Rosellina Di Santo joined META Group’s Brussels office in 2021, after more than 12 years in Belgium working for both intergovernmental and industry-based organizations. During these years, she managed projects of different nature at EU level. Rosellina graduated from the University of Turin in Strategic Science. After different study and working experiences in Rome, Prague, and Washington Dc, she specialized in Strategy Execution at the Harvard Business School online programme.  

Passionate about the noble art, in her free time she enjoys long walks in the forests but also swimming, painting and, in special occasions, going to the Opera. In the office her fondness for chocolates is not a mystery to her colleagues.  

Horizons Results Booster: structured mindsets and interdisciplinary approaches

What is your role at META and what is your typical day?  

I am part of the Management Team of Horizons Results Booster which is a very large initiative. My typical day includes a lot of contacts with possible beneficiaries, experts, partners, colleagues, and, of course, the European Commission. Interactions with others is important in what I do and being able to work in a very multicultural environment – not only related to the different nationalities but also to the very different education backgrounds – is an essential part of my role. It is also one aspect that I enjoy a lot.  

What is it like working on Horizon Results Booster? What does it involve?  

Working on Horizons Results Booster requires a lot of structured mindsets, management of complexities, interdisciplinary approaches. Holding a solid experience in managing interactions at EU level is key as well. Different requests, approaches and point of views should always converge in a consistent scope and shared objective. In my daily work, problem solving is as crucial as building effective cooperation. This could reflect also the ultimate aim of the support provided through the HRB initiative.  

What do you like the most about your job? 

During my career path at European level, I have been focussed on the importance of strategic thinking and strategy implementation in different contexts. Beyond the interactions with different entities, the aspect I like the most in my job is contributing to provide support to beneficiaries facing different challenges. Beneficiaries most of the time are highly relieved and pleased to know they can avail of different services.  

Sustainability: one of the main focuses for all sectors

What are some of the trends you see in the sector you work in?

First of all, sustainability is one of the main focus for all sectors. Indeed, sustainable development is an integral part of the EU internal and external policies and does not only relate to a vision for the future but also -and more importantly – to tangible goals.  

One of the surprising elements is the fact that clear objectives could be achieve only through an effective strategy, and setting up an effective strategy could often result to be an enigma to solve. Creating value should be one of the most important elements of a strategy, and going through the complex process of value creation, which relies on a structured plan and entails customers satisfaction as much as employees’ satisfaction, is becoming more and more crucial for sustainable development.  

In this process it is important of course to look at financials (which are indeed the aspects where the strategy will be reflected in its efficacity), but also at the environmental and social aspects which are now considered part of multidimensional values, achievable through innovative perspectives.  

If you had to share with us a nice META memory what would that be?

I remember always with pleasure the three days I spent in Umbria meeting the Italian team and of course enjoying the high-quality food of the Umbria region – which is always memorable!.

The post Problem Solving and Cooperation: Core of Horizon Results Booster appeared first on META Group.

Communications, dissemination and exploitation are areas that are often overlooked by researchers, but they are vitally important to one of the core requirements of EU funding grants – that the research carried out within Europe has IMPACT.  

Impact might be a publication submitted to a peer-reviewed journal (an example of dissemination), or a video that you create to explain your results to children (communication) or it might be that you managed to create a start-up and monetise the results of your project (exploitation). Basically, the impact of your research project is the effect that it will have on the world.  

But what exactly does EU mean by communication, dissemination and exploitation?  How can you make sure that your grant proposal addresses these requirements?  These are some of the questions that we are going to respond in this article.  

What is communication? 

Communication in the context of EU funding refers to the promotion of project results to a wider, generalised public – a non-specialist audience. Since these projects are funded by public money, it’s essential that we let the public know what we are doing. Citizens should be able to find out what national and European institutions are doing with their taxes.  

There’s a variety of ways we can communicate with the public. One of the most impactful might be targeting local, national and/or international media. Creating a website is indeed a form of communication, though now this is almost a basic requirement for every project and is not likely to get you extra brownie points!  

Communication comes before dissemination and exploitation because you can communicate even before your project gets results. Start by sharing your project’s objectives with others. Engage in outreach activities, such as beach cleanups (especially if your project relates to marine litter), essentially hosting events to inform people about your research goals. Consider contributing an article to a magazine or perhaps even launching a TikTok account! The possibilities are endless and the communication part of EU funding grants is an opportunity for you to be creative.  

A communication plan, clearly mapping out what communications activities you plan to do over the lifetime of your project, is essential for a winning proposal. With proper organisation and foresight, you will be able to define, monitor and fulfil a variety of communications objectives successfully. A few elements to consider within your communication plan are audience (who do we want to reach), the message (which are the key message we need to transfer) and the channels (where are we going to communicate our messages). Once those aspects are identified, we can develop our communication plan.  

What is dissemination? 

