Discover the proposal evaluation process for Horizon Europe. For guidance from the European Commission (EC) on the evaluation process, visit the European Union (EU) Funding & Tenders Portal: Selection page.
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Overview
The proposal evaluation process for a Horizon Europe application begins after the proposal is filled out and submitted by the funding call coordinator to the EC through the Funding & Tenders Portal. It can take up to five months from the time of submission for the applicant to receive the evaluation decision.
The five stages of the evaluation process
1. Receipt of proposals
After a Horizon Europe funding proposal is submitted in the portal, the EC reviews it for eligibility and ensures that it is complete. If a proposal is ineligible, the participants are informed through the consortium's coordinating organization via a rejection letter in their portal account. If the proposal is eligible, it moves on to the evaluation stage and applicants are notified in their portal account.
2. Individual evaluation
The next stage is an individual evaluation. During this stage, independent experts selected by the EC evaluate the Pillar 2 proposal based on three criteria:
- Excellence
- Impact
- Quality and efficiency of the implementation
Individual experts write an Individual Evaluation Report (IER) and score each of the three criteria out of five, for a maximum total of 15 points. There are at least three experts per proposal, but often more than three provide their input.
Proposals must meet a minimum score for each criterion and for the total score. Individual criterion must score at least 3 and the proposal must score at least 10, unless otherwise specified in the funding call or work programme. Scores are not normally weighted, but weighting may be used for some funding calls.
Specific calls or topics may have different rules regarding minimum scores and weighting. For more information, visit the Horizon Europe Proposal Evaluation: Standard Briefing page.
3. Consensus group
Following the individual evaluation, there is a consensus discussion based on the individual evaluations. The EC staff moderate the consensus, with the aim to agree on individual evaluators' comments and scores in IERs. Applicants receive a consensus report along with letters outlining the evaluation results. The consensus report provides a clear, merit-based assessment of the proposal, provides feedback on its weaknesses and strengths, and explains its shortcomings. This report is only shared with the applicants; it is not publicly available.
4. Panel review
An evaluation committee then conducts a panel review. During this stage, the committee discusses the proposal to agree on scores and comments, checking for consistency across the evaluations. If necessary, the committee proposes new marks or revised comments, and resolves cases where evaluators did not agree during the consensus discussion. The evaluation committee ranks proposals with above-minimum scores, and assigns a priority to proposals with the same score.
5. Final ranking
In the final stage of the proposal evaluation process, the EC uses the evaluation summary report and the evaluation committee's ranked list to complete the final ranked list with the applications proposed for funding. The EC then informs participants of the funding decision by notifying the coordinating organization for each proposal. The evaluation result and summary report for each proposal is posted in applicants' portal account. While every proposal receives a summary report, only successful applicants are published in the Horizon Dashboard.
Applicants with successful proposals will receive a grant preparation invitation letter explaining how to prepare the grant. If a proposal is not successful, the applicant will receive a rejection letter. In cases where a proposal successfully meets all the quality thresholds, is highly ranked, but falls just below the funding cutoff due to budget limitations, it is typically placed on a reserve list. This reserve list effectively serves as a standby list, and proposals on it may be offered funding if additional funding becomes available or if one of the higher-ranked projects fails to complete the grant agreement process.
These applicants would not receive a standard rejection letter. Instead, they would receive a formal notification of the evaluation outcome that includes their score, their ranking, and a clear explanation that their proposal was of high quality but could not be funded in the current round due to the limited budget. This distinguishes their proposal from one that was simply deemed ineligible or of poor quality.
How to become a Horizon Europe evaluator
Becoming an evaluator for Horizon Europe projects involves a process of application, selection, and training. The EC relies on a pool of independent experts to evaluate project proposals under Horizon Europe. These experts come from various fields, including academia, industry, and research organizations. Here's a step-by-step guide to becoming an evaluator:
Register as an expert
The first step is to register in the EC's Expert Database.
Apply for evaluator roles
After registering in the expert database, you can express your interest in becoming an evaluator by applying to specific calls for evaluators. Horizon Europe evaluations occur periodically, so you'll need to keep an eye on the available opportunities.
Selection process
The selection of evaluators is a competitive process, and not all applicants will be selected. The Commission considers factors such as:
- Specific expertise and experience relevant to the proposals being evaluated
- Diversity of experience (such as backgrounds from academia, industry, and other sectors)
- Previous evaluation experience in EU funding programs (if applicable)
If selected, you will be notified by the EC and invited to participate in an evaluation panel.
Evaluation training
If you are selected to become an evaluator, you will typically undergo training. This is designed to ensure that you are familiar with the evaluation criteria, the evaluation process, and the tools used to assess proposals:
- The training may include an online session or workshop
- You will be trained on Horizon Europe's specific evaluation criteria, which include excellence, impact, and quality and efficiency of the implementation
Participate in evaluations
Once trained, you can start evaluating proposals. The evaluation process typically involves:
- Reading and assessing proposals based on the criteria outlined by the EC
- Scoring proposals and providing feedback
- Attending panel discussions (for group evaluations), where evaluators discuss their scores and reach consensus on the final evaluations
- Evaluators are expected to complete their work within a specific timeframe, often several weeks or months, depending on the size of the proposal