CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
Via Álvaro del Portillo, 21 - 00128 Rome - Italy
www.unicampus.it
Criterion 1 Excellence, critical
aspects of evaluated proposals
and main strengths of a
successful proposal
Loredana Zollo
Laboratory of Biomedical Robotics and
Biomicrosystems
A Step closer to success in
FET Open
Workshop 23 Novembre 2016
Via Cavour 71, Roma
FET-Open – Novel ideas for radically new technologies
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
www.unicampus.it
• Experience in H2020 – Fet Open
• What to know when writing a proposal
• Evaluation Criterion 1 “Eccellence” and sub-
criteria
• Structuring Sect. 1 “Excellence” of FET Open
proposals
• Interpretation of Scores
• Main weaknesses of FET proposals
• Conclusions
Outline
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Experience in H2020 – Fet Open
Selected as expert in 2014 and Served for two calls
H2020-FETOPEN-2014-2015-RIA call with the cut-off on 31st of March 2015
▪ Number of proposals: 670
▪ Number of funded proposals: 11 (1.6%)
H2020-FETOPEN-2014-2015-RIA call with the cut-off on 30 September 2014
▪ Number of proposals: 644;
▪ Number of funded proposals: 24 (3.7%).
Selected as Vice-chair in 2015
H2020-FETOPEN-2014-2015-RIA call with the cut-off on 30th of September 2015
▪ Number of proposals: 800
▪ Number of funded proposals: 11 (1.4%)
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
www.unicampus.it
THINK AS AN EVALUATOR WHEN
WRITING A PROPOSAL
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Evaluation Criterion 1
Excellence: it is the main criterion for the evaluation with a threshold of 4 out of 5 and a relative weight of 60%! There are four sub-criteria:
1. Clarity and novelty of long-term vision, and ambition and concreteness of the targeted breakthrough towards that vision.
2. Novelty, non-incrementality and plausibility of the proposed research for achieving the targeted breakthrough and its foundational character.
3. Appropriateness of the research methodology and its suitability to address high scientific and technological risks.
4. Range and added value from interdisciplinarity, including measures for exchange, cross-fertilisation and synergy.
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Evaluation Criterion 1: Excellence
A good proposal clearly presents the breakthrough and the rationale behind the proposed idea. Analogously, the specific objectives are well posed, with clear progressive investigations that pave the way to science and technological advancement in the long-term.
Look at the substance: Some proposals might
be handicapped by language difficulties, others
deceptively well written
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Kipling Method
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Why this project?
Key scientific question
Unexplored or poorly explored topic
High risk - High gain
Clear description of objectives and experimental steps
(list of objectives and sub-objectives)
Feasibility
Preliminary results/evidence and expertise for each objective (possibly)
Expected milestones
Possible (international) collaborations
Such aspects can mostly be traced in the first section of the part B of the
proposals Excellence:
1.1 Long-term vision and targeted breakthrough towards that vision
1.2 Novelty, non-incrementality, plausibility and foundational character
1.3 Research methodology
1.4 Interdisciplinarity
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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1.1 Long-term vision and targeted breakthrough towards that vision
General Objectives
Long term; beyond the duration of the project
Improve, strenght, facilitate, realize…
Specific Objectives
To be realized during the project implementation
Testing, pilot plant, develop new knowledge,…
The objectives should be consistent with the expected impact of the project and coherent with the implementation.
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Describe the long-term vision of the proposal.
Describe the targeted scientific breakthrough to be achieved by the proposal.
Describe how this targeted breakthrough represents an ambitious and concrete step towards the long-term vision of the proposal.
Describe the objectives for the project, which should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound within the duration of the project.
1.1 Long-term vision and targeted breakthrough towards that vision
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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1.2 Novelty, non-incrementality, plausibility and foundational character
• Discuss the relevant state-of-the-art. Describe the advance
your proposal would provide beyond the state-of-the-art, and to what extent the proposed research is based on cutting edge knowledge, new ideas and concepts.
• Demonstrate the plausibility of the proposed research for achieving the targeted breakthrough.
• Provide arguments for the foundational nature of the breakthrough, in the sense that, if achieved, it would establish an essential basis for a new line of scientific and/or technological research and its future uses, not currently anticipated.
Keep in mind that new ideas and concepts are expected, rather than
the application or incremental refinement of well established ones.
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Describe the overall research approach, the methodology and explain its relevance to the proposal's objectives.
Explain how the research methodology is suitable to address high scientific and technological risks, allowing the exploration of alternative directions and options.
Where relevant, describe how sex and/or gender analysis is taken into account in the project’s content
1.3 Research methodology
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Describe the research disciplines supporting the targeted breakthrough of the proposal.
Explain the added value from the interdisciplinarity.
Describe the measures for exchange, mutual learning, cross-fertilization and synergistic advances among involved disciplines in order to explore new areas of investigation and directions for joint research.
1.4 Interdisciplinarity
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Interpretation of the scores
The proposal fails to address the criterion or cannot be assessed due to missing or incomplete information.
Poor. The criterion is inadequately addressed, or there are serious inherent weaknesses.
Fair. The proposal broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant weaknesses.
Good. The proposal addresses the criterion well, but a number of shortcomings are present.
Very Good. The proposal addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of shortcomings are present.
Excellent. The proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion. Any shortcomings are minor.
0
1
2
3
4
5
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Main weaknesses
Excellence:
• Novelty: the proposed vision does not appear really novel; it seems more an incremental refinement of already ongoing activities and existing technologies.
• Targeted breakthrough: the targeted breakthrough is often not coherent with the research methods and the rationale is poorly described.
• Ambition: The proposal lacks a clear overview of the state-of-the-art in all the involved disciplines. The provided novelty and correspondingly state of the art is limited to one specific field (typically the field of expertise of the Coordinator)
• The foundational character (i.e. the potential to become the basis for a new line of technology not currently available) is weakly addressed.
• High-risk: The proposal fails to address the high-risk vision
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
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Conclusions
The Evaluation Process
Thought to be fair
Designed by humans, carried out by humans, so always improvable
The number of submitted proposals is very high and, consequently, competition is tight.
The assignment of individual evaluators is crucial, each one with his own background, and none of them is immune from errors
Receipt of proposals
Individual evaluation
Consensus group
Panel Review Finalisation
Evaluators Evaluators / Vice Chairs
Consensus Report
automatically generated
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Conclusions
Preparing a proposal in 5 easy steps
1. Ask yourSelf if Horizon 2020 is the right fit
for you
2. Get intimate with your call
3. Create the best consortium you can possibly
imagine
4. Put together your application from the point
of view of the evaluator
5. Submit your Proposal early and often
If the idea is good and the background is rational and solid resubmission can be an option. Don’t give up!
CAMPUS BIO-MEDICO UNIVERSITY OF ROME
www.unicampus.it
THANK YOU !