Preparatory phase of new ESFRI research infrastructure projects

Expected outcomes

• Projects may contribute to some of the expected outcomes; say which ones and why.
• For each outcome (EO1 to EO4), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
• Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

What the scope asks for

Evaluators check the proposal against these sentences of the scope. Answer each one visibly, in the call's own words.

• “Proposal consortia should involve all the stakeholders necessary to move the project forward, to take the decisions, and to make financial commitments, before construction can start (including, but not limited to, national/regional ministries/governments, research councils or funding agencies from the countries that have already declared their commitment in the application to ESFRI).”
• “Proposals for research infrastructure preparatory phases should tackle all key questions concerning legal, financial and technical issues leading to the establishment of a new research infrastructure and ensuring commitment of Member States/Associated Countries to their long-term operation and use in all fields of science.”
• “In this respect, proposals should address all of the following aspects:. the development of legal and financial frameworks/plans relating to the setting-up, construction and/or integration of national resources, operation and decommissioning of the research infrastructure as well as its governance structure; the complementarities between national and EU instruments and/or innovative financing;. the preparation of legal and financial agreements,…”
• “These are deliverables that should be finalised before the end of the project (e.g.: through a Memorandum of Understanding; a 'signature-ready' document for the setting-up and the actual implementation of the research infrastructure);. the establishment of plans for logistics and human resources management, in relation to the construction/integration and future operation, including RI service provision as well as for an efficient data curation…”
• “Proposals should explain any synergies and complementarities with previous or current EU grants notably under the research infrastructures part of the Horizon Europe work programme.”
• “When relevant, environmental (including climate-related) impacts as well as the optimisation of resource and energy use should be integrated in the preparatory phase of new or upgraded research infrastructures.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

• Part B, sections 1–3: 28 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
• Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.
• Coordination and support action: no research is funded. Evaluators look for coordination, networking, dissemination or policy support with a clear audience.
• Other Eligible Conditions: “If eligible for funding, legal entities established in non-associated third countries may exceptionally participate in this Coordination and support action as a beneficiary or affiliated entity.”

Impact pathway and traps

• International cooperation is part of the scope. Explain what the non-EU partners add and how the cooperation is organised.
• Open science or data practices are named. Make the data management plan concrete: which data, which repository, when.
• Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
• Link your outcomes to the destination's expected impacts in the Work Programme. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
• Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
• Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.