The goal of dissemination is to inform stakeholders, including peer researchers, policymakers, potential users, and industry, about the results of your project.  

Most of the time, these activities include organising events to present your results to your peers, writing scientific articles, taking part in conferences within your field or preparing a public report. This type of outreach is, by its nature, more technical and goes into more detail.  

By reaching out to this specific audience, you ensure that changemakers know about the latest developments you’ve made. That, in turn, can spur impact. For example, if a policymaker reads your report and acts on it, then you’ve had a real-world effect. Similarly, if another researcher uses your research to take their project to the next level, that’s also a real-world effect. As soon as a project has its first results, dissemination efforts can begin. What is exploitation? 

When talking about exploitation regarding EU projects, we are referring to using research results. Very often, when we think about exploitation, we think about commercialisation of research results – but that’s not all that exploitation is. Commercialisation is a very important aspect of exploitation, but exploitation can also be the development of a NGO for instance, or a position paper, or otherwise using research results in a real-world context.  It is a way for researchers to demonstrate that their work had a real impact on the society that funded their project. A business or exploitation plan can be a great tool to achieve your goals and take the results of your research further. Free support services, like the Horizon Results Booster, can help you develop an exploitation plan. 

 Horizon Results Booster offers, among other services, support to projects in exploiting their research results and increasing researchers’ capacity to improve their exploitation strategy. 

How Meta Group can help you to achieve impact via communication, dissemination and exploitation 

With almost 30 years of experience, Meta Group is a reliable partner to help you with your dissemination, communication and result exploitation activities. During the last three years, we have been managing Horizon Results Booster (HRB), a programme that helps EU-funded research projects understand how to achieve impact with their results. The project, funded by the European Commission, has successfully delivered 600 services for researchers aiming to take their projects further. Horizon Results Booster offers three different services regarding dissemination and exploitation activities. Those services involve: 

1. Portfolio Dissemination & Exploitation Strategy:
   Identifying and creating the portfolio of Research & Innovation project results (module A)
   Creating the portfolio of results; design and execute a portfolio dissemination plan (module B)
   Improving existing exploitation strategy (module C)
   
2. Tailor made support services to develop a business plan 
3. Assistance, coaching and mentoring for go-to-market activities. 

META Group has an extensive experience in supporting EU funded projects towards exploitation and use of results gained providing services to FP7 and H2020 projects within three important framework contracts. Moreover, META Group has the know-how to support the definition of viable business models for the adoption of results stemming from R&D projects.  

Don’t miss out on our related articles:

• Dos and don’ts when drafting an exploitation plan
• Horizon Europe projects: new knowledge and benefits for citizens

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Rome, 24 July 2023 – HSE, the lead partner in the NAHV project, on behalf of the entire consortium, including META Group, last week signed with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking, a contract on the co-funding of the NAHV project, involving EUR 25 million in grants. This act served as the official green light for the implementation of this transnational European project as part of the Horizon Europe programme, which is aimed at establishing a dedicated hydrogen valley. The project will be implemented as of 1 September 2023, will last 72 months and will feature seventeen pilot projects across all three partner territories.  

META Group, as communication and dissemination partner in the project, will be responsible for mobilizing outcomes amongst the early adopters of NAHV KERs, promoting best practices in renewable hydrogen for the benefit of European citizens, governments and industry players, and raising general awareness.  

The partnership features a total of 37 organisations (34 partners and 3 associate partners): companies, universities, institutes and other public institutions from three territories: Slovenia, Croatia and the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy. The concept of the project encompasses the entire chain of the use of renewable hydrogen, from its production, storage and distribution to its end use in various sectors, mainly industry and land and maritime transport. The project received the highest evaluation of all Hydrogen projects presented for the call and was hailed by the European Commission as a Flagship Initiative  

Decarbonizing Industries and Creating Green Jobs

Industrial stakeholders from all three countries will develop pilot projects to produce more than 5,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year from renewable energy sources and its storage, distribution and use. One of the most important objectives of the project is to create a renewable hydrogen market, both in terms of demand and supply, which would make it a competitive energy product of the future. By introducing advanced technologies for the utilisation of hydrogen and by developing know-how and infrastructure, the project also pursues other key objectives of the European Green Deal.

In particular, it concerns the decarbonisation of major industrial sectors, such as steel and cement production, as well as sustainable transport solutions to reduce the carbon footprint. In this way, the NAHV project begins to create a comprehensive ecosystem for the transition to the use of renewable hydrogen, which includes production and service activities to meet the needs of households and citizens, thus creating the jobs of the future by planning the required skills and competencies. 

