Study the call documentation

Choose your topic, and then read carefully the related documents and standard templates that are available on the Topic page.

The Submission System will check some basic admissibility and eligibility requirements, but NOT all of them. It is therefore very important that you carefully read the call conditions. Please note that whenever there is a contradiction between the IT checks in place and the call documentation, the call documentation prevails.

Select your partners for the project

Most calls require several participants in the proposal (see call conditions on the Topic page).

You can use the Portal Partner Search to find partners. Other partner search tools are explained in the Helpdesk & Support Services page.

Plan your project and prepare the Technical Description (Part B)

Planning of the work (work packages, deliverables, milestones)

Look at the call conditions, award criteria and standard application form (Technical Description (Part B)) on the Topic page.

For most types of action the Technical Description must give a detailed description of the project idea and work plan (work packages, milestones and deliverables, division of responsibilities and resources, time schedule, project management structure, dissemination and communication activities).

Work packages

All project activities should be grouped in a logical, consistent and structured way into separate work packages. All work packages must present a clear, logical link to the project objectives and to the other work packages. Ideally, each work package should constitute a sub-part of the project, a step leading to the achievement of the project's overall goals.

Projects should normally have at least 2 work packages:

work package 1 — management and coordination activities

work package 2 — outputs related to the project goals.

Beyond that, create only as many as you need . Don't use too many work packages; try to limit them to 5 or 6(as many as necessary, as few as possible).

Work package 1 should normally cover all activities related to the general management and coordination of the project and any activities that do not relate to any of the work packages leading to a specific result, but which are directly linked to the project as a whole.

For the other work packages, describe the:

objective(s)

activities to be implemented — in specific terms

(tangible and intangible) outputs to be produced.

Milestones & deliverables (if required)

Concerning the outputs:

1. Distinguish between milestones and deliverables:
   • milestones: control points in the project that help to chart progress (kick-off meetings, steering committes, first-draft of a survey, prototype, etc.)
   • deliverables: outputs to be submitted to the EU (publication, leaflet, progress report, brochure, list, etc.)
2. Be as specific as possible, e.g.:
   • events — the number of events, title, content, duration, number of participants, etc.
   • publications — number of pages, language, format (printed/electronic), number of printed copies (in each language), etc.
3. Be realistic about what you can achieve within the project duration. The scope of your project should be large enough to make a difference, but it doesn't need to produce an excessively high number of outputs.
4. Refer only to major outputs. Do NOT include minor sub-items, internal working papers, meeting minutes, etc. For an average-size project, we recommend to limit Adapt the number of deliverables to max 10-15 for the entire project. Depending on the case, more may be needed or you may be asked to reduce the size of your project and work packages (use as many as necessary, as few as possible). You may be asked to reduce or increase the number during grant preparation.

Budget

Look at the budget table in the Administrative Forms (Part A) in the Submission System. Only the white cells need to be filled in (the grey cells are not applicable or automatically filled by the system).

Cross-check with Part B to see if you will also need to submit a detailed budget table or outline budgetary details also in Part B.

The budget categories to be used for the call are set out in the call conditions and explained in the AGA — Annotated Grant Agreement.

The budgeted costs should be based on a detailed and accurate estimation of your estimated project costs (based on the cost eligibility rules set out in the Grant Agreement). They should include all your estimated costs (those of your Affiliated Entities should be presented separately, for each participating entity).

Keep your estimates on file — you may be required to produce them later on.

Annexes & supporting documents

If required by the call conditions, you will need to prepare additional annexes and supporting documents (consortium description, declarations by the national authorities, CVs, annual activity reports, etc.)

 Use the templates provided inside the Submission System (NOT the ones on the Topic page).

Detailed budget table (if required)

For the comprehensive EU grants detailed budget table (5 sheets all in one macro-supported excel file — required by some programmes), follow these technical instructions:

Sheets 3 and 4 have to be completed by each Beneficiary/Affiliated Entity in separate excel documents. Sheet 5 should be filled in by the Coordinator manually — after having all the information by the other Beneficiaries.

Combine into a single PDF:

1. Save sheets 3 and 4 into one PDF per Beneficiary/Affiliated Entity (choose sheets via 'Options' when saving as PDF).
2. Save sheets 3, 4 and 5 into a PDF for the Coordinator.
3. Combine into a single PDF for upload (using Adobe Acrobat or the Preview App on Apple Macs).
4. Upload in the system (do NOT upload the excel files - macro files are currently not allowed).

For other types of detailed budget tables, proceed as above if macro-supported (.xlsm file format). For normal excel files (.xlsx file format), you can simply upload them as separate excel file.

CVs (if required)

Provide CVs for the core project team (these are the key staff you have listed in part B and may include outside experts, if key to your proposal).

You can submit CVs in any format. If standard CVs are required in the call conditions we strongly recommend you to use the Europass format. If short outlines are requested, there are no specific formatting requirements (but please keep the information on each person to name, birthdate and 1-2 paragraphs describing studies and most relevant work experience).

As far as possible, upload them in a single PDF file, rather than individually.

If you are still recruiting, please provide the job profile.

Activity report of last year (if required)

This report should describe your organisation's activities for the last year.

It should be detailed enough to allow us to check your organisation's aims and activities and its operational and professional capacity.

No finalised annual report yet? Submit the draft version, certified by your organisation's legal representative.

No report of this type available? Create one for this application and have it certified by your legal representative.

Online versions — If your report is available on your website, you can just provide a link (directly to the document(s), not simply to the homepage) and indicate the link on a separate sheet and upload it as annex (PDF format).