. If the latter applies, the most advisable approach is to join a consortium in a quality of a partner, where your specific and limited services and know-how are required. When you participate in the consortium as a partner, the pressure of the proposal preparation is reduced, as you follow the guidance of the leader, and assume responsibilities only for particular segments of the proposal, as defined per work distribution plan.

While assessing the potentials of getting involved in the EU funding landscape, there are different support structures available for the interested stakeholders. One of the many is to explore the partner search options as part of the published Calls for proposals, where posting a request for participation and offering your services, may result in a fruitful international EU funded cooperation.

Written by Karmen Vidonja Ozvatič, Head of EU project team Tiko Pro