Smith, V.S. 2014. FP7 Funded RI Project experiences: some overly honest tips from a project coordinator, EC Horizon 2020 Research Infrastructures Information Day in at the Natural History Museum London, U.K. 18 June 2014.

1. Vince Smith, NHM, London
EC Horizon 2020 Research Infrastructures
Information Day, 18 June 2014
FP7 Funded RI Project
experiences
some overly honest tips
from a project coordinator

2. My research background
Circa 5,000 spp.
Mammals & birds
12,000 associations
15,000 potential hosts

3. Enabling research via (small) digital infrastructures
Circa 5,000 spp.
Mammals & birds
12,000 associations
15,000 potential hosts
http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~rpage/LouseBase/2/
LouseBASE
Specimens Images
(SID)
http://darwin.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~SID/
Literature
PHPBib
http://myphpbib.sourceforge.net/
Lab Notebook
http://www2.flmnh.ufl.edu/pdb/
Host-Parasite Checklists
http://www2.flmnh.ufl.edu/adb/

4. EC funding opportunities, a question of scale
• Became involved with (and frustrated by) EC projects
• Fixing these issues required getting involved
• Invited as a FP6 proposal reviewer
• Started writing FP6/7 proposals

5. FP6/7 eInfrastructure Projects
European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)
27 EU taxonomic institutions, 5-yrs, FP6 funded NoE 2006-11, €11.5 m
Towards a European Museum of Natural History by functionally federating
existing facilities
Synthesis of Systematic Resources
(SYNTHESYS) [1,2 & 3]
18+2 partners, 4-years,FP7 funded eInfrastructure 2013-17, €8.9 m
Improving physical and digital access to European natural history
collections collections
Virtual Biodiversity Research and Access
Network for Taxonomy (ViBRANT)
17 partners, 3-years, FP7 funded eInfrastructure 2010-13, €4.75 m
Supported the development of virtual research communities involved in
biodiversity science

6. Experiences developing, running & sustaining projects
• Project planning and design
• Management
• Sustainability
• Reviews & outputs
Mostly common sense?
(Caveat: my judgment derived from
experience rather than study)

7. Project Planning & Design Issues
• Set "Goldilocks goals" (suitably ambitious but realistic)
• Embed your users in every aspect (and ideally be a user)
• Build in agility (reassess and redefine milestones)
• Identify realistic partners (with a track record)
• Avoid silos (for both partners & activities)
• Submit it to the right call!
Open
source &
modular
Open
source &
modular
Infrastructure maintenanceInfrastructure maintenance
Technical
maintenance
Technical
maintenance User supportUser support
Crowd-
sourcing
support
activities
Crowd-
sourcing
support
activities
Maximising
support
efficiency
Maximising
support
efficiency

8. Management Issues
• Teamwork (a day-to-day project manager is critical)
• Devolve as much responsibility as possible
• Communication is key
• Use the Web as much as possible
• Keep a healthy travel budget (and use it)
• Measure and monitor progress (KPI dashboard)
• Advisory boards (mixed views)
SYNTHESYS Project
Management & Access
Websites

9. Sustainability Issues
• The sustainability plan starts now!
• Embed sustainability activities at every level
– For infrastructure (align with institutional strategy)
– For content (an active user community)
– For training and development (e.g. “ambassadors”)
– For marketing
– For strategy
• Think programme, not project!
23 ambassadors23 ambassadors
in 19 countries;in 19 countries;
600 communities,600 communities,
7,100 active users7,100 active users
23 ambassadors23 ambassadors
in 19 countries;in 19 countries;
600 communities,600 communities,
7,100 active users7,100 active users

10. Project Reviews & Outputs
• Link to external community events where possible
• Ideally, use reviews as an opportunity to do something useful
– e.g. Public launch activities, workshops or training events
– Strategy development
• Have tangible outputs (not just reports for reviewers)
• Or have a plan to build upon (use) project reports
• Invest in marketing and outreach