University Of Malta

1. Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici (Project Support Office – University of Malta) University Of Malta Outstanding Past Bright Future

2. Overview • UoM research from external funding • The Project Support Team • Support throughout the project lifecycle • Practical support examples • Contact details Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

3. UoM research from External Funding Since 2004: Total Research Project Expenditure/Budgets: EUR 26m Total Research External funding: EUR 20m Co-financing: EUR 6m 2004-2010 – total new projects of approx. EUR1.8mper annum 2011-2013 – total new projects of approx. EUR 4.4m per annum Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

4. UoM research from External Funding Since 2004: Funding under the EU Framework Programmes (FP5 – FP7) EUR 15M All Other Programmes (Life, LLP, ERDF, MED, ENPI, etc) EUR 11M Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

5. UoM research from External Funding Since 2004: Wide participation : 118 different academics 73different departments/centres/institutes (Pharmacy, Mechanical Engineering, Digital Games, Economics, Information Policy and Governance, Computer Science, Biology, Disability studies, etc…) Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

6. International & EU Office • Finance Office Project Support Team A Multi-disciplinary team of 29 members representing the: • Project Support Team • Legal Office • Human Resources and Development Office Corporate Research and Knowledge Transfer Office Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

7. Project Support Team • Finance Office: budget preparation, financial management, administration, project implementation, approval of expenses, reporting, assistance with audits • Legal Office: evaluation and preparation of partnership agreements, grant agreements, employment issues, legal letters, other legal documents • International Office: evaluation of proposals for technical aspects including compliance with the guidelines, academic background of the research team, review of proposal submission documents Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

8. Project Support Team • HR Management and Development Office: assistance on HR issues, calls for application, interviewing, inductions, employment contracts • Corporate Research and Knowledge Transfer Office: business incubation and entrepreneurship, start-ups, industry collaborations, intellectual property Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

9. Support throughout the project lifecycle • Bid Phase (Pre award) • Call for proposals • Setting up of a consortium (Lead Partner and partners) • Submission of proposal • Evaluation of proposals • Grant negotiation procedure for selected projects • Final Description of Work (DoW) is submitted • Signature of Grant Agreement and Consortium/Partnership Agreement Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

10. Support throughout the project lifecycle • Project Implementation Phase (Post Award) • Project start date • Distribution of first tranche • Progress/Interim reports (Form C) • Distribution of further tranches • Project end date • Final Report • Distribution of final tranche • Audit (may also be conducted before the project end date) Milestones Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

11. Support: practical examples • Project Support homepage: https://www.um.edu.mt/finance/projectsupport • FAQ’s • Procedures for the Participation in Externally Funded Projects • Induction manual • Recruitment procedures for staff working on externally funded projects • Specimen of successful proposals Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

12. Support: research funding software Your virtual funding assistant! • A Funding Opportunities software which provides the missing link between project ideas and funding opportunities • Matches funding opportunities to academic profiles automatically • Targeted by areas of interest • Alerts on new opportunities • Partner searches • http://pivot.cos.com/ Coming soon Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

13. Our role: Few words….big challenges! • mediators/expeditorsof the grants process • facilitatorsof research • reducing friction and keeping the process moving • need the trust of FICs and academics/researchers Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta

14. The Project Support Team is there to assist you! Contact details: Email: projectsupport@um.edu.mt Website: www.um.edu.mt/finance/projectsupport Support for academics through the Project Support Office 07/02/2014 Christian Bonnici – University of Malta