The preparation of a proposal is no simple matter: a winning project idea must be identified, the right partners must be contacted and involved, the application form and all supporting documents must be duly filled out. Above all, outstanding coordination capacities and large experiences of proposal writing are essential for a successful submission. Applicants’ organisations often lack these competences, which makes the process much longer and complex.
This is where Up2Europe Experts come into play!
Up2Europe Experts provide support/fully undertake selected or the complete package of preparation tasks - from providing advice in the development of the project idea and goals, to partner search and consortium building, recurrent review and proof-reading, preparation of administrative documents, up to the actual submission to the financing agency. Up2Europe Experts bring added value to your proposal, by making sure it is clear and consistent, understandable and appealing for non-technical people, and that it meets the requirements of the selected call for proposals.
Thanks to their solid experience in proposal writing and project implementation, in the evaluation and review of project proposals, as wells as their deep knowledge of the priorities and the selection criteria of EU programmes and instruments, Up2Europe Experts ensure a smooth and effective preparation of your proposal, resulting in the submission of a high-quality proposal.
Need a more detailed description of this service? Contact one of the Up2Europe Experts.
Project Management is much more than drafting gantt charts and filling out budget sheets. It entails several tasks that requires time and specific skills, which are not always available in the beneficiaries’ organisations. But, good news: management tasks can be easily outsourced! An Expert can assist you throughout all phases of project implementation.
Up2Europe experts provide support/fully undertake selected or the complete package of project management tasks - ranging from resources and work planning, to coordination of the consortium, maintenance of a project repository, organisation of meetings, reporting, budget monitoring, etc. - allowing you to focus on the scientific and technical activities.
Thanks to their deep knowledge of project implementation and their solid experience in the management of projects in the framework of different EU funding programmes and instruments, they can ensure an effective and efficient achievement of set objective and results.
This is just a short description, if you need more details, please ask for a Quote!
Is your project idea eligible for EU funding? Which calls for proposals or tenders can you apply for? And how much could you obtain? The Funding Opportunity Report can answer these questions! UP2EUROPE experts will scan through the most interesting and appropriate EU funding opportunities in European programmes and instruments, in order to identify those that are more relevant for your project proposal.
Funding opportunities are plentiful: calls for proposals are issued every week by the numerous EU bodies. Keeping track of each one these opportunities and recognising those that better match your project idea is not easy, but it is crucial to increase your chances of receiving the grant. Furthermore, the different programmes and instruments apply different rules in terms of partnership requirements, financing and co-financing amounts, activities that can be implemented and costs that may be included.
Thanks to their sound experience working with EU funding and their thorough knowledge of the eligibility criteria and requirements of EU programmes and instruments, and taking into account your current projects and future ambitions and your network of collaborators and partners, UP2EUROPE experts can support you in identifying the most relevant sources for funding your project ideas.
This is just a short description, if you need more details ask for a Quote!
The submission deadline is approaching and you still have doubts on the necessary support documents and their correct format or on the submission process itself? While preparing a project proposal you need a timely reply to questions regarding partnership requirements, the content of specific sections, or the eligibility of activities and costs?
An Up2Europe expert can resolve your doubts and answer your question in real time at any stage of the preparation and submission process.
By means of the service Live Support & Assistance on European Projects an UP2EUROPE expert provides real time support by email, chat or phone, easing the preparation and submission of your proposal and making sure you avoid the most common errors, increasing the chance of receiving the funds.
Training in courses and masters on European Project Management, project design, advisoring on direct and indirect European funds, presentation of various funding programmes, Project Cycle management techniques, implementation and financial reporting
We focus on a very practical approach with exercises thought for the individual needs and client case.
The COP21 Paris Agreement recognises the role of cities and calls on them to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The EU is committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 11 ("Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable"). Many forward-looking cities have set themselves climate goals whose achievement rests on wide scale roll out of highly integrated and highly efficient energy systems.
To achieve the necessary energy transition in cities, it is essential to increase energy systems integration and to push energy performance levels significantly beyond the levels of current EU building codes and to realize Europe wide deployment of Positive Energy Districts by 2050[1].
