Please contact: Marie Adams, European Research Grants & Contracts Officer, marie.adams@le.ac.uk or ext. 1799, or Nickie Ketcher, European Research Grants and Contracts Assistant, nak3@le.ac.uk or ext. 3332.

Finding funding for your project

There are many online resources that will alert you to EU funding opportunities and we strongly recommend that you register for these.  More information on these resources can be found on our 'How to find EU Research Funding' Page.  If you have a specific project idea which you'd like to explore possible sources of EU funding for or if you have a strategic objectives that you would like to meet such as, funding staff exchanges, funding MSc and PhD students then we are happy to talk to you about these and point you in the direction of suitable funding.

Planning your project

Many (but by no means all) EU funding opportunities will require some sort of collaboration with partners in other EU countries and often finding these potential collaborators is the first hurdle to accessing the funding.  If you are finding this a problem, please let us know and we can provide additional support to overcome this issue.

Different calls and topics will have different priorities and eligibility criteria which will be described in the call documents.  We can help guide you through these documents to ensure that your project ticks as many boxes as possible and has the best chance of success.

Visit the 'Planning Your European Application' page for further advice on planning your project and information on some of the help and support available to you.

Costing EU projects

Although 'simplification' is the new buzz word at the European Commission, when dealing with eligible costs and a seemingly infinite number of reimbursement rates, caps and flat rates, simple isn't a word that springs to mind!  That said, we are well versed in these matters and can give advice and make recommendations as appropriate.  You may also find that you need additional support when preparing your Lucre costing which we can provide.  Further information on costing your EU project can be found on the 'Costing Your European Project' page.

The application

The application process and forms vary from programme to programme but often online application is used.  The most common of these is the Electronic Proposal Submission Software (EPSS) which is mandatory for Framework Programme 7 applications.  We can provide tailored support on the application process and also practical assistance with the application itself particularly the legal and administrative forms which will have to be completed.  Visit our 'Apply for European Funding' further information on the application process.

You will normally have at least 3 months from the call publication to the deadline.

Evaluation and influencing the European Commission

A common misconception is you have to lobby for a proposal to give it any chance of success.  In fact, the evaluation is done remotely by independent peer review so lobbying for a proposal at the European Commission level will have little positive impact. 

There are however times when it might be valuable to contact the EC for example; for advice on interpretation of topics, to lobby for the inclusion of a topic in their work programmes or to make them aware of our high-class research capabilities of European or worldwide importance.

As a guide, evaluation can take between 4 and 6 months on average from the call deadline.

Contract or Grant Agreement negotiation

Contract or grant agreement negotiation can be quite a lengthy process and usually involves completing Grant Preparation Forms in NEF (the online software for negotiation).  We are happy to complete these and manage the process on your behalf if you would prefer.  There are many things that need to be considered at this stage because this is when the work plan and budgets are finalised. See our page 'Application Success to the Start of your European Project' for information on negotiation and the steps necessary before your project account is activated.

Negotiation can take between one month and about two years depending on the programme and the number of partners.  An indicative timetable will usually be given in the letter inviting the consortium to negotiate a contract.

Employing staff

Staff appointments to EU project are made through the same process as for other projects, the procedure is detailed on our 'Employing Staff on Projects' page . There are a few points specific to staff appointments on EU projects which are explained on our 'Employing People on European Projects' page.

Post-award project management

As a general rule, post-award financial reporting is coordinated by Research Finance with some input required from the PI and/or their departmental finance officers.  Technical and management reporting (justification of costs) is normally the responsibility of the PI.  Futher information on reporting for EU projects can be found on our 'Managing your European Project' page. 

Account winding down and closure

EU projects are affected by the one issue specific to foreign currency awards and that is that the budget on SAP are displayed in Pounds Sterling at a fixed rate that differs to the rate that we report back to the European Commission (because the rate is not known until the end of the reporting period).  This means that, particularly towards the end of the project it is important to make sure that you are working to an updated Pound Sterling budget which can be provided to you by the Research Finance Officer allocated to your project who will be identified to you in the Project Detail Notification.  

Our page 'Closing a European Project' gives information on account closure.