The Consortium Relevance Playbook

Why equally strong consortia get radically different funding outcomes - and how to fix it

When excellence is no longer enough

Most rejected proposals are not weak.

They are technically sound, aligned with the call, and written by experienced teams.Yet, in competitive funding environments, only a small fraction gets funded.

The difference is rarely explained clearly.

Evaluators talk about relevance, impact, and strategic fit - but leave the real logic implicit.

This playbook makes that logic explicit.

The real problem

In highly competitive calls, decisions are not made on scientific excellence alone.

They are made on:

• perceived urgency
• system-level relevance
• and whether a consortium makes sense now

Most teams assume these elements are obvious.They are not.

As a result:

• relevance is under-articulated
• consortium logic is implicit
• timing is assumed, not demonstrated

And strong proposals lose to others that are simply more legible to evaluators.

What this playbook does

The Consortium Relevance Playbook gives you a practical, repeatable method to:

• design consortium relevance deliberately
• justify why now without exaggeration
• explain why these countries belong together
• frame impact as system-level change, not outputs

All without changing your science.

This is not a proposal-writing manual.

It is a strategic lens for making relevance explicit.

What you will learn

Inside the playbook, you will learn how to:

• distinguish importance from urgency
• identify transition-driven pressure points
• design consortia around complementary bottlenecks
• write clear “Why Now” and “Impact” paragraphs evaluators remember
• detect and fix the most common relevance failures
• stress-test proposals before submission

What you get

• The Consortium Relevance Playbook (PDF)

~20–25 pages of dense, practical guidance

• Consortium Relevance Canvas (1-page worksheet)

Apply the method directly to your next proposal

No videos. No community. No filler.

Who this is for

This playbook is designed for:

• Research & Innovation Project Leads
• Coordinators of multinational consortia
• Senior researchers and professors
• Consultants working on EU / US funding proposals

Especially useful if you:

• write or review multiple proposals per year
• work with international partners
• feel that “relevance” decisions are opaque or inconsistent

Who this is NOT for

This is not for you if you are looking for:

• step-by-step Horizon Europe templates
• generic proposal-writing tips
• guaranteed funding outcomes

This playbook focuses on decision logic, not compliance.

Why this approach is different

Most guidance focuses on what to write.

This playbook focuses on how evaluators decide.

It treats relevance as a design problem, not a rhetorical one - grounded in economic transitions, system pressures, and comparative logic.

Final note

Relevance is rarely missing.It is usually under-articulated.

Making it explicit can be the difference between being “good” - and being selected.

👉 Get The Consortium Relevance Playbook