2.3 Progress Reporting: The Technical Report

In this particular example, the grant proposal is divided into 5 sections:

1. Excellence

2. Impact

3. Implementation

4. Members of the Consortium, and finally

5. Ethics and Security.

Under “Section 1: Excellence”, you must clearly explain the problem or challenge requiring a solution, the overall project concept, its general and specific objectives, the innovative solution in response to the identified problem, as well as stating the difference between the current state-of-the-art options and how your proposed solution goes beyond those options in terms of innovation.

In “Section 2: Impact”, you must specifically identify the expected impacts. For instance, we could take into account any regulatory framework conditions, socio-economic impact, the “Dissemination & Promotion Plan”, the “voice” of your project, and finally, your plan for “Exploitation and Intellectual Property” (IPR) protection. 

In “Section 3: Implementation”, you must divide the project into Work Packages (WPs), which should be a maximum of 8. In each WP, you will:

• • Write the project’s tasks or activities, which should be specific to the WP.
  • Identify the deliverables, which should have a direct linkage to each task.
  • Identify specific milestones which are key critical points of the project that, once reached, will lead to the next crucial phase, and without which the project can not be successfully accomplished.

Besides all the above, this is the section in which you must describe the total budget, as well as the individual budgets per consortium partner.

In “Section 4: Consortium Members”, you must include the institution profile of each consortium partner, stating their main expertise, experience and know-how, any relevant equipment, any past and/or ongoing projects, and so on. You must always start with “Partner 1: The Coordinator”, or “Lead Partner”. For each partner, you must add brief CVs of personnel to be directly involved in the project, once funded.

Regarding “Section 5: Ethics and Security”, only consider this section if you’re applying for grants in highly sensitive fields that require compliance with various ethical protocols. Such fields are healthcare, clean energy, environment, security, and so on.

Finally, you can add an “Annex” into which you can add “Letters of Intent” that are signed by external institutions and demonstrate any non-legal binding support to the project or any other non-confidential documents considered important and aimed at reinforcing the strength of your grant proposal and increasing the chances of getting funded.