Kickstart of a European collaboration

Although far from optimal, sometimes you need to move fast. The CEO of our client, a small but important player in the solar photovoltaic power arena, had been discussing an R&D alliance with several potential partners for years. Just when he was about to formalize their alliance, a government contact informed him that there was a suitable EU grant available. There was just one catch – the deadline was 3 weeks away. When asking his contact whether any consultancy firm would be able to prepare an adequate proposal in such a short time frame, the CEO was given our contact details.

Moving fast with our client for a successful proposal

The CEO called us straight away. We could provide a quotation that same afternoon, and by Monday we put together the day-by-day planning to finalize the proposal. At the end of that week, our consultants flew out to meet the 3 other partners in a consortium working meeting that hammered out the work flows, the budgets and the rationale behind the joint R&D programme. The proposal was hand-delivered some hours before the deadline, and 7 months later the CEO signed the contract with the EU regarding a multi-million subsidy.

Managing the project and taking it further

B&W was then hired to support the R&D programme management and expand it beyond the initial scope and partnership. In subsequent years, B&W came to provide regular support in many strategic R&D collaborations initiated by the client. Luckily, only the first proposal was the result of a crash effort; all other proposals that followed were the fruit of proper, timely and well structured preparation over a time frame of 6 to 12 months. However, we at B&W realize that sometimes you need to move fast, and we are willing and able to move fast with you.