About EFPC
The Aim
Ideal-ist reduces the barriers faced by organisations wishing to participate in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) programme by offering transnational partner search.
The project provides an entirely web-based platform and thus making it the ideal tool in FP7 for
· joining ICT projects
· finding partners for your project idea
· finding services to support you in your ICT project
It has been noted that the most successful proposers are those with previous project experience. There is a high initial obstacle to participation that is a combination of lack of experience and a lack of contacts and awareness. Once this threshold is crossed and an organisation paricipates in a fundet project, many of the barriers to future participation are considerably reduced. It is addressing this threshold that is in essence the main objective of Ideal-ist.
The Network
The Ideal-ist network is co-financed by the European Commission and has 49 national representatives in all
Ideal-ist collaborates through a broad geographical network with partners in Third Countries such as
By collaborating with other European projects Ideal-ist is continuously extending the access to its partner search service.
Partner Search
Newcomers need partners or have to identify forming consortia in order to take part in IST calls. Idealist addresses this problem by a proven partner search mechanism. The Idealist online partner search, originally developed during Framework Program (FP) 4 and continually enhanced, is based on a number of key elements:
· It operates with specific vetted proposal ideas, rather than generally advertising research capability.
· It is tightly supervised in that each proposed search is reviewed prior to being published by the National expert and the Quality team and checked for applicability and basic correctness.
· It is proactive in seeking out potential partners, rather than simply storing them in a database, waiting to be discovered by an online user.
· It targets the Objectives of the ICT Theme and is call-specific.
· It is supported locally by Idealist reoresentative who can help formulate the search and ensure that searches reach the correct types of organisations.
EFPC role in this project is as Quality Management of the project and chair the Quality Team that reviews and approves Partner Searches prior to publication with a Quality Label and where deemed necessary suggests modifications to the proposal description.