Framework 7 Opportunity - Summary
There are many myths
As in a great number of institutions there are many myths that have grown up over the years around the European Framework programmes, and some would argue that in the past there was truth in some of these. The idea that to be successful you had to include a partner from some small Eastern European nation was always a popular one. Or the proposal will not be successful unless it is over 200 pages long. Unfortunately these unwritten “rules” only serve to get in the way of preparing sound business cases for EU technology funding in research projects.
The European Union and its Framework programme, driven by the Commission, is the vehicle for seeding technological development in Europe. It started in its present form 25 years ago and in those early days had much smaller budget. Since then it has gone through several iterations culminating the current Framework 7 programme, with an overall budget of around €52 million to be “invested” over seven years till 2013. I use the word “invested” carefully because it describes the way anyone thinking of participating in these programmes should view their relationship with the Commission. There are many grant programmes around that provide levels of funding against criteria they set, and most of these involve filling in application forms to apply for money from the public purse.