Proposal Writing Workshop on Horizon 2020 and EuropeAid

By coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 emphasizes excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges with the aim of driving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. In this framework, WAITRO and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (ICESCO) organized an International Proposal Writing Workshop on May 16–19, 2016 at the Larespark Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey. The organization and preparation of the workshop was also facilitated by the Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark and TUBITAK Marmara Research Centre.

The main objectives of the workshop were developing good generic proposal writing and preparation skills as well as allowing participants themselves to prepare summaries and outlines. Given that most clients/funders require a very similar approach, creating a generic outline helps the participants to have a basis for the proposal, even if the detailed structure might be different. On the other hand, the workshop focused on enabling the participants to think about the relevance of their particular proposal ideas. In other words, why it is important (excellence), how it will be effective (impact) and how it will be carried out (implementation).

The facilitators of the workshop were Prof. Jeremy Millard and Ms. Sarah Roxenne from DTI. Nineteen participants from Turkey, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Thailand and India took part in the workshop. Horizon 2020 was the teaching vehicle to illustrate and contextualize the workshop. In addition, the workshop also covered the EuropeAid program applications and the development of Logical Framework Analysis.