Every time a new European funding call is published, something very predictable happens.
Organisations open old spreadsheets.
They scroll through previous consortia.
They send emails to organisations they haven’t spoken to for months.
“Are you interested?”
“Do you have capacity?”
“Would you like to join?”
Within a few days, dozens of conversations suddenly come back to life.
There is nothing wrong with this.
In many cases, that’s exactly how new projects begin.
But recently, we have started wondering whether this is also where partnerships should begin.
Proposal writing is probably the worst time to build a relationship
When a funding call opens, everything suddenly becomes urgent.
Deadlines are approaching. Roles need to be assigned. Budgets negotiated. Activities designed.
There is very little time to truly get to know each other.
And yet, this is often the exact moment when organisations are expected to build trust, align expectations and make strategic decisions together.
It feels a little like meeting someone for the first time… and immediately deciding to run a marathon together.
Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
But either way, it probably isn’t the ideal moment to discover whether you actually enjoy working together.
The strongest collaborations are usually built in the quiet moments
When we look back at the organisations we consider our closest international partners today, something interesting emerges.
The relationships did not become strong because we wrote a proposal together.
The proposal was simply one chapter in a much longer story.
The trust had already started to grow before that.
Through conversations without an agenda.
By exchanging ideas.
Sharing opportunities.
Introducing each other to new organisations.
Talking about challenges.
Sometimes meeting over a coffee at an international event without discussing any specific project at all.
Those moments rarely appear in project reports.
But they are often the moments that make future collaborations possible.
Maybe we are confusing consortium building with partnership building
The two are not the same.
Building a consortium is about assembling the right organisations for a specific opportunity.
Building a partnership is something much slower.
It means understanding where another organisation wants to be in five years.
Knowing what challenges they are facing.
Celebrating their successes.
Looking for ways to help each other, even when there is no immediate benefit.
One is driven by a deadline.
The other is driven by trust.
And trust cannot be rushed.
What we are trying to do differently
Over the last few months, we have consciously started investing more time between projects.
Not writing proposals.
Building relationships.
Having conversations simply because we find another organisation’s work interesting.
Sharing funding opportunities even when we are not planning to apply ourselves.
Introducing partners who we think could create value together.
Learning about each other’s long-term ambitions rather than only discussing the next deadline.
Will every conversation become a project?
Of course not.
Some will never lead to a consortium.
Some will become collaborations years from now.
Some will simply become friendships between organisations.
And honestly, we think all three outcomes have value.
A different question
Perhaps we have been asking the wrong question.
Instead of asking:
“Who should we invite into our next project?”
maybe we should first ask:
“Who would we still want to be talking to if there were no funding calls for the next two years?”
Because those are probably the relationships worth investing in.
Proposal writing should produce partnerships.
It shouldn’t be the moment they are created.
Final thought
At L’ORMAinternational, we are still learning what this looks like in practice.
But the more organisations we meet, the more convinced we become that international collaboration is built long before a proposal is written.
The strongest partnerships do not start when a funding call opens.
They start when there is nothing to apply for.
If your organisation has been reflecting on similar questions, we’d genuinely love to continue the conversation.
Connect with us → https://ormainternational.eu/connectwithus/