Especially, as concerns research and development activities, whatever the scientific and technical challenge, Viola Consulting identifies the best ways for financing the client’s projects, in line with its innovation strategy.

Strategic consulting services include:

• state of the art technologies currently available;
• strategic positioning and benchmarking with direct competitors;
• strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.
• resources necessary to achieve strategic objectives;
• definition of specific goals and expected results (products and/or services);
• funding opportunities which best fit the client needs and partnership recommendations.

• validating the project concept and business model;
• identifying and structuring the best partnership (if necessary);
• building-up the project structure and contractual framework;
• project writing, including both the administrative and the technical / scientific parts of the project proposal;
• planning the exploitation of the project’s results and outputs;
• analysing the potential socio-economic impact;
• submitting the project proposal to funding authorities in the framework of competitive calls for proposals;
• management of preliminary activities.

The staff of Viola Consulting knows the different requirements and conditions across the different national and European funding schemes. The firm will bring its many years of experience and successful track record in order to ensure success for its clients. According to Viola Consulting vision, preparing a high quality proposal means not only to obtain funding in the short term, but also to achieve effective results in the long term.

It focuses on networks building and effective knowledge sharing inside them. It coordinates the administration between the client, its project partners and the European Commission or other granting authorities.

The range of activities to be developed include:

• contract elaboration;
• project monitoring and reporting;
• project financial management;
• administrative management and reporting to grant authorities;
• Follow-up of partners actions (deliverables, milestones and adjustments to the initial project plan);
• organisation of meetings (logistics, agenda, materials, minutes, …);
• web based tools for remote and secure collaboration;
• conflict and risk management;
• project closure and final accounting.

Those services can be implemented with great flexibility, based on the client’s needs.

Viola Consulting can also join the consortium as a project partner, being in charge of its administration, management and dissemination of results, if this may represent a competitive advantage for the project.

• development of dissemination strategies and action plans;
• action plans implementation and follow-up with appropriate dissemination materials and timeframe monitoring;
• organisation of several types of events (seminars, conferences, workshops) in terms of both content and logistics;
• support communication and public relations activities with targeted public and other relevant stakeholders.

Services include:

• elaboration and follow-up of exploitation and business plans;
• development of Intellectual Property Rights strategy within the project, as well as of consortium cooperation agreements coherent with this strategy;
• monitoring the publication of patents and scientific articles on the same project topics, including the novelty verification of new patents generated within the project;
• registering the intellectual property of project results and advising on the most adequate means for its protection;
• supporting the exchange of information and the development of synergies with both current and future partners;
• moderation of potential conflicts arising during the project with regard to IPRs issues.

Product and process technological innovation, supporting the whole innovation process: from the idea generation to design, prototyping, testing and trials, until the product industrialization, also through the collaboration of the engineering companies of Viola Consulting Group. Those services include:

• analysis of the innovation needs and of its market potential;
• definition of plans for product and process innovation;
• research and industrialization activities (design, prototyping, definition of models and programs for the optimization of components, etc.);
• testing of new products and production processes;
• patentability analysis and technical assistance for patent filing.

Business finance and organization. Main services include:

• definition and support to companies’ organizational change;
• definition and support for implementing new management procedures;
• business finance consultancy for obtaining ordinary loans supporting development projects;
• consultancy on tax treatment of public subsidies.