How to write a LIFE Proposal Workshop 2019

May 10 2019

The LIFE Cyclamen team organised a Workshop on “How-to-write a LIFE Proposal” in Nicosia on Tuesday, May 7th 2019, as a part of the Cyprus Capacity Building LIFE Programme. The purpose of this workshop was to explain how the LIFE Programme works, starting from the very beginning with the Call of Proposals until the submission of Proposals and their assessment. In addition, it aimed to provide guidance to participants through the experience of the National Contact Point (NCP).

Guest Speakers

During this Info Day we had the pleasure of having with us two guest speakers:

Mr. Elias Demian from NEEMO (LIFE Programme’s external monitoring team) presented the importance of EU added value, which includes (a) Sustainability (continuation, replication, transfer potential) (b) Contribution to the specific objectives of the priority areas of each sub-programme, (c) Contribution to the project topics, and (d) Synergies and transnationality. Mr Demian explained with examples the EU added value of LIFE Projects and how this can be presented in a LIFE Proposal.

In addition, he shared with participants some practical tips and suggestions for writing a successful LIFE proposal. Some of the points raised were:

When it comes to management structure, simple is functional
Use the absolutely necessary number of actions so that they are manageable
Proof-read your English to avoid misunderstandings
Allocate your time realistically
The results of your project should be quantified
Be realistic with your KPIs
Don’t confuse milestones with deliverables.

Mr. Periklis Kleitou shared with us the experience of Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab with the LIFE Programme and gave us valuable insights from the preparation of the proposal of the RELIONMED-LIFE project. This project aims to protect the Mediterranean from the lionfish (Pterois miles) – an Invasive Alien Species – through an early warning system and targeted removal with the aim of preventing the ecological and socioeconomic effects of this invasion.

The beneficiaries of this Project are: The University of Cyprus, The University of Plymouth, Marine & Environmental Research (MER) Lab Ltd, Enalia Physis Environmental Research Centre and the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research of Cyprus. Mr Kleitou also explained the evaluation scores that RELIONMED-LIFE achieved and gave us some suggestions for writing a winning LIFE proposal.

Participants found the workshop very enlightening and particularly enjoyed the practical aspect of it.