Project activities

PROJECT DESIGN · FROM THE IDEA TO THE APPLICATION

The right project before the well-written project

Most rejected applications are not badly written: they answer the wrong question. Before writing we widen the field to understand the real problem, then we narrow it down to a single proposal. Twice: on the problem and on the solution.

How you get to a proposal that holds

FOUR MOVEMENTS

Widen, narrow, widen again, narrow. Skip the first widening and you write a tidy project that solves a problem nobody had.

Explorewidening: context, needs, constraints, who else is out there

Definenarrowing: the right problem, written in one sentence

Developwidening: several possible solutions, compared

Delivernarrowing: one proposal, complete and ready to submit

The two nodes are the moments that count. At the first you decide which problem you are working on and there is no going back; at the second you pick a single solution out of those explored. Both are crossed together with the client, not behind closed doors.

What happens in each movement

1ExploreWIDENINGAnalysis of the context and of real needs, reading of the programme constraints, review of who is already doing similar things. More information is gathered than will be needed.
2DefineNARROWINGOut of the material gathered comes the problem worth working on, written in one sentence. Objectives and expected results grow from there.
3DevelopWIDENINGSeveral possible approaches, compared on feasibility, cost, time and risk. The partnership is built and it is checked who brings what.
4DeliverNARROWINGOne proposal, with work plan, budget, annexes and internal consistency checked line by line. Then submission on the platform.

What we deliver

The complete application file, ready to be uploaded. Not a draft to be tidied up.

01
Project proposalThe main document, built on the evaluation grid of the call and not on a generic template.
02
Work plan and scheduleActivities, deliverables, responsibilities and timing, consistent with the duration allowed by the programme.
03
Itemised budgetJustified and eligible costs, with the co-funding you have to bear calculated in advance, not discovered later.
04
Annexes and declarationsEvery document the procedure requires, completed and ready for signature.
05
Partnership agreementsRoles, shares and commitments written before submission, not after approval.
06
Dissemination planHow the results will be communicated and how the project will go on producing effects once the funding has ended.

Who writes the proposal

A working group, not a writer

A complex application touches the technical, the financial and the administrative side at once. If one person writes all three, one of them stays weak, and that is the one evaluators look at.

Technical and scientific expertise in the sector Knowledge of the programme rules Budget construction and checking Management of administrative obligations Network of national and international partners ISO 9001:2015 quality management system

Do you have an idea and a call about to close?

Tell us how much time is left. If it is enough to do a serious job we will do it; if it is not, we will say so and aim at the next deadline.

Tell us about your idea

For the list of completed and ongoing projects, and for any detailed information, please contact us: we will provide it directly.