Project administrator ensures effective communication and progress in Horizon Europe Pillar II project

A Horizon Europe coordinator project is a complex endeavour. There are researchers from many different countries involved, which means there are many work packages, reports, budgets, etc. to keep track of. Luna Kondrup Marcussen is the project administrator on Professor Chris Topping's HE Pillar II project, where he is the lead coordinator of a consortium comprised of 11 partners (PollinERA - see below).

[Translate to English:]
[Translate to English:]

The project is anchored at the Social-Ecological Systems Simulation Centre (SESS), which was established by Professor Topping together with a number of researchers from AU.
In her own words, Luna describes her responsibilities as taking care of ongoing communication and follow-up, making sure deadlines are met and that the EC portal is updated, and much more.

Active role in the application phase
Luna is the centre administrator at SESS. She was therefore part of the project group right from the beginning, which included the application phase. “I made sure there was effective communication between the partners, I drafted budgets, set up meetings, made sure deadlines were met, etcetera. I also participated in every meeting, took the minutes and noted down action points,” she says. She sees herself as the link between the partners and believes it is important to them to know who they can turn to for help.

During the application phase, she was also the link to the Research Support Office. “They helped us a lot by reviewing the application and budgets. We also benefited from attending the Research Support Office's Horizon Europe Training Seminars before submitting the application," she says. In her experience, there are so many details to keep an eye on in an application that any advice and guidance is helpful.

Ensure the project stays on course and complies with rules
They got the grant and now it is time to realise everything written in the application. According to the budget, Luna has 250 hours per year to spend on project coordination. Her role during this phase of the project is to be a coordinating link and to be the person who sends friendly reminders about deadlines. “I work closely with Chris Topping and I help organise start-up meetings, steering group meetings and consortium meetings. Once a month I send out a reminder to the heads of the different work packages about upcoming deadlines. The material is sent to me and then I submit it via the portal," she says. Luna believes that the collaboration greatly benefits from the fact that everyone knows her because she was part of the application phase.

From the time a grant is awarded to the start of a project there are many formalities that need to be dealt with in connection with contracts and adjustments to the Grant Agreement, and Luna received help with this from both the Research Support Office and the Technology Transfer Office.

Researchers can stay focused on research
Professor and project manager Chris Topping says the following about Luna's role as project administrator at PollinERA: “Her handling of the administrative tasks allowed the project participants to keep their focus on developing a solid research project during the application phase, and now allows them to concentrate on the scientific tasks that will ensure the success of the project. As coordinator, it's helpful to have an internal coordinator like Luna to spar with on things like project status updates, upcoming special focus areas, document management, communication and project reporting. Our close daily collaboration at the SESS centre allows us to efficiently coordinate the progress of the project.”

Skills and tips to being a good project administrator:

  • Effective communication skills and a bird’s-eye view of the project.
  • Experience from previous projects with regard to effective communication to project partners and daily communication with the coordinator and AU team.
  • Be familiar with the latest EU guidance on requirements for HE Pillar II projects. Know the exact requirements for the application.
  • During the project, it is important to keep an overview of project deliverables and to keep track of completed and upcoming tasks. This can be done by using excel sheets to keep track of everything that needs to be delivered, and to note and follow up on action points from project meetings.
  • Timely communication about internal audit procedures and deliverables, etc., so partners are aware of upcoming tasks.
  • Be proactive, prepare and ask for input ahead of time. For example remembering the main holiday periods in partner countries so that tasks don't grind to a halt over the summer.
  • Create and maintain a shared communication platform, such as Sharepoint, so all project material and primary communication is kept in one place.
  • Attend relevant courses and collaborate with the Research Support Unit and the Technology Transfer Office.

Read more about the PollinERA project here