The Grant

Niels Tudor-Vinther
  • 0.0 (0)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. The Grant Collaboration: PNO Innovation Series (2) - Coordinating Innovation in Bioeconomy: How Expertise Creates Stronger EU projects

    14H AGO

    The Grant Collaboration: PNO Innovation Series (2) - Coordinating Innovation in Bioeconomy: How Expertise Creates Stronger EU projects

    Coordinating Innovation in Bioeconomy – Beyond Project Management with Anna Franciosini from PNO Innovation Italy Check out the episode website In this second episode of the PNO Innovation Series, produced in paid collaboration with PNO Innovation, I’m joined by Anna Franciosini to talk about coordination in bioeconomy and agri-food innovation projects. Anna explains why project coordination is not just administration, reporting and timelines. In a field like bioeconomy, coordination also means understanding the sector, the policy context, the innovation bottlenecks and the different actors across the value chain — and then translating all of that into a project vision that makes sense for both the consortium and the European Commission. We use the C4B project as a concrete case. The project focuses on circular bio-based business models and on creating fairer value distribution for primary producers and other actors in the bioeconomy. From there, we talk about stakeholder alignment, replication, cascade funding, open calls and why coordination is such a strategic function when projects aim to create real change in complex innovation ecosystems. Anna also shows how PNO’s cross-border teams work together in practice, combining sector expertise, communication, digital tools and innovation support across the life of the project. Time codes: 01:47 Guest introduction fly in 03:27 Why PNO Is More Than a Coordinator 14:42 Case Example – The C4B Project 21:29 From Project to Market Impact 27:24 Reflections and Advice

    31 min

  2. 2D AGO

    #226 Four Years of The Grant - What It Taught Me

    Four Years of The Grant – Reflections on EU FundingA solo anniversary episode on pressure, change, community and what I’ve learned Check out the episode website In this four-year anniversary episode, I take a step back from the usual guest format and reflect on what The Grant has shown me about the EU funding world. Over more than 200 episodes, I’ve spoken with grant consultants, research managers, researchers, NGOs, innovation actors and policy people from all over Europe and some of the same themes keep returning. Solitude. Hidden work. Stress. Rejection. Deadline pressure. Burnout. The emotional cost of a sector that often presents itself as technical and rational, but is in reality full of deeply human effort and vulnerability. In this episode, I talk openly about those patterns and about why I have insisted on making space for them in the podcast. I also reflect on what has changed in the ecosystem during these four years: the rise of AI and its impact on proposal pressure, the growing professionalisation of the sector, the shift in funding priorities around security and dual-use, and the continued inequality in access to strong funding networks and support structures. At the same time, I share what I think strong organisations do differently: they work strategically, they understand their role, they build long-term partnerships, and they take care of the people carrying the funding work. This is an anniversary episode, but also a positioning episode: a reminder of what The Grant is for, and why I intend to keep building this space for the full reality of EU funding. Time codes: 02:12 Introduction 04:03 Why This Episode Now 08:31 What Surprised Me Most 15:21 The Ecosystem Has Changed 27:42 What Strong Organisations do differently 31:51 Things People Still Don’t Talk Honestly About 42:05 What Changed My Own Thinking 47:40 Closing remarks

    55 min
  3. #225 Research Management - The Hidden Work

    MAY 18

    #225 Research Management - The Hidden Work

    The Hidden Work of Research Managers w/Isabel from RISE Processum Check out the episode website In this episode I’m joined by Isabel Burdallo from RISE Processum to talk about the hidden work of research managers. We start from a simple but important gap: what many people think research management is, and what it actually is in practice. From the outside, the role is often reduced to administration, paperwork, budgets and compliance. Isabel explains why that is only part of the picture. In reality, research management is also about translation: translating research ideas into fundable structures, funding rules into workable decisions, and institutional constraints into something project teams can live with. From there we go deeper into the invisible tasks that make projects hold together. Isabel shares how this role often means stepping into complex situations, spotting risks early, smoothing communication between very different people, and handling the kinds of coordination, timing and compliance issues that nobody notices when they go well. We also talk about why this work is still so often misunderstood inside research organisations, how the role differs across countries and institutions, and why research managers need to make themselves more visible — not out of ego, but because the profession deserves clearer recognition for the value it creates. Time codes: 02:03 Guest introduction and fly in 05:45 What People Think vs Reality 12:52 The Hidden Tasks – What Actually Happens Behind the Scenes 25:21 Why It’s Invisible and the Human Side 36:47 Navigating and Owning the Role 42:28 Advice 44:08 The toughest challenge

