How to participate in FP7

in this section

Five stepping-stones before starting

  1. Understand the basic principles:
    The EU Framework Programme (FP) is a top-down European research programme focusing on applied research which is open to researchers from the rest of the world. It does not provide funding to Australian researchers (apart from limited cases and Australian support), but offers other valuable opportunities. However, Australian researchers should make a sober cost-benefit analysis with regard to the efforts involved and potential benefits of participation in a FP project . In some cases, cooperation with one or more research institutions from a particular country in Europe might be more beneficial than participation in the EU Framework Programme.
  2. Place your research in the FP context:
    The objective behind all FP research projects is to find solutions to challenges and problems that Europe is facing. It is therefore important to see how and where exactly your research fits into the FP context. You might want to have a close look at the current work programme and see which calls for proposal could be of interest for your organisation. The current open calls are available from cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc, but more calls should follow in the course of the year. Even if the current work programme does not cover your areas of interest, it is worth keeping an eye on future work programmes.
  3. Find the right partners:
    The basic requirement for each FP project is that  at least three researchers from different EU Member States or Associated Countries participate in addition to any other international researcher. Hence, it is key for Australian researchers to have pre-existing links, or if not,  to build strategic links with researchers and research institutions in Europe that are involved in similar research. Your existing partners in Europe might plan to participate in an FP project, or might at least know who in Europe will be participating in an FP project. It is then up to you to convince your European partners that they include you in an FP project. The coordinator in an FP project is always a European researcher, so it is essential to be in touch with the key European researchers in your field.
  4. Look at European industry involvement:
    If you have strong industry contacts,  it might be worthwhile examining the involvement of European industries in the EU Framework Programme and possible links with them. In FP7, European industries will be involved in so-called European Technology Platforms (ETP) which are industry-led research partnerships that develop market-oriented research agendas. To check whether or not your research area is covered by any of the ETPs the list is available from cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/individual_en.html.
  5. Get help:
    CORDIS will provide you with all the necessary information, but it is not always easy to navigate and takes a bit of time to get used to. In any case, do not despair, but use some of the help that is available in Australia and Europe in order to break down these hurdles. We recommend, in particular, that you check out the FEAST website, or directly contact FEAST.

The submission of a European research project must adhere to a process involving a number of stages that are strictly regulated by the European Commission.

Project preparation, partner / project search

  • Start now to network with potential partners, as the first work programmes have been published for the first year of FP7, and the FP7 outline has been available since the end of 2006. Please refer to the How is FP7 made up? chapter of this website for more details about the specific programmes.
  • Find projects in preparation and position yourself as valuable partner (or coordinator).
  • Screen databases of running projects (consortia often prepare new projects) and partner search databases.
  • Attend events related to European R&D.
For project leaders or coordinators:
  • Define main project content and structure (work packages)
  • Find key partners
For project partners:

Publication of a Yearly Work Programme for each domain of FP7

  • Check if your project fits with topic(s) of the Work Programme.
  • Check opportunities in horizontal domains (research for the benefit of SMEs, fellowships).
  • Check rules of participation and funding, check that the FP7 model Grant Agreement complies with your organisation’s legal requirements.

Publication of calls for proposals

  • cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc
  • Study in detail the “Guide for proposers” and “Guide for evaluators”.
  • Choose the right type of project.

Preparation and submission of project

For project leaders or coordinators:
  • Fine tune your project (work packages, deliverables, budget, …)
  • Complete the consortium
  • Draft a first consortium agreement
  • Submit your project in time: the electronic proposal submission system will only be open 1 month before the deadline
For project partners:
  • Contribute to proposal writing
  • Fine tune the work packages you are involved in

Evaluation of project

Proposals are normally submitted and evaluated in a single stage.

Evaluation results, contract negotiation

For project leaders or coordinators:
  • Get familiar with the EC contract (IPR, room for negotiation, reports, start date, tasks, budget, cuts, audits,…)
  • Negotiate the technical and administrative terms with the EC
  • Finalise consortium agreement
For project partners:
  • Discuss the technical, budget and administrative terms with the coordinator
  • Ensure the consortium agreement does not conflict with your interests

Start of project with the rest of the consortium

Further detail

Publication of a yearly Work Programme for each domain of FP7

Rules for the participation
Regulation (EC) no 1906/2006 of the european parliament and of the council of 18 December 2006 laying down the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities in actions under the Seventh Framework Programme and for the dissemination of research results (2007–2013).
FP7 draft Grant Agreement
This is the core component of all contracts between the European Commission and the project participants in FP7, only the annexes of this agreement will detail the specific terms of the project.
cordis.europa.eu/fp7/calls-grant-agreement_en.html

Preparation and submission of project (approx. 3 months)

Proposals should be submitted in accordance with the terms set out in the call for proposals. In order to submit a proposal, applicants should consult the following documents:

  • The text of the call for proposals, as announced in the Official Journal of the European Union, and published on CORDIS (cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc);
  • The relevant and current work programme; and
  • The relevant Guide for Applicants

There are also a number of other useful texts, which applicants could refer to, including the Specific Programme ‘Cooperation’, Rules for Participation for FP7, the Guidelines on Proposal Evaluation and Project Selection Procedures, and the Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. These documents, and other relevant background documents, are available on the CORDIS website.

Study in detail the “Guide for proposers” and “Guide for evaluators”.

Evaluation of project (approx. 3 months)

In the call pages, download the:

  • Guidelines on Proposal Evaluation and Selection Procedures
  • Handbook on evaluation and selection of proposals

The criteria

Criteria are adapted to each funding scheme and each specific programme, but they are specified in the work programme. The main criteria are:

  1. S&T quality (concept, objective, work-plan)
  2. Implementation (individual participants and consortium as a whole, allocation of resources)
  3. Impact (contribution to expected impacts listed in work programme, plans for dissemination/exploitation)

Criteria are generally rated out of 5 with the same weighting, the individual threshold is 3 and the overall threshold is 10.

Evaluation results, contract negotiation (approx. 3 months)

Funding decisions are based on peer review of research proposals. Every year the evaluation involves 4,500 to 5,000 independent evaluators for about 16,000 proposals (a figure that is rising). There is no major change in the evaluation procedure between FP6 and FP7.

What’s new in FP7:
  • Clearer page limits
  • Eligibility criteria include “scope”
  • 3 selection criteria instead of 5 or 6
  • More clarity on conflicts of interest
  • Enquiries and redress

Start of project with the rest of the consortium

Find more information and get help

FP7 Enquiry Service (FP7 helpdesk):
ec.europa.eu/research/?pg=enquiries
CORDIS Forum
cordis.europa.eu/forums (registration on CORDIS required)
National Contacts Points
cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ncp_en.html

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