WG3.3: Impact in H2020...TN1302: BESTPRAC Tallinn 2019 Meeting 12/03/2019 I. Impact under H2020 II. A closer look at the proposal form: what is required? III. Writing impact-section:

TN1302: BESTPRAC

Tallinn 2019 Meeting 12/03/2019

WG3.3:

Impact in H2020

Sarah Dello

Legal Counsel @ Ghent University, TechTransfer Office

Ger Hanley

Founder & MD @ Ger Hanley Consultancy

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I. Impact under H2020

II. A closer look at the proposal form: what is required?

III. Writing impact-section: tips & tricks

IV. From results to impact

V. Best practices

Content

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• Collaborative research projects in the form of RIA / IA projects

under Pillar II or III

– But impact is increasingly important in all research funding instruments

so lessons are beneficial to all

• Point of view is that of universities and other research organisations

– But information is applicable to everyone, e.g. SMEs and other partners

in the project

• Impact, not technical details of the proposal preparation, IP or legal

issues (deal with these after you have clear idea on big picture)

Focus of this presentation

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I. Impact under H2020

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Background to ‘impact’

• Political word

What the politician says: “With one billion euro, I can build 5000 houses for poor families. In four

years, I will be able to see 5000 houses and 20.000 happy people with

new homes. If I give you (scientists) one billion euro, what will I see in

four years?”

=> How the politician thinks: we put money into

something (research) and want to see results

(impact).

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What is ‘research impact’?

“The demonstratable contribution that excellent research makes to

society and the economy” – Research Council UK

“The broader impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit

society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired

societal outcomes’ – US National Science Foundation

=> Impact = the effect of research on society,

including economy, that is demonstratable

(measurable) and positive

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Mr. Juncker’s World: challenges all over the place!

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EU’s policy priorities(challenges)

Call topic

Proposal

Project

Work programme

IMPACT

From challenge to impact

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Types of impact in H2020

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Types of impact in H2020 (2)• Excellent Science Impact (Pillar I):

– Challenge is that ERC projects establish Europe as the scientificleader

• Industrial Leadership Impact (Pillar II):– challenge is to establish Europe as the leader in different sectors

or technologies

– the research project focusses on increasing the TRL level by oneor two steps

• Societal Challenges Impact (Pillar III):– challenges in this project are long-term (e.g. cancer, diabetes…)

– the research project is one step in addressing the challenge

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Impact as evaluation criteria

• Impact plays a key role in evaluation of H2020

proposals

– In RIA and IA proposals, impact counts for 1/3 of the

total evaluation score

– Impact score has a minimum value

Scientifically brilliant proposals are not

funded if the impact section is not excellent!

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II. A closer look at the proposal form

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Expected Impact (= Section 2.1)

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Expected Impact (2)

So, what is requested?

• How will the research in your project address the

expected impact?

• How will the project improve innovation capacity &

integration of new knowledge?

• How will it strengthening competitiveness & growth of

companies?

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Example

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Measures to maximise impact (= Section 2.2)

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Measures to maximise impact (2)

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So, what is expected?

• Exploitation plan

• Business plan

• Data management plan

• IP and knowledge management

strategy

• Communication strategy

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III. Writing the impact-section:

tips & tricks

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Writing Section 2.1 ‘Expected impacts’

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Writing Section 2.1 ‘Expected impacts’

• Be specific! indicators and targets!

– if possible, use quantitative statements, use TRL if

relevant (remember: impact should be measurable)

– Describe problem / challenge + solutions: describe

how the solution will be delivered to stakeholders

• Think one step ahead: which further opportunities go

beyond the direct impact?

• Visualise!

– use tables

– use figures

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Example: ‘Expected Impacts’

Despite the global epidemic of Alzheimer’s Dementia, none of the Alzheimer Dementia treatmentsavailable today slows or stops the malfunction and death of neurons in the brain that cause AlzheimerDementia and eventually make it fatal. In 2010, the Alzheimer’s Association projected that thepotential impact of a treatment breakthrough in 2015 that could slow the progression of Alzheimer’sDementia

• The number of Alzheimer’s Dementia patients in the severe stage which require significant carewould drop dramatically from 42% to 18% by 2020;

• More Alzheimer’s Dementia patients will be living in the mild stage of the disease (56%) than theywould without a treatment breakthrough (28%);

• Once Alzheimer’s Dementia patients transitioned to the moderate stage, they would remain in thatstage about five times longer than they do now;

• All of the above would substantially reduce the costs of care by 30% and the total costs to all payersby 17%;

The expected results from the ‘Example’ project is to provide Proof of Concept for the compound asdisease modifying and to pave the way for phase III RCT´s that along with planned Market Accessactivities would result in its fast future implementation as treatment of Alzheimer’s Dementia. Asdescribed above, such a therapeutic advance would have a significant impact on the global andEuropean health and social care burden of this neurodegenerative disorder. Thus, the study has thepotential impact to not only improve the health of future generations of European citizens, but alsoreduce the burgeoning healthcare costs on dementia care.