    51 min
  4. The Grant Collaboration - FUNDamentally SCIENCE: Novel MSCA PF Training Model w/Rita Gil Mata

    MAY 13

    The Grant Collaboration - FUNDamentally SCIENCE: Novel MSCA PF Training Model w/Rita Gil Mata

    A Novel MSCA PF Training Model – The MSCA Catalyst Approach w/Rita Gil Mata from FUNDamentally SCIENCE Check out the episode website In this new episode of The Grant Collaboration, produced in paid collaboration with FUNDamentally SCIENCE, I’m joined by Rita Gil Mata to talk about a structural problem in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships: Europe has talent, but too often the preparation system around applicants is not strong enough. Rita brings more than 20 years of experience supporting researchers in European funding, and she explains why the sharp rise in MSCA PF submissions and the drop in success rates should be read as a warning sign. In her view, the issue is not a lack of excellent researchers, but the fact that applicants, supervisors and institutions are often not prepared in a sufficiently aligned and strategic way. That is exactly why she created the MSCA Catalyst training model. We unpack how it works in practice: a structured applicant training built around the real template, supervisor mentoring so the academic side is fully engaged, and expert review for the strongest proposals selected by the institution. What I like in this conversation is that it goes beyond “another training offer” and instead treats MSCA preparation as an ecosystem challenge. If Europe wants to keep strong young research talent in the system, then programmes like this matter — not only for better proposals, but for the long-term health of the research landscape itself. Time codes: 02:05 Guest introduction and fly in 05:44 Motivation - A Spark to Build Something New 10:31 Why Traditional Support Is Not Enough 16:48 The Training Concept 25: 47 Why This Matters

    33 min
  5. The Grant Collaboration - The ENCO Series (3): Measuring What Matters: Sustainability, Value and Long-Term Impact

    MAY 12

    The Grant Collaboration - The ENCO Series (3): Measuring What Matters: Sustainability, Value and Long-Term Impact

    Life Cycle Assessment in EU Projects – Sustainability by Design w/Mirko Busto from ENCO Consulting Check out the episode website In this final episode of The ENCO Series produced in paid collaboration with ENCO Consulting, I’m joined by Mirko Busto to talk about life cycle assessment and why it has become such an important part of EU-funded research and innovation. Mirko explains that sustainability is not something you can judge from one isolated number or one nice-looking innovation claim. A solution may reduce emissions in one place while creating problems somewhere else. That is why life cycle thinking matters: it forces you to look at the whole picture — from materials and manufacturing to use, disposal and possible recycling — and ask whether the innovation really improves the system overall. We also go into the practical side of the work. Mirko explains the three connected methodologies used in sustainability assessment: life cycle assessment, life cycle costing and social life cycle assessment. We talk about how they enter both proposal writing and project implementation, why data collection and benchmarking are so difficult in innovative projects, and how these methods help technical teams avoid hidden trade-offs. Using the SEEDS project as a case, Mirko shows how this plays out in practice when comparing agricultural systems in different MENA contexts and trying to assess future sustainability under climate and resource pressure. Time codes: 01:56 Guest introduction and fly in 04:05 Why sustainability assessment matters 08:12 Sustainability methodologies in EU projects 10:48 Integrating sustainability in innovation projects 17:14 Practical challenges 25:12 Success Story – The SEEDS project

