After ten years in the private sector as an SME manager, he decided to join the European Commission as an external auditor for the DG RTD. He has been in charge of on-the-spot controls of beneficiaries to ensure that their accounting and recording systems comply with the financial requirements of the RTD contract. His role was to verify that costs charged by contractors abide by the RTD contract. He was in charge of evaluating audit findings and proposing changes in the RTD contract’s systems, procedures, and financial aspects.

He audited public and private companies, Universities, Small & Medium size Enterprises, and non-profit organizations all over Europe. During these years, he realized that many beneficiaries have difficulties with the rules of the European contracts. Many of them are looking for support when they have to face administrative & financial issues in managing their projects and facing an audit carried out by the European Commission services. In addition, Raphael brings this experience to bear in constructing sound and eligible budgets for Horizon Europe proposals for applicants.

Marco Liviantoni is a Senior Expert H2020 Proposal Writer & Financial Expert. Marco specialises in the financial and administrative preparation of applicants for H2020 calls. Marco is one of our Senior Trainers who delivers open training's and specialised in-house training's all over Europe for a wide range of organisations. In addition he conducts pre-audits for organisations who wish to insure they pass an EC audit and also delivers bespoke consultancy services related to EU projects.

He holds a degree in law from the University of Perugia (IT), 15 years of professional experience in EU affairs as freelance consultant working with Public and Private Organisations such as Public Regional Agencies, Business Associations, Consulting Firms, Universities, Large Companies and SMEs. He has also been the coordinator and project manager in many EU funded projects under CIP-IEE, CIP-EEN, EuropeINNOVA initiative, FP6 and FP7, LDV DOI, COSME, H2020, EDII Initiative, EIT Digital, AL-INVEST IV, gaining a proficient knowledge of rules and procedures governing the EU programmes. Areas of expertise include internationalization of SMEs, business start-up and incubation, innovation, strategies for business development. IMP3rove (A.T. Kerney) certified expert (level 1). Marco was also head of the European Projects Area at the Umbria Regional Agency for Internationalization from 2011 to 2017 and was a lecturer at the University of Perugia.

Izabela Gostisa is a Senior Proposal Writing Expert and Project Management Expert.

For Horizon Europe and Interreg, she specializes in project proposal writing and project management.  Besides delivering open trainings, she also delivers specialized in-house trainings for a variety of companies in Europe and beyond. Prior to joining the EFMC, Izabela worked for the Central European Initiative (CEI), an international organization with headquarters in Italy. 

Izabela managed the organization’s participation in EU funded programs in her role as Senior Executive Officer and EU Project Manager.  Her experience includes managing numerous EU funded projects under FP7, Horizon2020, Interreg, Interact, and Intelligent Energy Europe. In addition to her Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting, she holds a Master’s degree in International Cooperation, Finance, and Development from Sapienza University of Rome. 

Axelos Global Services has also awarded her two Prince2 Project Management Certifications – Prince2 Foundation and Prince2 Practitioner – since 2021. Her specializations include environment and energy, tourism and mobility, and SME development.

Xavier Dubois has graduated from the University of Western Brittany in 2019 with a bachelor degree in English and German applied to the field of Management. He has former working experience from both France and Estonia, noticeably in Customer Services. Hired at EFMC as an intern for his bachelor, he then joined the team with a full-time contract as an Administrative Assistant before becoming the Administrative Manager. His responsibilities include the communications between the different services, contacts with external organisations, the management of the internal organisation and the handling of the administrative questions of EFMC.

Her responsibilities include customer service and handling of the administrative questions of EFMC. She speaks Estonian, English and French.

Her responsibilities include customer service and handling of the administrative questions of EFMC. She speaks Russian, English and Estonian.