Like every healthy body, it needs functional body parts and above all a healthy operational head. For EU projects this holds true as well. Projects are submitted with strategic partnerships involving one or more partners and, mandatorily, a coordinating organisation. There were times in which being the applicant partner of a consortium highly evaluated by organisations and companies, it is our recent experience that this is no longer the case. Entities are quite reluctant to cover the leading role of a partnership preferring the more “comfortable” position of affiliate organisation active on the project, but not being the final referent of the executive agency. How comes?
Indeed, being the leader of a consortium involves both honours (and reputation with it) and obligations (and burdens with it) and predictably the latter is standing above the former.
Among the honours, one might list the fact that a coordinating organisation will be in the position of implementing its project idea which, though elaborated in partnership, comes from the experience and expertise of the leading company. Leadership, especially in this transnational context, is strongly rewarding in terms of visibility and reputation and might strengthen the market position of the organisation on a specific topic and scientific environment. In some cases, unfortunately, this is not any longer the common experience, coordination comes with extra financial support given the extra responsibilities and the higher number of tasks to be delivered.
The obligations, which nowadays more and more organisations perceive as prior, thus refusing the role of the applicant, are easy to be listed. Exerting the leading role requires more responsibility: in front of the executive agency coordinators are liable for the quality of the project delivery, the completion of all tasks, the correct and proper financial management, for the correctness of papers to be drafted (agreements, evidence of expenses, amendments, etc.). The role requires the investment of more working time and not just for the bureaucracy to be handled, but mainly for the coordinating management and guiding activities of all partners. Let alone that these tasks require good mastery of facilitating skills, problem-solving and decision-making abilities, negotiation tasks, along with the expected appropriate managerial attitude which is not learned in few days. Not to mention the financial reward which, in some EU programs, is not recognising the role and the extra tasks in a feasible way, given – on the contrary – the demands which this role requires.
The difficulty of finding coordinating organisations for our project might be aggravated by the fact that sometimes there are conditions in programs that restrain the selection: the profile of the coordinator who has to cover a specific company’s profile and characteristics, the inhibition of being the leader of two different proposals in the same call, the banning of organisations which are already running a financed project in the same program, the requirement of not being for-profit, the quest of being a legal entity for at least a certain number of years, etc.
We know, without a coordinating organisation there is no feasible project submission. Therefore, while starting to think of a winning idea and drafting the concept note, one of the first goals of a building consortium is to find of define who will lead the partnership at times of implementation. It will help if partners show feasible support to whoever will lead the action, it will help to assure (through proven experience) the high quality and performance of the partnership in delivering project’s tasks, it will play convincing a hesitant organisation to take over the role if partners show promptness, good management and value already in the project design phase of the proposal. About the convincing qualities of partners, we will dedicate a specific article.
To make sure your project proposal will be led by a competent and motivated coordinator, starting way ahead is ominous for good success.