The Grant

Niels Tudor-Vinther
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Getting EU funding for your research project idea is great, but the process from project idea to submission of the full proposal is rough and tough. 20.000 proposals are submitted every year and every single one of these preparations goes through many challenges. Most of these challenges have the same overall characteristics, that can be minimized or eliminated by being aware of them already when starting the proposal process. This podcast is for proposals preparers looking for tips, tricks, advice or just an audible pad on the shoulder to deal with the unavoidable tough work

  1. 4d ago

    Collaboration: RM Framework Series (9) - Building the Future of Research Management in Europe

    A New ERA for Research Management RM Framework Series #9 with Anna Seip from DG RTD Check out the episode website 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

    Collaboration: RM Framework Series (9) - Building the Future of Research Management in Europe

  2. 6d ago

    #239 Exploitation - The Implementation Series (16)

    Exploitation in EU Projects – From Results to Real UseWith Ana-Marija Špicnagel, Director at IPS Konzalting Check out the episode website 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

    #239 Exploitation - The Implementation Series (16)

  3. Aug 17

    #238 EU Funding in the Western Balkans: Building Research Capacity

    EU Funding in the Western Balkans – The View from AlbaniaWith Luziana Hoxha from the Agricultural University of Tirana Check out the episode website 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

  4. Aug 10

    #237 RTOs - Bridging Research and Industry

    How RTOs Turn Research into Impact – The Spanish ModelWith Patricia Castillo, Director of Impact at Eurecat Check out the episode website 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

    #237 RTOs - Bridging Research and Industry

  5. Aug 3

    #236 Rethinking How to Create Lasting Impact

    Rethinking Impact – From Funded Projects to Real AdoptionWith Christopher Adlung from TU Delft Check out the episode website In this episode, I’m joined by Christopher Adlung, a PhD researcher at TU Delft and a medtech entrepreneur, to rethink what impact actually means in EU-funded research and innovation. Christopher studies the adoption and scaling of telemedicine in low-resource settings, and that adoption perspective shapes our entire conversation. A technology can perform brilliantly in a laboratory or pilot project, but real impact only emerges when the wider ecosystem can and wants to use it. That includes not only researchers and end users, but also procurement teams, administrators, investors, technicians, managers and everyone else whose decisions shape implementation. We also question whether Europe’s increasingly large and complex collaborative projects are always the right mechanism for innovative SMEs. Could smaller, simpler grants involving fewer partners create faster and more focused progress? Could new structures connect universities, companies and public authorities without forcing them into temporary consortia with very different incentives? Christopher also shares examples from telemedicine in Bangladesh, where innovation has grown from practical constraints and combines digital consultations, mobile health teams, diagnostic devices, pharmacies and local access points. It becomes a wide-ranging conversation about funding design, ecosystems, sustainability and why impact should be measured through adoption and long-term consequences rather than activity alone. Time codes: 01:39 Guest introduction and fly in 04:37 The Traditional Funding Model – Where Does It Fall Short? 22:20 Beyond Silos – Do We Need New Ways of Organising Innovation? 36:47 Inspiration Beyond Europe 47:46 Rethinking Impact in Future EU Projects 59:00 Reflections and advice 01:06:11 The toughest challenge

  6. Jul 27

    #235 Supporting Young Entrepreneurs and Young Professionals with Disabilities

    WIN4SMES – Supporting Young Entrepreneurs and Young Professionals with DisabilitiesTwo pilot stories from Hungary and Lithuania Check out the episode website In this episode I return to the WIN4SMES universe with a closer look at two pilot stories that deserved their own spotlight. In the first half, I speak with Tamas Rettich from the Hungarian Association of Craftsmen’s Corporations about a one-week entrepreneurship camp for highly talented young innovators. The camp helps participants move from strong technical or scientific ideas toward real entrepreneurial thinking through business planning, finance, marketing, innovation management, leadership and teamwork. What I especially like here is the emphasis on collaboration: the young participants do not just refine ideas on their own, but learn that innovation also depends on trust, communication and shared problem-solving. In the second half, I speak with Egle Lizaityte from the Lithuanian Association of Hotels and Restaurants about a pilot focused on getting young people with disabilities into the hospitality sector. Through collaboration between schools, employers and sector organisations, the project helps companies understand how to create inclusive workplaces and helps young people gain internships and jobs. The conversation is a strong reminder that workplace innovation is not only about technology or productivity. It is also about changing attitudes, widening the talent pool and building systems that allow people to contribute in ways employers may never have considered before. Time codes: 00:18 Introduction to the episode 02:11 Supporting Young Entrepreneurs in Hungary 11:15 Young Disabled Professionals in the Hospitality Sector