This ambitious initiative not only aims to make hydrogen a competitive energy solution but also leads the charge in decarbonizing major industries and fostering sustainable transport solutions, all while paving the way for a greener future and creating the jobs of tomorrow. “The significance of this project was underscored by Ursula von der Leyen in her opening speech during the Hydrogen Week, where she highlighted NAHV as a shining example for other potential hydrogen valleys across Europe” remembered Marco Franchin, Project Manager at META Group. “NAHV will contribute to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy and economic efficiency, security and resilience of the energy system. Moreover, it will support the creation of a hydrogen market, and consequently, the creation of green jobs”. 

The post Pioneering the Hydrogen Future: NAHV Project Receives Green Light appeared first on META Group.

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Wanted: Marketing and Communication

• Establish positioning, identify target audiences, and develop marketing plans with specific objectives across different channels and segments
• Promote the company products and services and ensure all messaging, from a community email to a tweet, align with the values of the business
• Execute marketing programs from start to finish, leveraging internal support and driving collaboration
• Analyse customer insights, market reports and marketing best practices to build successful strategies
• Create, maintain, and conduct analytics reporting across multiple platforms and extract key insights for future campaign development and go-to-market strategies, complete with formal proposals and recommendations on tactics
• Develop and handle information output, press releases and media requests, social media and/or advertising efforts
• Be part of the Sales/Proposal Writing Team

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities for a Wanted: Marketing and Communication

• Conceptualize and execute on site and online campaigns across the prospect and customer lifecycle, ensuring the alignment of communications and messaging across all channels
• Manage content and updates for customer and internal touch points, proposing budgets, participating in events, documenting business processes, and providing additional sales support
• Working in partnership with the assignments’ delivery teams, develop creative content to meet objectives for advertising and public-­facing communications, including print, digital, and video assets
• Gather customer and market insights to inform outreach strategies, increase customer conversions, and generate more qualified leads
• Identify effectiveness and impact of current marketing initiatives with tracking and analysis, and optimize accordingly
• Present ideas and final deliverables to internal and external teams, and communicate with C-level about marketing programs, strategies, and budgets

Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience of communicating complex information to diverse audiences
• At least 5 years of proven experience developing marketing plans and campaigns for service companies
• Metrics-driven marketing mind with eye for creativity
• Experience and knowledge in copywriting, proofreading and editing
• Experience in the Sales process
• Experience with marketing automation and CRM tools

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency with online marketing and social media strategy
• Established press and media contacts
• English mother tongue
• Master’s degree in public relations, communications or similar relevant field a plus
• Experience in content production is a big plus
• Experience of working in communications roles on collaborative research projects, for example, those funded through Horizon 2020;

Why join us

We have an informal culture, international working environment and excellent professional development opportunities.

What else you need to know

• Salary: 40k€ gross
• International applicants: We recruit internationally, our team is composed by 7 different nationalities
• Job location: This role is based in Brussels.

How to apply

To apply please submit a cover letter and a CV to personae@meta-group.com

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The new service aims to provide EU-funded projects with the expert support needed to convert their research into “user ready” results. The consortium consists of META Group, Ecorys, Trust IT Srl, BDO Advisory CVBA, iCons Srl with PNO Consultants as a subcontractor.

In collaboration with the other partners, META will employ its tried-and-tested ‘Knowledge to Market’ machine, a systematic approach that can successfully vault research from the laboratory to the market and beyond.

“This is the largest contract on Dissemination and Exploitation, D&E, ever awarded by the European Commission. Having the possibility / responsibility to bring it to fruition is an exciting challenge for our team, but above all it represents the culmination of a path that started more than 25 years ago that has always seen us at the spot of researchers,” says META Group’s COO and leader of the service, Alessia Melasecche Germini.

META has already supported more than 800 research projects throughout Europe to do this, through EU-supported initiatives like the Common Exploitation Booster, the IP Booster and Support Services for Exploitation of Research Results (SSERR). The consortium will mobilise more than 200 experts to guide the researchers to generate impact on society, economy, environment and policymaking.

Although Europe accounts for 20% of global research investment and produces one-third of all scientific publications, there is a limited capacity within Europe to convert scientific breakthroughs into usable results and industrial and commercial successes – the so-called European paradox. The Horizon Results Booster aims to buck this trend, by supporting researchers throughout Europe to unleash their innovative potential.

Many people believe that making use of research results means commercialisation, but in fact research can have impact in many ways. Results can be used for another research project, such as a PhD thesis or another project, they can take the form of policy recommendations and of course IPR actions, applying new production techniques and launching new products into the market.

“Our services are designed and delivered to boost the impact of R&I projects, supporting partners in their efforts to ensure their research activities creates a long-lasting impression on the economy and society at large. Our goal is to maximize the use of R&I projects, their tangible effect on society and economy,” says Andrea Di Anselmo, Vice-President of META and part of the leading Team.

The post META Group has won a 4-year European Commission contract worth €12 million from EU research projects appeared first on META Group.

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Almost 300 EC-funded research projects entered the EC’s competition, each submitting a short YouTube video that the EC then added to a dedicated playlist and promoted on social media.

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