Category Archives: Contact Us

Meet the team

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The External Projects Team provides information on external funding, partners, and innovation activities. The team works with researchers and academic staff to help diversify income for Staffordshire University. The team is part of the Enterprise and Commercial Development Department.

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Emma Davies- External Projects Manager: Emma has responsibility for managing the external projects team to identify and realise funding opportunities which make a significant impact on the university’s income diversification programme in line with Staffordshire University’s vision and corporate plan.

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Jose Beech- External Grants Manager: Jose leads the team of staff within the External Projects Team, whose focus is to work closely with colleagues across the institution, providing advice, guidance and support on external funding.

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Marie Pandolfo- Project Development Manager: Marie is responsible for the ESIF Strategy within the University and developing specific projects with internal and external partners.

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Samantha Wong- Contracts and Compliance Officer: Samantha provides internal legal support and expertise in the area of contracts research and funding for Staffordshire University.
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Margaret Bennett- External Projects Officer: Margaret is responsible for identifying potential research funding opportunities, EU funding projects and works seamlessly with academic colleagues to submit applications to funding bodies.

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Esther Knight- External Projects Officer: Esther advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search for grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe – and has particular responsibility for the Faculty of Art and Creative Technologies.

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Holly Hoar- External Projects Officer:(Currently on maternity leave) Holly advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search for grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe.

INTERREG EUROPE 2014-2020

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INTERREG EUROPE is the new Interreg IVC programme from 2014 to 2020. More than 800 people met last week (2nd and 3rd December 2014) in Bologna (Italy) for the launch of the new programme. See http://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/research/2014/12/05/launch-of-interreg-europe-in-bologna-2nd-and-3rd-december/

With a total budget of €359 million and 4 priority themes (Research and Innovation / SME competitiveness / Low carbon economy / Environment and resource efficiency), Interreg Europe is dedicated to improving public policies. It will support the design of strategies for influencing policy making in regional priority areas.

Here are 10 key points to take into account for developing a project:

  1. At least 3 countries (of which 2 EU member states at least)
  2. Preferably 5 to 10 partners maximum per project (financial beneficiaries).
  3. Maximum project duration: 5 years (4 years minimum).
  4. Between €1 to €2 million of ERDF per project (75% co financing rate for non-profit private sector / 85% co financing rate for public bodies).
  5. Policy makers, such as Local authorities, are key project partners and they need to be directly involved in the projects.
  6. The Lead partner can only be a public body.
  7. The project governance structure is extremely important: a Regional partnership board has to be set up. It will be composed of the competent organisations in the field tackled by the project. This group will need to be informed about the project development and to be brought into peer review visits, workshops, events, etc.-
  8. 5 budget lines: staff costs, administrative costs, travel & accommodation costs, studies, small equipment (office equipment).
  9. 15% of the envelope will support the administrative costs of the project. A €15,000 lump sum will be provided for the preparation cost. Both won’t need any proof or evidence to be claimed.
  10. The first call for proposals will open in April 2015, and will close in Sept 2015. No geographical criteria, no thematic criteria.

Follow the latest developments on www.interreg4c.eu/interreg-europe

The external projects team is populating a database with all the contacts made at the launch of Interreg Europe. This list will be made available on the CRM system, and it will also be emailed to the Faculties. Alternatively, please contact the external project team to find out more (Marie Pandolfo).

Launch of INTERREG EUROPE in Bologna (2nd and 3rd December).

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IMG_0546audienceMore than 800 people coming from 30 countries attended the launch of the new interregional cooperation programme INTERREG EUROPE in Bologna (Italy) and over 1000 connected online took part in it.

Those present were given the opportunity to share their project ideas at four thematic workshops and numerous networking sessions.

Staffordshire University attended this two-day event, looking at collaboration opportunities with public and private European stakeholders around Research and Innovation. Key contacts were met there, and the relevant information will soon be circulated within the University.

If you missed the event, you can watch the recorded web-streamed part online and have access to the programme and presentations at:

http://www.interreg4c.eu/europecooperates/programme/

Interreg Europe budget allocation is 359 million Euros for 2014-2020. The first call will be released in April next year. We will soon be posting a new article with the main criteria of the programme.

In the meantime, if you want to know more about Interreg Europe, go to http://www.interreg4c.eu/interreg-europe/, or contact directly the External Projects Team (Marie Pandolfo or Jose Beech).

Five Top Tips for Knockout Bid Submissions

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boxing gloves

 

Five Top Tips for Knockout Bid Submissions

  • Appoint one person whose only job is to make sure everyone else does theirs! – It is vitally important for there to be someone who is ultimately responsible for the bid, through whom every action flows. A good bid leader will drive the bid forward and coordinate a submission delivered on time and on target. Pick a good organiser and a popular team member to whom people will respond.
  • Ensure you have the right partners that will add value to the bid and have the right skills! – It’s rare for an individual to put together a large bid completely on their own. Utilise your team to build a wide-ranging team of specialists and your proposal will be completed with time to spare and resounding with confidence and knowledge
  • Brief well and set clear deadlines! – There is a period of time at the start of a bid submission where you will brief your collaborators on what is required of them and how long they have to do it. Handle this well and it will pay dividends later! Sometimes it can be difficult to know how to divide the workload. I suggest that you begin by reading the invitation documents in detail and assigning each question, section or task to a department or individual. One way to kick-start an effective and well-informed working team is to hold a group session where everyone can be briefed together, and ideas and suggestions can be shared among you.
  • Start a library (and keep it in good shape)! – Other than people a well written and well-tended content library is your greatest ally in preparing winning bids. BUT a bid comprising entirely of pre-written text is an impersonal and careless approach. A good content library if kept up to date with new and revised material, can contribute to as much as 80% of your bid, providing you and your team with more time to work on the essential and unique content that lies at the heart of every good submission.
  • Don’t count the days. Make the days count! – Channel your energies at the right time. Your energy, enthusiasm, clarity and creativity will all fluctuate wildly during the bid writing process. If you use this natural ebb and flow to maximise your most productive periods, your bid will be better for it.  Become adept at the art of timing and pacing and you’ll float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, not the other way round.

Keep an eye on progress and don’t be reluctant to send polite BUT persistent reminders as deadlines loom because when the bell goes your time is up, ready or not!

If you require bid writing support for commercial bids then please contact me at N.Arblaster@staffs.ac.uk  or if you require support for research bids including Horizon2020 then contact the external projects team at externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The External Projects Team

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The External Projects Team provides information on external funding, partners, and innovation activities. The team works with researchers and academic staff to help diversify income for Staffordshire University. The team is part of the Enterprise and Commercial Development Department.

Emma Davies- External Projects Manager: Emma has responsibility for managing the external projects team to identify and realise funding opportunities which make a significant impact on the university’s income diversification programme in line with Staffordshire University’s vision and corporate plan.

 

Jose Beech- External Grants Manager: Jose leads the team of staff within the External Projects Team whose focus is to work closely with colleagues across the institution, providing advice, guidance and support on external funding.

 

Margaret Bennett- External Projects Officer: Margaret is responsible for identifying potential research funding opportunities, EU funding projects and works seamlessly with academic colleagues to submit applications to funding bodies.

 

Esther Knight- External Projects Officer: Esther advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search for grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe – with particular responsibility for the Faculty of Art and Creative Technologies.

 

Christopher Kenning- Contracts and Compliance Officer: Chris provides internal legal support and expertise in the area of research and funding for the Staffordshire University. Chris, a solicitor has worked within the Education sector for three years reviewing academic research projects in a wide range of disciplines.

 

Holly Hoar- External Projects Officer: Holly advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search fo grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe.