EU Proposals

We help universities, companies and public bodies to prepare and submit highly-effective proposals to the EU for funding under FP7, EuroStars, Marie Curie, eContent+, PSP and other programmes.

For Irish clients, the cost of our assistance is typically fully covered by a grant from Enterprise Ireland (see here for details).

We offer the following services to organisations and companies who are considering applying for EU funding:

• Initial Concept Evaluation, to establish whether or not a concept or idea can be matched up to the criteria and objectives of an EU programme.
• Proposal Writing, budget creation, tuning of the proposal to maximise the likelihood of success and the maximum benefit for all concerned (the project consortium and the EU).
• Explanation of funding models, eligible costs and the many bureaucratic aspects of the EU proposal creation process.
• Liaison with the EU during the project, optionally including overall management of the project
• Quality assurance, to ensure that what the project delivers will be acceptable to the EU
• Deliverable writing, report creation, etc for projects which are already in existence and find themselves in difficulty.

Our Track Record

We have a strong track record in the provision of the services outlined above.

Initial Concept Evaluation
Pintail staff have worked for the EU Commission, meeting with prospective proposers and assisting them to create effective, acceptable proposers. Pintail’s own track record in the creation of successful proposals also speaks for itself. We can identify the Key Action Lines, the Work Programmes and the Calls for Proposals which match up with your ideas, ensuring that you don’t write a proposal that is not eligible for funding.

Proposal Writing
We have written proposals for most major EU Programmes in the last decade, including FP7, FP6, eContentPlus, ERA-NET, IST, ACTS, Telematics, ESPRIT, ISIS and eTen. Our success rate has been 50%+, compared to a typical success rate of under 10% for all proposals. Pintail staff have worked for the European Commission in Brussels during the 1990s, negotiating proposals and monitoring projects; we understand the criteria and the constraints under which the EU personnel themselves work. Thus we have an excellent grasp of what makes a proposal attractive and successful, and what can rule a proposal out of the running.

Budgets and Funding Models 
Our experience in building consortia and proposing successful projects means that we understand the rules, the regulations and the exceptions which govern the building of an acceptable project budget, maximizing the effectiveness of the project budget to reach your objectives, while ensuring that both the consortium and the EU get value for money. We can help to establish what funding model best suits a particular organisation, how to handle overheads, capital equipment acquisition, labour costs, travel and subsistence, sub-contractors, etc.

Project Management, QA etc. 
Pintail has project managed multiple EU projects in the past. We have represented projects at annual, final and crisis (‘red flag’) reviews, acted as the main point of contact for the European Commission officers dealing with a project, and lead groups of partners in individual work-packages within major projects. Our unique experience working within and for the Commission in Brussels means that we understand what is required to manage an EU-funded project, and why.

Case Studies : PurStem, ClearView, HARMONISE, HarmoTen, MICHAEL, Minerva. See our Success Stories page for details.