C.1 Research and Innovation Project Management: the first steps

This course will introduce the life-cycle of a collaborative R&I project in Horizon Europe. It will cover the project launch, essentials of reporting and other management duties during the project period. You will be introduced to the Funding and Tenders Portal, and receive valuable tips for successful communication, dissemination, exploitation, open science and research data management actions during the lifetime of your project. The course also includes a practical exercise on project management, where we will discuss how to handle difficult situations that can occur during a project. The course is designed for beginners who need to get familiar with Horizon Europe project management. 

Agenda

08:30–09:00 Arrival of participants

09:00–09:15 Event Opening and introduction to the course            

09:15–09:45 An EU project lifecycle 

Introduction to the implementation stages of an EU research and innovation project. What are the steps, what are the tasks and responsibilities of a partner and the coordinating organisation? Stories from the trainer will help highlighting how a successful or bad project looks like. 

(09:45–10:00 Coffee Break)

10:00–10:45 Getting your project started

The first management milestones will be discussed – GA preparation, kick-off meeting, first deliverables, setting up the management system. 

Key tasks, tools, and procedures you need to know before you start implementing the project – on an organisational level (formulate the work and roles internally) and on a consortium level (what would make you a good coordinator). Setting up the project management and monitoring tools – a package of Word and Excel templates will be shared. Setting up the communication system - Web-based, telcos or f2f events? How many, how often? 

(10:45–11:00 Coffee Break)

11:00–12:00 Short introduction to the reporting obligations and management duties  

Brief overview of Continuous reporting and Periodic reporting: timeline, responsibilities, task to be completed jointly or individually. Introduction to the Periodic report template. Payment schedule. 

(12:00–13:00 Lunch break)

13:00–14:00 Workshop: Project Management Case Studies

Under the moderation of trainers, participants work in groups on real-life scenarios with problematic and challenging situations in R&I projects and discuss how to handle these or avoid them in real life.

(14:00–14:15 Coffee Break)

14:15–15:00 How to comply with the non-scientific obligations 

All beneficiaries signing the GA will have to comply with many obligations besides implementing their research tasks. We discuss tips and tools for implementing your horizontal duties – communication, dissemination and exploitation activities; open science and research data management obligations; stakeholder engagement. Examples and lessons learned from running projects. Introduction to the tools offered by the EC.

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About the Horizon Europe courses 

The Research Council of Norway offers a structured series of courses for applicants to Horizon Europe. The courses are organised by topic, project role, and level of experience.  

Introductory courses (Series A and E) are digital and suitable for all roles, while Series B, C, and D are in-person, role-specific courses that typically run over one or two days. 

C. Project Management

Courses in the C-series are suitable for Project Managers and Advisors responsible for planning and implementing Horizon Europe projects.  

C.1 Research and Innovation Project Management: the first steps 
C.2 Coordinating a Horizon Europe Project – special course for Coordinators 
C.3 Horizon Europe Project Management and Reporting 
C.4 Legal Agreements in Horizon Europe