Prevention and Risk Management in RTD European Projects Developed by University-Company's Consortiums

This study aims to demonstrate the usefulness of a simple methodology to manage and prevent the risk in co promotion projects financed by the European Union through operational programs. The risk prevention is a key factor in the project success, whether singular or plural, research or development. Our focus was directed to present the methodology applied to three Research and Technological Development (RTD) European projects, where companies and universities had to work hand in hand towards the success of the project. Socio-cultural differences between different countries, different methods and work's rhythms between universities and companies alongside the issues of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), are some of the sensitive points in all the projects. It is where Project Management has the duty to act proactively in order to control small outbreaks of contention, while maintaining the smooth functioning of the project execution.