    32 min

  6. MAY 11

    #224 Navigating Many Funding Schemes

    Strategy, partnerships and proposal work with limited resources Check out the episode website In this episode I’m joined by Alessio Caracci from Unknown Group to talk about what it really means to work across multiple funding schemes at the same time. Alessio’s role touches different parts of the organisation — the university, the campus and startup-related activities — so he has to navigate very different programme logics, target groups and funding opportunities. We talk about how that changes the work compared with specialising in a single scheme, and why the first task is not writing proposals but building a strong map of what is relevant, what is strategic and what the organisation actually wants to become in the next few years. From there we move into the practical side: how a small team can survive this complexity, why trusted external partners matter so much, and how long-term collaboration makes proposal work faster and more realistic under pressure. Alessio explains how Unknown works through a mix of self-led initiatives, alliances, consultants and ecosystem relationships, and how this lets them stay involved in different programmes without pretending they can do everything alone. We also talk about deadline clustering, the danger of tunnel vision, and why the most important discipline is often not chasing more opportunities but staying close to your organisation’s real mission and strengths. Time codes: 01:55 Guest introduction and fly in 12:21 Working Across Many Programmes 21:09 Managing Complexity – Systems, Shortcuts and Survival 38:51 Partnerships and Collaboration as Strategy 49:44 Reflections and advice 54:21 The toughest challenge

    1h 2m
  7. #223 Beyond Traditional Dissemination

    MAY 4

    #223 Beyond Traditional Dissemination

    How EU projects can move from visibility to real use and impact Check out the episode website In this episode of The Grant, I’m joined by Borut Razbornik for a conversation about dissemination in EU projects — and why the traditional approach often does not work. We talk about the difference between simply making a project visible and actually getting people to use, adopt or engage with the results. Too often, dissemination becomes a matter of quantity: posting on websites, sharing on social media, counting impressions and promoting outputs one by one. Borut argues that this misses the real point. Dissemination should be about impact, usefulness and action. The episode then moves into Borut’s marketing perspective. We discuss attention as a scarce resource, why generic project messages fail, and why dissemination needs to speak directly to the needs of a target group. Borut also introduces his “flagship strategy”: identifying the most useful project result and building a focused dissemination pathway around it, instead of scattering attention across too many isolated outputs. We also cover LinkedIn, stakeholder engagement, project constraints, partner dynamics, creative thinking and why dissemination should be embedded in implementation from the start. A practical episode for anyone working with EU project communication, dissemination, exploitation or impact. Time codes: 01:47 Guest introduction and fly in 06:09 The Problem: Dissemination That Doesn’t Work 16:06 Understanding Attention – A Marketing Perspective 26:05 A Different Approach – The Flagship Strategy 41:42 Embedding Dissemination in the Work Itself 48:12 Working Within Constraints 57:06 Reflections and Advice 58:47 The toughest challenge

    1h 5m
  8. The Grant Collaboration - ENCO Series (2): Maximising Impact Through Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation

    APR 28

    The Grant Collaboration - ENCO Series (2): Maximising Impact Through Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation

    How ENCO works with visibility, stakeholder engagement and market uptake Check out the episode website In this second of the ENCO Series, produced in paid collaboration with ENCO Consulting, I’m joined by Rosanna Buonfiglio and Marco de la Feld to talk about one of the most important but often blurred areas in EU projects: communication, dissemination and exploitation. We unpack the differences between the three and why it matters to keep them distinct. Communication is about making the project visible and understandable. Dissemination is about making sure the right people can actually access and use the results. Exploitation is about what happens when you want those results to go further into strategy, market positioning, business models and real uptake. We then move into how ENCO works with these areas in practice. Rosanna explains how communication and dissemination strategies are built from the proposal stage by identifying audiences, messages and the right channels, while Marco shows how exploitation connects project results to business plans, competitor analysis, IPR strategy and post-project development. Using the SYMBA project as a case, they show how these three dimensions can reinforce each other when they are designed together from the start. It’s a practical episode for anyone writing proposals, managing EU projects or trying to make sure that project results do not just sit on a website after the funding ends. Time codes: 02:05 Guest introduction 06:26 Why communication matters 10:37 Communication, dissemination and exploitation 14:16 ENCO’s approach to C&D&E strategy 23:54 Delivering communication in practice - the SYMBA case 32:28 Outro

    36 min
See All (244)

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
    244
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Niels Tudor-Vinther
  • Show Website
    The Grant