Unleashing the Power of #Bioeconomy: Insights and Strategies for Funding Success !

In search of new opportunities in the field of innovation, I aim to share my expertise in project development, management, and funding of R&D&I projects in the areas of bioeconomy, renewable resource chemistry, and industrial biotechnology. As the Scientific Director and Innovation Manager at Bioeconomyforchange, I have successfully secured funding for over 400 R&D&I projects, totaling several billion euros.

For nearly twenty years, you have entrusted me to assist in the development of your projects, whether they are individual or collaborative. My role involved clarifying project objectives, identifying French or European funding calls, and maximizing available grants in addition to Research Tax Credit (CIR). I also helped find industrial and academic partners covering the entire value chain and necessary competencies for project success. I contributed to conducting or completing state-of-the-art assessments, patent monitoring, dossier writing expertise, analysis of technical, economic, regulatory, and environmental risks, as well as providing market data.

Today, I aim to highlight my expertise in project evaluation for French and European funding calls. In France, most bioeconomy projects landed on my desk. Every dossier can be improved. Present me with any R&D project to review, and I can identify areas for enhancement. However, the final question I ask myself, along with my team of experts, is: Would you invest your own money in this project?

I have identified several common mistakes in project funding application files. These include poorly defined and unquantified objectives, a lack of clearly defined innovative characteristics, objectives differing from the detailed structure of the R&D program, an incomplete state-of-the-art revealed through a more in-depth analysis of patents or funded projects, insufficient description of previous work, an incomplete process diagram, missing or incorrect material balances, underestimation of technical, regulatory, and environmental barriers, a lack of risk analysis and fallback solutions, incomplete partnerships in terms of competencies, resources, and key equipment, as well as an incomplete value chain

Other common shortcomings include the absence of specific market data analysis tailored to the needs and target market, an unconvincing business opportunity, undefined product segmentation and positioning, inadequate identification of competitors, an incomplete understanding of fluctuating raw material prices, sales projections exceeding those of flagship products in the same range, an overly optimistic business plan lacking real scenarios and assumptions, with an extravagant ROI surpassing industry-standard banking ratios, an unclear financing plan relying on hypothetical fundraising, a budget with poorly defined financial items per task or partner: a supposedly collaborative project where 80% of the budget (including IP) goes to the project leader, unjustified budget items (who will cover the product certification costs among partners?), consortium agreement principles that highlight the partners' competencies, equipment, and tasks but may not necessarily reflect their strategic interest in participating in the project (other than the need to involve an SME), underestimation of project management and dissemination needs...

The list is long and far from exhaustive. Here are some notable findings from the examination of applications:

• An irrelevant description of the global context and issues (peak oil, food crisis, food sovereignty) - after describing global food challenges for two pages, the main objective proposed is the development of new ingredients for ice cream! It is unlikely that this would contribute to solving the food crisis.
• While project leaders oversell their ideas, claiming no risk, competition with outstanding market prospects, a 10% ROI, a high market demand, and potential investors at their doorstep... experts can only conclude and encourage them to move forward and successfully execute the project, where the risk is zero and success is guaranteed.

I have supported over 400 projects, from the lab bench to industrialization, in the bioeconomy sector, particularly in renewable resource chemistry, industrial biotechnology, food, and biocontrol. While this doesn't make me an expert in the vast scope of bioeconomy, it represents a unique experience where I could draw upon my technical and marketing skills, as well as my analytical abilities and critical thinking. Each time, I emphasized that these evaluations were conducted within short deadlines, based on ongoing application files, and that the recommendations didn't necessarily have to be followed to the letter. Undoubtedly, this has been a decisive factor in improving the quality of funding applications and ensuring selection in a fierce competition.

I have evaluated most of the French BBI (Bio-Based Industries) demonstration and flagship projects, such as AFTER BIOCHEM, RESOLUTE, and SCALE, often drafted by consulting firms... I also have the privilege of relying on a committee of renowned experts to evaluate projects and award the competitiveness cluster labels, which are indicators of the dossier's quality...

Certainly, my record is continuously evaluating 10 projects during the summer break, providing a written report and oral feedback within two days each time. There is a significant difference between French projects and European projects, with the latter being more formal. I can only encourage all project leaders to have their dossier evaluated one month before submission, adopting the perspective of a real expert and using the expert report template (overall assessment and recommendations: excellence, impact, quality, and implementation efficiency).

I am currently seeking new opportunities, preferably a position in the field of innovation and business development, within the broad domains of the bioeconomy (permanent or long-term contract). I would be grateful if some project leaders I have supported over the years in developing their French and European projects could highlight my skills and briefly describe in the comments how my unconventional profile could encourage new companies in the sector to consider my background more and explore the opportunities available to them!