This call will also contribute to the specific objectives of the SET Plan action 3.2 - Smart cities and communities - focussing on positive-energy blocks/districts[2].
Scope:Integrated innovative solutions for Positive Energy Blocks/Districts will be developed and tested and performance-monitored in the Lighthouse Cities. Projects will consider the interaction and integration between the buildings, the users and the larger energy system as well as implications of increased deployment of electro-mobility, its impact on the energy system and its integration in planning.
Lighthouse Cities will closely collaborate with Fellow Cities[3] and should act as exemplars helping to plan and initiate the replication of the deployed solutions in the Fellow cities, adapted to different local conditions.
As a sustainable energy transition will see increased electro-mobility, its impact on the energy system needs to be understood and well integrated in planning.
Definition: Positive Energy Blocks/Districts consist of several buildings (new, retro-fitted or a combination of both) that actively manage their energy consumption and the energy flow between them and the wider energy system. Positive Energy Blocks/Districts have an annual positive energy balance[4]. They make optimal use of elements such as advanced materials (e.g. bio-based materials), local RES, local storage, smart energy grids, demand-response, cutting edge energy management (electricity, heating and cooling), user interaction/involvement and ICT.
Positive Energy Blocks/Districts are designed to be integral part of the district/city energy system and have a positive impact on it (also from the circular economy point of view). Their design is intrinsically scalable and they are well embedded in the spatial, economic, technical, environmental and social context of the project site.
To increase impact beyond the demonstration part of the project, each Lighthouse City and Fellow City will develop during the project, together with the consortium partners, its own bold city-vision for 2050[5]. The vision should cover urban, technical, financial and social aspects. Each vision will come with its guide for the city on how to move from planning, to implementation, to replication and scaling up of successful solutions.
Proposals should also:
Projects will incorporate performance monitoring of at least 2 years of deployed solutions from the earliest feasible moment[6]. All relevant performance data must be incorporated into the Smart Cities Information System database (SCIS)[7].
Projects should also deliver:
Eligible costs are primarily those that concern the innovative elements of the project needed to:
Costs of commercial technologies are not eligible, for example:
Projects are expected to cooperate with other Smart Cities and Communities projects funded under Horizon 2020[8] in the Smart city Lighthouse group as well as the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (EIP-SCC)[9].
Therefore, proposals will foresee a work package for cooperation with other selected projects and earmark appropriate resources (5% of the requested EU contribution) for coordination and communication efforts and research work associated with cross-cutting issues.
Projects can make use of financial support to third parties for up to 5% of the EU contribution to the project for the incorporation of relevant innovation boosting activities/actions (e.g. SMEs, start-up competitions, Prizes, etc).
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 15 to 20 million[10] would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Typically, projects should have a duration of 48 to 60 months.
Expected Impact:Projects should contribute to:
The higher the replicability of the solutions across Europe, the better.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Gender
Open Innovation
Socio-economic science and humanities
Clean Energy
[1]See also: Communication on Accelerating Clean Energy Innovation –
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/1_en_act_part1_v6_0.pdf
[2]For further information please consult the SETIS website: https://setis.ec.europa.eu/actions-towards-implementing-integrated-set-plan
[3]Formerly called Follower cities
[4]The data filled in the BEST table (available on the 'Funding & tender opportunities' portal) will be used by the evaluators to assess and compare the level of ambition of the technical measures for Positive Energy Blocks/Districts of the project proposals.
[5]Building on and further concretising their i) Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP) or ii) Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans (SECAP) or iii) a similar, at least equally ambitious plan. These shall be approved by the corresponding authorities by the end of the project.
[6]In case of the same solution being implemented in different buildings, monitoring for 2 years must be done at least for one building of each category in the same city. Monitoring must in all cases be at least one year.
[7]http://www.smartcities-infosystem.eu/
[8]See also https://www.smartcities-infosystem.eu/scc-lighthouse-projects
[9]http://ec.europa.eu/eip/smartcities/
[10]Indicatively, EUR 6 to 8 million for a Lighthouse city and between EUR 0.5 and 1.0 million for a Fellow city.
Expert - Project Development & EU Funding Consultant in participatory processes
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