On May 6th, 2025, the Fondazione Regionale per la ricerca biomedica (FRRB, Lombardy, Italy), in collaboration with the CSO-MOH from Israel, the Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (FCAECC, Spain), the Fundación para el Fomento en Asturias de la Investigación Científica y la Tecnología (FICYT, Asturias, Spain) and the Institut National du cancer (France) hosted a highly successful online workshop for Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The session was designed to strengthen the participants' skills in research proposal writing and evaluation, providing an interactive supportive platform for training and peer learning.
Objectives
The workshop aimed at:
- Providing ECRs with practical tools and strategies to write competitive research proposals.
- Providing insights into the evaluation process and how proposals are assessed by expert evaluators, helping participants understand key evaluation criteria and common pitfalls.
- Creating a collaborative environment where ECRs can share experiences and learn from both peers and evaluators.
- Facilitate direct interaction with experienced evaluators to gain first-hand perspectives on what makes a proposal stand out.
- Support the professional development of ECRs by strengthening their grant-writing capabilities and boosting their confidence in applying for funding.
Format and learning approach
The event brought together 17 ECRs from 7 countries and featured four distinguished, high-profile scientific evaluators with extensive experience in the TRANSCAN funding scheme: Rosa Bernardi (San Raffaele Hospital, Italy), Violaine Goidts (German Cancer Research Centre, Germany), Theodora Katsila (National Hellenic Research Foundation, Greece) and Atanasio Pandiella Alonso (Salamanca Cancer Research Center, Spain).
Each participant submitted a short Letter of Intent (LoI) outlining the key aspects of their scientific proposal (Specific Aims, Background, Approach, Feasibility, Significance and Innovation, Impact, and budget description). These LoIs were evaluated by both the expert scientific evaluators, as well as the participating ECRs, and discussed in an online session simulating a peer review panel. The session included breakout rooms to foster in-depth discussion and exchange of constructive feedback.
Importantly, each ECR also received personalized written feedback from the expert evaluators, offering detailed, constructive suggestions to improve their proposals and deepening their understanding of how proposals are assessed in real-world funding competitions.
The workshop fostered insightful discussions, offered practical guidance, and facilitated valuable knowledge exchange, creating a stimulating learning environment for all participants.
Key highlights
- The expert evaluators shared their experience and best practices for assessing research proposals, offering valuable insights into the peer review process of grant applications.
- Participants were actively engaged with the evaluators and in evaluating peer proposals - raising thoughtful questions and contributing their own perspectives on the research applications.
- The event highlighted the value of teamwork and cross-border collaboration, fostering a sense of shared purpose among emerging researchers from diverse scientific and geographic backgrounds.
- Written evaluations complemented the live discussions, reinforcing key takeaways for each participant.
Results and Impact
- 17 ECRs from 7 TRANSCAN-3 participant countries attended the Workshop.
- Positive feedback received from both the applicants and the expert evaluators.
- Follow-up initiatives are planned, including additional webinars and in-person training opportunities for ECRs.
Feedback on what ECR’s found most valuable in the workshop
"The possibility of dealing directly with expert European reviewers was useful."
"Being a reviewer for other proposals helps to see weaknesses and strengths. The input from experts was highly appreciated and useful."
"Recommendations about writing projects from the experts and critics about the evaluated proposals helped me to understand the whole process."
"I really enjoyed yesterday's seminar; it was very short in fact. I had never participated in project evaluation before, and it was very enriching."
Reviewer Reflections
"First of all, I’d like to add my praise to Giulia and everyone for what I found to be an excellent exercise for the ECRs."
"I also agree that they did a great job. I found them extremely mature and quite able to discriminate strengths and weaknesses in the applications that we have discussed together. I have to admit that I was unprepared for their level of maturity! "
Here’s a snapshot from the event featuring a few of the participants
This workshop marked an important milestone in TRANSCAN-3’s efforts to support the next generation of cancer researchers by providing meaningful, practice-based learning experiences. We look forward to continuing these activities in the near future.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to:
- Giulia Rossignolo and the FRRB team for organizing the event
- Members of the Task 7.4 for their invaluable support
- All participants for their active engagement