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Writing Section 2.1 ‘Expected impacts’ (2)

• detail any barriers and/or obstacles that could affect

and/or the extent of the ‘expected impact’

– e.g. regulations and any standards

– create a list of barriers and obstacles + give potential

solutions or measures that will be taken to overcome

the obstacles (a specific WP can be dedicated to it)

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Example: Addressing Barriers/ObstaclesIn a green economy, growth in income and employment are driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions andpollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. These investments need to becatalysed and supported by targeted public expenditure, policy reforms and regulation changes. To this end, a key barrier that could preventus from achieving our expected impacts is the lack of favourable enabling framework and regulatory conditions for increased investments.Consequently, engagement with policy makers is such a vitally important aspect of this project and will cross-cut our research andinnovation work programme. The implementation of multi-actor joint stakeholder platform for knowledge exchange will be pivotal inidentifying and removing any of the barriers to adoption of the project results and will aim to make a tangible contribution towardsfavourable regulatory frameworks for catalysing investments in green agriculture and the green economy in general. As was discussed, asagricultural waste is not included in the EC Waste Framework Directive, one tangible aim will be to lobby towards its inclusion.

In the context of the impacts of ‘Project X’ to contribute to the Circular Economy, whereby new biocompounds valorisedfrom agricultural waste and residues can be used as natural ingredients and functional compounds in foods, the European Union’s NovelFoods Regulation (NFR) may pose barriers/obstacles to innovation in that, the stringent food safety assessment for novel foods required bythe NFR places a high burden of proof on those bringing new foods or traditional food products to the EU market not consumed in the EU.

Under the NFR, significant scientific data are required to prove the safety of these foods. That poses a barrier to market introduction,because of the time and costs involved. The impacts of the NFR will be studied in the context of the database/inventory of potential newproducts and pathways. Likewise, the regulatory frameworks of the European Medicines Association (EMA) will also be studied in relation topharmaceutical applications.

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Writing Section 2.1 ‘Expected impact’ (3)• Link specific deliverables, WPs and (Lead/End) Users to final

impact

measures

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Writing Section 2.2 (‘Measures to maximise impact)

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Measures to maximise impact: Communication

• Communication = taking strategic and targetedmeasures for promoting the project ànd the results to a multitude of audiences

• Communication plan describes how you transmit the message

• Describe communication channels

– Press release

– Social media

– Website

– Blog

– Project workshops, events

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Example: communicationThrough Task 9.4 ‘Communication activities to support stakeholder engagement’, we will plan out our communication activities and develop the necessary communication tools (project website, leaflet, posters, social media accounts, video, etc.) building on and complementing table 5 above, whereby communication activities will be effectively intertwined with the project dissemination effort to ensure that we engage, stimulate the interest and support, and motivate the collaboration of actors along the value chain in order to benefit our action and to increase its impacts for the benefit of industrial competitiveness, rural development, environmental protection and a transition to the green economy for agriculture and other sectors in Europe. As such, we will develop a communications plan, which will consist of the following steps:

1. Identify and list all possible stakeholders - the target audiences of our dissemination activities will be used as thestarting point (in addition to any other stakeholders that might be considered important).

2. Organise our stakeholders - following a stakeholder analysis, the target audience of our communication activities willbe categorised into “communities of support” for helping SAMPLE PROJECT to realise its ambition, goals, objectives andimpacts. Representatives from each of our stakeholders and communities of support will be included in the JointStakeholder Platform.

3. Development of the SAMPLE PROJECT brand - in order to help us in engaging with our stakeholders the principles behind the brand (visually identified through its logo and the tagline (‘for a circular economy’), which will both betrademarked) will be further elaborated and documented.

4. Design and implementation of effective communication campaigns (and supporting tools and materials) - our aimis to generate understanding within the different communities of support as to what SAMPLE PROJECT is seeking to achieve. We will ensure regular communication to our stakeholders through these campaigns (and particularly via the JointStakeholder Platform), which will involve the use of emails, face-to-face meetings (in the case of policy stakeholders),leaflets, posters, videos and virals, the website and social media, etc.

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Measures to maximise impact: Dissemination (2)

• Dissemination = making the results known to stimulate

use for further research or commercial development

• goal: make project outcomes visible to different target

stakeholders

• dissemination strategy:

- Identifies main target group of stakeholders

- Prepares dissemination channels and tools to reach

these stakeholders

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Measures to maximise impact: Dissemination

• dissemination strategy also:

- Defines and shares appropriate messages about the

results

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• Link results to stakeholders through appropriate

dissemination!

dissemination

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Example: dissemination plan

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Measures to maximise impact: Exploitation• Exploitation: project outputs are valuable assets (which can be used

and traded)

• Exploitation strategy:

– describes how consortium partners and other stakeholders will

use the results

– describes the market and commercialisation strategy

– shows ability to go to market

– demonstrates you know the market & its challenges

– links exploitable results with target groups and actions

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• Link results to stakeholders through appropriate exploitation!

Exploitation: USE by Lead Users

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Example: exploitationA key exploitation route will be the industrial use of the project knowledge and technology developments, for the creation of new products, new processes and advisory services to deliver high competitiveness and growth impacts.

