The Grant

Innovation Fund Proposal Writing (1) – Preparation & Innovation

With Irene Larroy from EY and Marco Molica Colella from Hydrogen Europe

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In this first of two episodes on Innovation Fund proposal writing, I’m joined by Irene Larroy from EY and Marco Molica Colella from Hydrogen Europe. We focus on the traditional Innovation Fund grants and Net-Zero Technologies calls rather than the auction mechanism. And the first lesson comes before the writing starts: because this programme is highly competitive and resource-intensive, applicants need to determine whether their project genuinely fits the Innovation Fund before investing heavily in the proposal. Irene explains how she starts by testing projects against the five evaluation criteria: degree of innovation, GHG emission avoidance, maturity, replicability and cost efficiency.

We then zoom in on the degree of innovation. Marco explains why innovation cannot be assessed in isolation: it depends on the sector, competing technologies and what the Innovation Fund has already supported. Irene shows why applicants should study the Innovation Fund dashboard and compare themselves carefully with previous funded projects—including previous projects from their own corporate group. We also discuss the importance of the innovation annex in the call documentation and why a successful proposal process may require applicants to redesign parts of the project itself in order to build a stronger case.

Time codes:
01:55 Guest introduction and fly in
06:00 Preparation
31:35 Shaping of proposal concept with consortium

A New ERA for Research Management
RM Framework Series #9 with Anna Seip from DG RTD

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Why has research management become a European policy priority? In episode #9 of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined by Anna Seip, Policy Officer at DG RTD, to trace the policy journey behind the initiatives we have been exploring throughout this series. We go back to the renewed European Research Area and ERA Action 17 and look at how research management moved from a relatively undefined concept towards an increasingly recognised profession. Anna explains an important part of that history: the initiative did not simply originate inside the Commission. Member States helped put the issue on the agenda, after which the Commission, countries and stakeholder organisations worked together to define the challenges and determine what should happen next.

Those challenges became upskilling, recognition, networking and capacity building. We discuss how projects such as RM Roadmap and RM Framework turn those policy objectives into practical initiatives, and why RM Comp has become an important common language for describing what research managers actually do. But creating frameworks is only part of the job. The next challenge is adoption: getting institutional leadership and Member States to recognise the profession, use the tools and invest in research-management capacity. It is a useful look behind the curtain at how a European policy priority gradually moves from discussion to concrete change inside research organisations.

Time codes:
02:23 Guest introduction and fly in
06:11 Why Research Management Became a European Priority
12:11 Building the Foundations: RM Comp and the European Framework
19:02 From Policy to Practice: Implementing RM Comp Across Europe
33:13 The Next Step: Shared Ownership Across Europe
48:12 Reflections and Call to Action

Exploitation in EU Projects – From Results to Real Use
With Ana-Marija Špicnagel, Director at IPS Konzalting
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In this episode of my Implementation Series, I’m joined by Ana-Marija Špicnagel from IPS Konzalting for a practical guide to exploitation in EU-funded projects. We begin with the basics: communication tells people what the project is doing, dissemination shares its results, while exploitation is about somebody actually using those results. And that does not necessarily mean selling a product. Exploitation can be commercial, regulatory, educational, organisational or linked to further research, depending on the project and the expected outcome.

From there we move into implementation. How do you identify key exploitable results when many of them may not even be visible at proposal stage? When should you start talking to partners about commercialisation and IP? How do you deal with researchers, SMEs and other consortium partners having very different motivations? And how do you involve stakeholders early enough for their feedback to actually shape the result? Ana-Marija shares a concrete working rhythm for exploitation throughout a project and explains why the real objective is not another Excel sheet or polished deliverable. It is creating something that somebody wants to use — and ideally something that can continue living after the funding stops.

Time codes:
02:03 Guest introduction and fly in
06:13 Defining Exploitation
18:00 Designing for Exploitation from Day One
31:57 The Consortium Challenge
37:13 From Project Results to Real Adoption
58:38 Life After the Project
01:09:07 Reflections and advice
01:10:29 The toughest challenge

EU Funding in the Western Balkans – The View from Albania
With Luziana Hoxha from the Agricultural University of Tirana
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In this episode, I’m joined by Luziana Hoxha from the Agricultural University of Tirana to look at EU funding from the perspective of Albania and the Western Balkans. Albania is associated with Horizon Europe, so on paper its universities and researchers have broad access to the programme. But access and competitiveness are two different things. Luziana explains the challenges of joining established consortia when other European universities may have decades of experience, mature project offices, stronger research infrastructure and long-standing international networks.
We also talk about how European programmes can gradually change that position. Erasmus+, earlier Tempus projects, mobility, Widening instruments and participation in international networks have helped universities build administrative capacity, modernise curricula and laboratories, and develop researchers who are increasingly able to write and lead proposals themselves. Luziana shares her own journey—including succeeding with a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship after previously doubting whether an Albanian researcher could compete at that level. It is a conversation about funding, but equally about visibility, confidence, relationships and becoming a trusted part of the European research ecosystem.

Time codes:
01:55 Guest introduction and fly in
05:39 The View from Albania – What Opportunities Exist?
16:08 The Challenges of Competing in European Funding
32:18 Building Capacity Through European Collaboration
47:03 From Participant to Contributor
58:42 Reflections and advice
01:04:34 The toughest challenge

How RTOs Turn Research into Impact – The Spanish Model
With Patricia Castillo, Director of Impact at Eurecat

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In this episode, I’m joined by Patricia Castillo, Director of Impact at Eurecat, to explore what research and technology organisations actually do and why they occupy such an important place in Europe’s innovation ecosystem. RTOs sit between universities, companies, start-ups and public authorities. Their purpose is to help move technologies beyond promising laboratory results and towards something that can be manufactured, scaled, financed and used by companies in the real world. Patricia explains why that process is not a simple linear transfer from science to market, but a continuous interaction between researchers, industry and society.

We also examine the distinctive Spanish model, where RTOs are private non-profit organisations with limited baseline support and must combine competitive public funding with industry contracts and services. That creates a difficult but productive tension: responding to companies’ needs today while investing in the knowledge, people and infrastructure that may be required ten years from now. We discuss impact management, responsible technology development, long-term research capacity, tacit knowledge, falling success rates and why generic AI-written sections on impact, gender and dissemination are becoming increasingly easy for evaluators to recognise.

Time codes:
01:39 Guest introduction and fly in
05:15 Understanding the RTO Model
16:06 The Spanish Context
26:41 Living with the Challenge
49:09 The Book - Capturing Knowledge Before It Disappears
01:01:17 Reflections and advice
01:03:17 The toughest challenge