  7. Jul 20

    #234 EU Funding for Culture and Creativity

    EU Funding in Culture and CreativityWith Paolo Montemurro from Matera HubCheck out the episode website In this episode I’m joined by Paolo Montemurro from Materahub to open up the European funding landscape for culture and creativity. This is a conversation I’ve wanted to do for a long time, because if you cover EU funding broadly, the cultural and creative sectors are too important to leave untouched. Paolo explains why the European Union invests in culture and creativity not only because of their economic contribution, but also because of their role in democracy, social inclusion, European values, mobility and innovation. We talk about how this recognition has grown over time and why the creative and cultural sectors now sit much more clearly inside the wider European policy and funding architecture. We then move through the actual opportunities. We start with Creative Europe as the main go-to programme, but also look at Erasmus+, Horizon Europe, Interreg and other relevant corners of the funding landscape. Paolo shares how Matera Hub has worked across these schemes since 2011, using culture and creativity as both a sector in its own right and as a methodology that can connect to entrepreneurship, skills, cultural heritage, innovation, audience development and social transformation. It’s an introduction episode, but a rich one — especially for anyone in the cultural and creative sectors trying to understand where to start and how broad the European opportunity space really is. Time codes: 01:47 Guest introduction and fly in 05:11 Why Does the EU Invest in Culture and Creativity? 18:57 The Funding Landscape 50:28 Looking Ahead 56:50 Materahub's Experience Across Programmes 01:15:21 Reflections and advice 01:19:15 The Toughest Challenge

  8. Jul 15

    The Grant Collaboration - RM Framework Series (8): The Hungary Pilot

    RM Framework (7) – The Hungary Pilot at Corvinus UniversityAccredited RM training, formal education and the limits of standardisation Check out the episode websiteIn the seventh episode of the RM Framework Series, I’m joined by Associate Professor Éva Pinter and Éva Kőváriné Ignáth from Corvinus University of Budapest to explore the Hungarian pilot. Corvinus brings a very specific and valuable perspective to the project because it already runs a formally accredited postgraduate programme: the Research and Innovation Manager and Economist Executive Degree Programme. The programme runs over two full semesters, leads to a state-recognised diploma, and was developed in close cooperation with Hungary’s National Research, Development and Innovation Office. Unlike shorter professional workshops, this is a full higher education qualification for experienced professionals from universities, research institutes, public agencies and companies — as well as people transitioning into research management. That makes Corvinus a particularly interesting pilot case. Éva Pinter explains the pilot tests where the RM Framework handbook and quality label work well, and where they need more flexibility for multi-semester, ECTS-based degree programmes. Éva Kőváriné Ignáth adds the course-level perspective, drawing on shorter BA and MA courses developed through earlier European projects and now used to introduce students to research management and EU research funding. Together, the episode becomes a practical discussion about formal education, competence frameworks, quality labels, microcredentials and what it really means to build a European standard for research management training across very different national systems. Time codes: 02:22 Guest introduction and fly in 04:18 How You Train Research Managers Today 10:51 Working with the Pilot – Constraints and Reality 23:36 Expectations & Final Reflections

    The Grant Collaboration - RM Framework Series (8): The Hungary Pilot
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About

Getting EU funding for your research project idea is great, but the process from project idea to submission of the full proposal is rough and tough. 20.000 proposals are submitted every year and every single one of these preparations goes through many challenges. Most of these challenges have the same overall characteristics, that can be minimized or eliminated by being aware of them already when starting the proposal process. This podcast is for proposals preparers looking for tips, tricks, advice or just an audible pad on the shoulder to deal with the unavoidable tough work

Information

  • Creator
    Niels Tudor-Vinther
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    260
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Niels Tudor-Vinther
  • Show Website
    The Grant

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