Success factors in grant applications and research projects: seminar

To describe the initiation, design and delivery of a successful project grant funded through the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme OR A year in the lives of some European academics

European Commission Framework Programmes The Framework Programmes are the European Union’s chief instrument for funding research

Major element: Collaborative projects through transnational consortia of academics and industry Health Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology Information and communication technologies Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies Energy Environment (including climate change) Transport (including aeronautics) Socio-economic sciences and the humanities Space Security

“FP7” Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development €50 billion Plus €2.7 billion (EURATOM)

Euratom FP7-Fission call 22 December 2006 Radiation Protection: Medical uses of radiation Topic : “Enhanced safety and efficacy in the medical uses of radiation”

Objective of Topic Fission : “Enhance the safety and efficacy of the uses of radiation in diagnosis and therapy through new technological developments and achieving a proper balance between the benefits and risks of radiation” Cone Beam CT (CBCT)

What could be funded? Collaborative projects from months duration Up to €2.5 million EC contribution At least 3 independent legal entities required in different EU states

The review process

Each of the three criteria awarded score out of 5

Scoring criteria

Wednesday 31st January 2007: CDMA Building, Brussels: Information Meeting Information about the Call Opportunity to “network” and find partners To be seen! To be heard!

Encouraged by Brussels meeting Build a multi-part project dealing with: Justification of CBCT use Dosimetry Quality Assurance Diagnostic Accuracy Cost Effectiveness Training and dissemination Building the team Multidisciplinary (dentists, radiologists, physicists, methodologists, health economists)

Lead scientists to draft their own “Work Packages” To define “Deliverables” The Coordinator to try to mould these together; add “Milestones”. Meeting arranged in Malmő for 23 March 2007 Building the methodology

.... is the acquisition of the key information necessary for sound and scientifically based clinical use of dental Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT).....to use the information to develop evidence-based guidelines dealing with justification, optimisation and referral criteria and to provide a means of dissemination and training for users of CBCT Safety and Efficacy of a New and Emerging Dental X-ray Modality

SEDENTEXCT Gantt chart

Grant application complete mid-April 2007 Peer review Submitted on 29 April 2007 Grant Deadline 2 May 2007 Final timeline

The result 26 July /15 score

The next stage: conversion from an application into a contract

But!..... Ethics review Issues related to: X-ray exposures to children Use of animal material Addition of a substantially enlarged “Ethics” section

Negotiation Meeting: Brussels, October 2007 Minor error corrections to “Description of Work” Finalisation of annual budgets and initial “pre- financing” Clarification over third party involvement Set project start date

Leuven “kick-off” meeting: January 2008

Then the real work starts !