Financing Opportunities

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are European grants offered to researchers at all stages of their career and in all scientific fields and to organizations working in research and innovation to foster transnational, intersectoral and interdisciplinary mobility.

Between 2014 and 2020, MSCAs have supported 65,000 researchers in Europe and beyond and will fund more than 60,000 researchers until 2027.

Open to the world
MSCAs have a strong international dimension: international cooperation is particularly encouraged as it allows institutions to establish strategic collaborations worldwide, attracts foreign talent to Europe and provides researchers with access to unique knowledge, facilities, testing environments or data available only available outside their country.

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Created in 2007 by the European Union, the European Research Council is the first European funding organization for frontier research* in all fields. Its objective is to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe. It selects and funds the best creative researchers of any nationality and age to lead projects of five to six years' duration in a public or private research organization based in the countries of the European Research Area (ERA), which includes the EU Member States and the countries associated with the Horizon Europe Framework Program.

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Erasmus+ is the European Union's program for education, training, youth and sport that will run from 2021 to 2027.

With a budget of 26.2 billion euros over the 7-year period, Erasmus+ offers opportunities for everyone - students, trainees, staff, teachers and volunteers - to spend some time abroad to increase their skills and employability. It also helps organizations to work in transnational partnerships and to modernize and improve their education systems. modernize and improve their education systems.

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1º Start with a good idea:
- Identify the problem you want to solve/need you want to address;
- Consult available literature;
- Consult funding projects on the problem you want to solve/need you want to address;
- Seek input from your peers.

2º Search for funding:
- Identify funding agencies (local, regional, national, international);
- Find a grant opportunity that fits your project;
- Read each page of the solicitation, making sure you understand what they are seeking to fund, why they are funding it, and the eligibility criteria;
- Follow the instructions.

3º Get ready to start writing:
- You have identified a problem that needs a solution, analyze the problem to demonstrate that you understand it, refute possible counter arguments, demonstrate that your solution is the best one and that you are the best person to solve it;
- Keep in mind the three main components of success: scientific knowledge, grant writing skills, and time.

1º The text:
- Prepare your proposal ahead of time;
- The title should be understandable to the general public, reflect the objective of the study and attract interest, but feel free to change it as you write;
- Write a one-page summary of the entire project;
- Present your proposal by making connections to the funder's aims and objectives and not just your own. Make it clear how you will help them fund the priorities of the solicitation;
- Use confident language (we will rather than we hope);
- Be specific (refrain from using etcetera and similar expressions);
- Reflect the language of the solicitation;
- Use diagrams and tables for clarity;
- Respect page, word and font size restrictions;
- Always correct and check spelling;
- Avoid plagiarism by making sure to cite the authors of all publications you reference in your proposal;
- Be realistic: demonstrate that (with people, resources, ...) you are capable of achieving what you propose;
- The funds requested should be commensurate with the proposed project (cost-effectiveness).

2º The reviewer:
Reviewers look for high scientific quality, proposals that respond to the funder's priorities and fill a knowledge gap, novelty, cost-effectiveness, a clear and well thought out approach, an interesting idea.
The review panels are multidisciplinary and have many proposals to review. A well-prepared application should require minimal effort on the part of the reviewer. Consequently:
- Keep it simple;
- Avoid technical language and jargon;
- Make an impact in the first few sentences;
- Show your competence, but also your enthusiasm;
- Demonstrate that your research is feasible and will make a "contribution to knowledge" or address an important issue in your field.

It is time to celebrate the funding obtained and get down to work on the implementation of the project.

Always learn from rejection:
- Funding is really competitive;
- Objectively read all reviewer comments;
- Study the negative comments and look for ways to change the limitations or flaws they point out;
- Revise the proposal and resubmit;
- Seek other opportunities.

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/postgraduate-study/phd-study/how-to-write-a-successful-researchproposal

https://malenezi.github.io/malenezi/talks/Strategies%20for%20Effective%20Proposal%20Writing.pdf

https://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/progress-tracking/proposals

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/calgs/cal-research-proposals/tips.aspx

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/research-proposal.html

https://www.hrb.ie/news/blog/article/top-proposal-writing-tips-for-horizoneurope/

https://unite4horizon.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Write-a-winning-proposal.pdf