5xPRO – Consortium of project management offices for strengthening excellence, interdisciplinarity and international involvement of the Slovenian research area

Building Stronger Support for Researchers – Together Towards Successful Participation in European Projects 

Short Description: 

 The 5xPRO project brings together five public research organisations with the goal of strengthening project offices, improving collaboration, and increasing success in securing European funding. The project was successfully selected in the call for proposals “Activities to Strengthen Project Offices at Public Research Organizations” by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation. 

Key Objectives of the Project: 

• Provide more effective support to researchers in applying for and managing European projects
• Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among instituts
• Facilitate systematic knowledge transfer between experienced and early-career staff
• Promote the use of open materials and tools (Zenodo, FAIR principles)
• Strengthen professional skills of project office staff

PROJECT COMPLETION

The 5xPRO project – Consortium of Project Offices for Strengthening Excellence, Interdisciplinarity and International Integration of the Slovenian Research Area, which was selected in the public call of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation (MVZI) ” Activities for Strengthening Project Offices at Public Research Organizations “, co-financed under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (from European Union funds, NextGenerationEU) in the total value of €1,249,965.09, will conclude in June 2026.

The project was coordinated by the National Institute of Chemistry ( KI ), and the National Institute of Biology ( NIB ), the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( ZRC SAZU ), the Institute of Contemporary History ( INZ ), and the Institute of Metallic Materials and Technologies ( IMT ) participated in the project. The official duration of the project is 20. 4. 2023 to 30. 6. 2026.

At the end of the project, on 20 May 2026, the final networking of the project offices of the 5xPRO consortium took place at the National Institute of Chemistry, where the project results and achieved goals were presented.  Among the most significant achievements identified were the strengthening of human resources capacities in the project offices of participating public research organisations (10 new staff members hired through the 5xPRO project), the establishment of a project office at the Institute of Contemporary History, and improvements in the quality, quantity, and success rate of applications submitted to centralized Horizon Europe calls. The 5xPRO consortium achieved and exceeded certain indicators to which we were committed as part of the project. We achieved an exceptional growth in the annual number of submitted project applications at the consortium level (from 85 to 181), which demonstrates the strengthened competencies of project support staff and the importance of recognizing the role of project offices for the competitiveness of public research organisations in the European Research Area.

Through cooperation within the consortium during the implementation of the activities, we, the employees of the 5xPRO project, have also recognized the key importance of connecting project offices and colleagues from different organisations, and we are committed to further cooperation and maintaining ties that help us in our work and strengthen the professionalization of the work of research management and administration.

Recommendations for policymakers on future  measures to improve the supporti environment for research activities

A key outcome of the 5xPRO project was the preparation of recommendations for policymakers on future measures to improve the support environment for research activities.The recommendations summarised the findings on the positioning of project offices in the Slovenian research landscape and proposals for upgrading the current framework for the operation of project offices. Key measures included defining project offices as strategic research infrastructure in national strategic documents, ensuring stable funding for the operation of project offices, establishing the profession of research manager and administrator and establishing a national network of research managers and administrators. The preparation of the recommendations was coordinated by ZRC SAZU, and they were signed by the directors of all participating public research organisations, reflecting their support and commitment to further strengthening project offices as an important part of successful public research organisations.

On 14 May 2026, the 5xPRO project employees also attended the closing event of all consortia selected in the call for proposals “Activities for strengthening project offices of public research organizations” at the InnoRenew CoE in Izola. On this occasion, the head of the KI project office, Nastja Vodeb, symbolically handed over the Recommendations for policymakers on behalf of the 5xPRO consortium to Dr. Tomaž Boh, Director General of the Directorate for Science and Innovation at the MVZI. In this way, the 5xPRO project ensured appropriate visibility of the results and supported their transfer and impact on the formation of practices at the national level.

Recommendations for policymakerson future measures to improve the support environment for research activities – highlights

You can read the full recommendations at this link.

Resources 

Materials developed as part of the 5xPRO project are freely available on the Zenodo platform.

Here we share a curated selection of content created at our institute, supported by knowledge gained through project activities. These materials are a practical contribution to the project’s goals and show its value in the daily work of project offices. 

With this, we aim to spread useful approaches, encourage the exchange of good practices, and support colleagues facing similar tasks. 

Selected Materials 

• Good Practice in Transferring an ERC Project

 A clear summary of requirements in the ERC project transfer process, based on real-life implementation.