The creation of a research idea is by no means an easy task. Funding that research idea is even harder. Research ideas are all about change. A person developing a specific research idea always has a result in mind. At the same time, the person developing the idea needs to know or at least be able to somewhat calculate the impact of the idea. Research ideas can be triggered by pretty much anything. As a scientist or researcher, you come in contact with multiple triggers every day. One of those triggers will be enough to help create the idea.
After the idea is created and documented it is time for the next step. The funding. In most cases, research ideas are rather expensive to implement. The more complicated the idea the more money it will require. Investment does not come very often in these cases. So you, as the person behind the idea, will need to seek funding elsewhere.
European funding programmes are a good option to fund your research idea. Every year, the European Union gives funding to a very large number of proposals. Your research idea could easily be a part of such a proposal and receive the funding it needs. If you do not have investors willing to fund your idea then EU programmes are your next best option.
Adding your idea to an EU project proposal, however, is not easy. Your idea needs to match the call for which the proposal was created. If for example, you have a research idea in the field of agriculture then, EU calls focused on health will not be a good choice for you.
Presenting your research idea to potential EU project partners is the best way for you to get your funding. Websites like EUCALLS can help you with that. All you have to do is write your research idea and upload it to the website. By using the right keywords you can both search for calls matching your idea and give you potential partners the opportunity to see your work.
What will make my idea successful?
Before you upload your idea and ask for funding, there are a few things you will need to consider. Why would someone want to add your research idea to their proposal? What kind of impact will your idea have? Will your idea be easy to implement?
Partners will evaluate your idea based on what they are looking to achieve through their proposal. If your idea is complicated or difficult to implement there is a good chance that they will not want to add it to their proposal. An idea without a clear impact is also not something they will prefer to have as part of the final proposal. Review your research idea as many times as possible before you upload it. Make sure that the activities of the idea and the impact are clear and that it will be as easy as possible to implement.
Get familiar with the different EU Programmes
Online research will show you that there are a plethora of different EU programmes that could be relevant to your research idea. At least one of the calls under each programme will most likely be able to host your idea. However, what you need to be looking for is a program and a call that will cover the idea entirely. It might be a good idea for you to do research on the programmes first. By familiarizing yourselves with them, you will be able to modify your research idea to match the programme’s needs and preferences. Perhaps you might even be able to build an entirely new idea based on a call.
Use the right tools to find your partners
In 2015, the Institute of Entrepreneurship Development developed the EUcalls directory to help aspiring researchers and EU partners, find the programmes and calls that suits them the most, and the partners to help them implement their research ideas.
EUcalls is a directory with regular updates, free to use and ready to answer to your need of finding appropriate partners for your projects and, of course, the right projects to apply for and add your research idea. Through EUcalls you can also become a part of someone else’s consortium for their project proposal. It is the kind of tool that can help both new and aspiring researchers as well as experienced partners in the field of EU programmes.
Easy enough to use, EUcalls gives you access and information on all the current calls that you can apply for. By declaring your interest, you will be contacted by other organizations interested in the same call. The aim will be to create a partnership and start writing your proposal. At the same time, you can see which organizations have declared interest for the calls that you have your eye on, and contact them yourselves in order to start your future partnership.
By subscribing to EUcalls or any other equivalent directory, you are immediately putting your name out there. By contacting partners that are more experienced than you in EU funding, you will immediately be able to start forming your proposal and request the funding that will help you conduct your research and bring your idea to life.
There are many different variables that can form a successful proposal and score you the EU funding you need for your research idea. Partners’ expertise, applicant’s country of origin, and of course the value of the idea itself. A reliable consortium can help you shape your idea in such a way that will guarantee the funding. Therefore, finding experienced partners needs to be your number one priority.
Find the EU programme that you are interested in, apply for the call that can support your idea, finding reliable, experienced partners and start working on your proposal. With proper guidance and good foundations from more experienced partners on the field of EU Projects, you will get the EU funding you need to do the research that could help you make a difference.