The following technologies will be developed during the project and a business plan will be prepared for each:

Table of technologies, their associated WP and Task &/or subtask #

In short, each of these technologies will be further scaled up post-project and then they will be deployed as solutions in the market, whereby these pilots developed during the project will serve as powerful demonstration tools for wide industry engagement post-project. In order to prepare for commercial exploitation of these technologies, an Impact Forum will be established, which will consist of a broad range of stakeholders who have a potential interest in implementing the project outcomes and where a return on investment is feasible. This forum will enable us to focus our business planning and post-project exploitation routes. Detailed business plans will be developed through Subtask X.X.X, in order to provide the details on how the project’s results will be used in commercial exploitation activities, for training purposes, for further research activities as well as for standardisation activities.

Expected Impact

Work Package

Partner(s) that benefit

Implementation Pathway

Biochemical X

WP3,Subtask 3.1.4

Partner 5 Processes will be industrialised in the post-project phase through Partner 5 and an appropriate business plan will be created through Subtask X.X.X. for commercialisation.

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IV. From results to impact

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Terminology“Results” / “Output” = tangible or intangible output of the project, such as

data, knowledge and information, whether or not they can be protected, which

are generated in the project as well as any rights attached thereto, including

intellectual property rights

“End User” = people who use or purchase the end product introduced into the

market by the Lead User

“Lead User” = those who use or purchase results or develop these further to

make them ready for market launch (or launch it directly on the market)

“Stakeholders” = persons or organisations with an interest in the project who

can affect or may be affected by the project (as such: can include Lead Users

and End Users).

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Terminology

“Exploitation”: use of results in further research activities other than those

covered by the project, or in developing, creating and marketing a product or

process, or in creating and providing a service. The exploitation plan must

describe how results will be promoted to the Lead Users

“Dissemination”: public disclosure of the results by any appropriate means.

Dissemination is used to promote the project and outcomes to all

stakeholders.

“Impact”: the changes or benefits to the economy, society, culture, public

policy or services, health, environment, quality of life…, derived from the

innovation.

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Terminology

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Formula for research impact

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Key challenges

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Step #1: Identify stakeholders

An ‘Interest Influence

Matrix’ helps identify

stakeholders with

differing levels of interest

in and influence over

research

Keep Satisfied(Hard-to-reach)

Manage Closely

(Easy-to-reach)

Monitor

Keep Informed(Easy-to-reach marginalised stakeholders)

Level of Interest

Infl

uen

ce

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Identify stakeholders (2)

• Questions to ask:

– Who will be affected by the research?

– Will the impact be local, national, international?

– Who has the power to influence the outcomes?

– Who are potential allies & opponents?

– Who can facilitate or impede the outcome(s) through

participation, non-participation or opposition?

– What coalitions might be possible?

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Identify stakeholders (3)

• Stakeholder categories to consider:– Government (departments and politicians)

– Government agencies

– Industry

– Media

– Policy Makers

– Special interest/lobby groups

– Research Organisations

– Community Groups

– NGOs

– Professional Groups

– Representative Groups e.g. or patients

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Example: stakeholder panel

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Step#2: Make sure stakeholders know about & use

the results (= communication & dissemination)

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V. Best practises

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Writing impact – do’s & don’t’s

• Quantify as much as possible

• Use financial figures

• Use tables

• Support statements with facts

• Don’t repeat required impact from call text instead of

development of your own proposal content

• Answer ‘expected impacts’ listed in call text with your

specific project: don’t state “these will be met” but

explain how they will be met!

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Writing impact – do’s & don’t’s (2)

• Stakeholders:

– Plan a good cooperation with end-users

– Involve policy makers, SME’s and industry in the

proposal in view of a sustainable cooperation

Impact section should not be written by the

academic/researcher but should be written by lead

users, i.e. those who will make sure the results will be

used

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Writing impact – do’s & don’t’s (3)

• Exploitation:

– Work on a convincing exploitation plan

– Describe industrial uptake of results

– Include specific market details (potential market

volumes, products, prices…)

• Dissemination & communication:

– Develop a dissemination plan (with diverse

measures)

– Don’t confuse dissemination with communication

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Communication - Dissemination

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Writing impact – feedback evaluators

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Sources

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Sources

• ‘How to write a competitive proposal for H2020’, Sean McCarthy, Hyperion (manual)

• ‘Building Impact in H2020 projects’, presentation University of Helsinki 2015 (Jussi Alho & Maarit Haataja)

• ‘Making the Most of Your H2020 Project’, IPR Helpdesk -https://www.iprhelpdesk.eu/sites/default/files/EU-IPR-Brochure-Boosting-Impact-C-D-E_0.pdf

• ‘Horizon 2020 proposal template guide – understanding the inner logic and structure’, EURAXESS

• Aarhus University’s impact guide

https://www.iprhelpdesk.eu/sites/default/files/EU-IPR-Brochure-Boosting-Impact-C-D-E_0.pdf

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Documents

WG3.3: Impact in H2020...TN1302: BESTPRAC Tallinn 2019 Meeting 12/03/2019 I. Impact under H2020 II. A closer look at the proposal form: what is required? III. Writing impact-section: