FP7 Rationale

Participating in FP7 has many potential benefits: up to 50% of the cost of undertaking R&D that you might not otherwise to able to do; opportunities to be part of a pan-European consortia sharing knowledge, skills and expertise; raise your profile; access to new business markets. Taking part could enable you to become involved in ambitious, leading-edge projects.

However, application is not for the faint-hearted. There are fundamental questions that you need to ask yourself before proceeding. Take a look at the lists below and make a note of those questions to which the answer is yes.

Business Rationale

• Will it fit within your business strategy?
• Are you prepared to resource and manage the administrative responsibilities that the grant will place on you?
• Are you prepared to commit considerable management time and resource to meeting consortium partners across Europe and contribute to the preparation of an application?
• Are you prepared to invest in the project yourself. The grant will in most cases fund not more than 50% of your portion of the cost of the project.
• Can you commit to a 2 - 5 year project?
• Are you prepared to enter a competition where the rules can be complex and the procedures drawn out?

Your project

• Will your project benefit from the involvement of a number of complimentary European partners?
• Are you undertaking research to develop a usable end product or to deliver knowledge and best practice?
• Is the project European focused, aimed at making an impact and providing a major step forward?

Working in Europe

• Are you prepared to negotiate around the project outputs, including ownership of intellectual property?
• Do you see benefits in collaborating with other European organisations (access to larger markets, shared risk, new contacts, facilities and expertise)?
• Could you work in a consortium with a high level of responsibility, to deliver contractual targets.

The more Yes answers you have given, the more FP7 may be for you. Click here for more information on how to apply.

If you have answered No to a lot of these questions then you might want to take a look at the other types of finance available for R&D projects.