How to move on after deadline

Approved or rejected? Whatever happens after deadline, we offer you good advice on how to how to move on with your project.

Application approved

Before you can get started with your project, the consortia consisting of all project partners is invited to contract negotiations. There are always two agreements that have to be made – one in the consortia, and one with the grant authority:

• The partnership agreement covers all commitments between the partners, e.g. work tasks, finances and IPR. The partnership agreement must comply with rules stated by the grant authority.
• The agreement with the grant authority relates to budget and project activities basically a specification of these elements from your application.  

Project management and administration

Public funding is subject to strict rules regarding administration. Well-planed project management is important to ensure efficient and successful implementation of the project. We recommend allocating 5-10% of the project budget to project management tasks and plan frequent consortia meetings involving all partners.

Project administration adheres to the principle of “comply or explain”: It the project runs according to the plan and the sub-goals are met, the interference from the grant authority is minimal. However, if there are substantial deviations from the project plan and budget, you will be held accountable and has to offer a thorough explanation.

The project manager reports to the grant authority on budget and activities typically semi-annually. The payment of the funding is also paid in intervals – either in advance or on the basis of your on-going reporting.

Application rejected – Should you apply again?

It is not unusual to see a good project rejected. Some grants have a success rate as low as 5-10%. For this reason, a rejection does not necessarily means that your project is unsuited for public funding. Use the rejection as a mean of constructive criticism and your chance to do even better. We give you three tips on how to do that:

1. Understand the ground of rejection. You typically get a written explanation stating the grounds for rejection. Set aside time to review the individual grounds, read your application again and consider if you see the points made by the evaluators. Most often you have the option of contacting the grant authority. Do this and ask for an elaboration.
2. Get fresh input. Many find it helpfull to get an impartial opinion on the application and help for evaluating if a revised application can make it through the next application round. We can give you this impartial evaluation.       
3. Identify improvement possibilities. When you understand the grounds for rejection and are sure the project really fits the call, you can start your revision process. Use the feedback to improve the weak areas in your a