Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Gavin is the Founder and Managing Director at NuaFund, an Irish consultancy specialised in EU funding. Prior to setting up her own business, Liz worked at the heart of the European Commission and its agencies for over two decades, backed by an academic background in European Studies, Economics and Languages. In this interview, she shares an insight into the origins of NuaFund and their involvement in Rural BioReFarmeries, and reflects on how European research and innovation funding has evolved in recent years.
Hi Liz! Can you tell us about your academic and professional background, and how it led you to founding NuaFund?
I grew up on a dairy farm near Cork, so agriculture has always been part of my life. After completing my degree in Economics and French and a Higher Diploma in Applied Economics at University College Cork, I moved to Brussels to work for the European Commission (EC).
I spent almost 20 years working between Brussels and The Hague, mainly in financial and administrative management roles for EU institutions and agencies. I was the first Head of Administration and Finance at Eurojust, and later helped set up Clean Aviation (then known as Clean Sky), one of the EU’s major public-private partnerships.
Both roles involved building offices from scratch, hiring teams and implementing EU financial rules and governance systems. It was challenging but extremely rewarding, and I learned every aspect of how EU research and innovation funding works — from drafting work programmes and launching calls for proposals to evaluating projects, managing grants, undergoing audits, sending in auditors to EU funded projects and reporting to the European Parliament.
When I returned to Ireland after those years abroad, I wanted to use that experience to help research-performing organisations (RPOs) and businesses access and manage EU funding effectively. That’s how NuaFund was born in 2017. Since then, we’ve helped several research organisations, universities and businesses across Europe access funding and deliver successful projects, particularly focused in agriculture, sustainability and the bioeconomy.
What key lessons from your time working at the EC have shaped how NuaFund operates today?
In Brussels, I saw the full life cycle of EU projects — from the design of funding calls to evaluation, implementation and audit.
Now, at NuaFund, that gives us a unique perspective, because we understand what project officers and evaluators look for, how financial rules are applied and what makes a strong proposal. I’ve also been an evaluator myself for Circular Biobased Europe Joint Undertakin (CBE JU) in the past, so I know how projects are assessed from the other side of the table.
That insight allows us to support coordinators and consortia not just with proposal writing and administration, but with strategic project management — ensuring deadlines, deliverables and financial reports are all compliant, while allowing technical teams to focus on the science.
Our mission is to make the complex world of EU projects easier to navigate for our partners, within the wider goal of getting funding to projects that help the environment, improved economic outcomes for primary producers and to make the world a better place.
You’ve witnessed major shifts in EU research funding over the years. How would you describe that evolution?
When I started, the focus for projects I worked on was largely on infrastructure projects — building roads, schools and hospitals — especially in the former Soviet states. Over time, the emphasis for projects on my desk shifted toward research and innovation, particularly through programmes like FP7, Horizon 2020, and now Horizon Europe.
One of the biggest changes has been the move toward funding that supports not just early-stage research, but also demonstration and market deployment. That’s a very positive evolution, as it encourages collaboration between research organisations and industry, helping innovations reach the market faster.
There’s also greater emphasis now on private sector leverage, as seen in the Joint Undertakings like CBE JU, where private investment complements public research funding. Overall, I think Europe has become more collaborative, more innovation-driven and more focused on real-world impact.
How did you become involved in Rural BioReFarmeries?
As a company, we have been interested in the bioeconomy from the beginning. I’ve actually known James Gaffey for several years, and I even remember asking him back in 2017 if there were any bioeconomy courses I could take — there weren’t many at the time!
When the conversation started about Rural BioReFarmeries as a project, we immediately saw its potential and got involved in proposal writing alongside the team from Munster Technological University (MTU) and BiOrbic. From there, our role naturally evolved into project management and administrative support, which is currently carried out by Leo Guilfoyle as Senior Project Manager and Dolores Hannick as Project Administrator.
What kind of expertise does NuaFund bring to the project?
Between myself, Leo and Dolores, we bring over 40 years of combined experience in EU financial and overall administrative management.
EU project management can be daunting, especially for technical partners new to the process. We bring deep knowledge of EU administrative, financial and reporting systems, ensuring everything runs smoothly — from deliverables to audits.
Another important aspect is people skills. Managing large, multicultural consortia requires diplomacy, communication and empathy, and Dolores and Leo are excellent at that — they make sure every partner feels supported while maintaining clear, proactive communication throughout.
Ultimately, our job is to reduce the administrative burden on coordinators like James and our other work package leaders and let them focus on innovation.
What motivated you personally to join a project focused on small-scale green biorefineries?
It was a perfect fit — both professionally and personally. As I said in the beginning, I come from a farming family, so I understand the realities on the ground. I genuinely believe that sustainability must make sense for farmers, not only environmentally but economically.
That’s what excites me about this project: the chance to help create new income streams for farmers through biorefining, while also improving environmental outcomes. My brothers, who are still farming, are very interested in what we’re doing — it’s real, tangible work that can make a difference in rural communities.
Finally, what are you most looking forward to seeing achieved by the end of the project?
For me, it all comes back to the farmers. If, by the end of this project, we can show farmers and their local communities that small-scale green biorefineries are a viable, profitable and sustainable model, that would be a major success.
I’d also like to see the business models developed within the project evolve beyond its lifetime, and to see the knowledge shared widely. If farmers across Europe can look to Rural BioReFarmeries as a flagship example of what’s possible, that would be an incredible achievement.