Understanding how your proposal will be evaluated gives you a significant advantage. Here's an inside look at the grant evaluation process and how to optimize your application.
How Evaluation Works
The Evaluator Pool
Evaluators are typically:
- Independent experts in the field
- Academics and industry professionals
- Former or current grant recipients
- Drawn from across Europe and beyond
The Process
- Assignment: Proposals assigned to 3-5 evaluators
- Individual Review: Each evaluator scores independently
- Consensus Meeting: Evaluators discuss and agree final scores
- Panel Review: Rankings finalized across all proposals
- Funding Decision: Based on ranking and available budget
Understanding Evaluation Criteria
Most EU grants use three main criteria:
1. Excellence (Scientific/Technical Quality)
What evaluators look for:
- Clarity of objectives: Are goals specific and measurable?
- Innovation: What's new or beyond state of the art?
- Methodology: Is the approach sound and well-described?
- Ambition vs. feasibility: Right balance of risk and achievability
How to score highly:
- Be explicit about your innovation claims
- Reference state of the art and explain how you go beyond it
- Describe methodology in sufficient detail
- Acknowledge and address risks
2. Impact
What evaluators look for:
- Expected outcomes: What will change if the project succeeds?
- Target groups: Who benefits and how?
- Exploitation plan: How will results be used?
- Communication: How will you reach stakeholders?
How to score highly:
- Quantify impact where possible
- Show you understand your market/users
- Have a concrete exploitation plan
- Include meaningful dissemination activities
3. Implementation
What evaluators look for:
- Work plan: Is it logical and complete?
- Consortium: Do partners have right skills and balance?
- Resources: Are budget and effort appropriate?
- Management: Can the project be delivered?
How to score highly:
- Create a coherent, detailed work plan
- Show clear roles for each partner
- Justify your budget thoroughly
- Demonstrate project management capability
The Scoring System
Typically scored 0-5:
- 5: Outstanding - proposal successfully addresses all aspects
- 4: Very good - addresses all aspects well, minor improvements possible
- 3: Good - addresses all aspects but with some weaknesses
- 2: Fair - addresses aspects in a way that requires improvements
- 1: Poor - addresses aspects with serious weaknesses
- 0: Does not address the criterion or cannot be assessed
Threshold Scores
Most calls require:
- Minimum score per criterion (often 3/5)
- Minimum overall score (often 10/15)
Falling below any threshold means rejection, regardless of other scores.
What Makes Evaluators' Lives Easier
Clear Structure
- Use the proposal template provided
- Follow the suggested structure
- Use clear headings and numbering
- Make it easy to find information
Explicit Statements
Don't make evaluators search or infer:
- "Our innovation is..."
- "The expected impact includes..."
- "We will achieve this by..."
Evidence and References
Back up your claims:
- Cite relevant research
- Reference your own track record
- Include letters of support
- Provide preliminary data if available
Readable Writing
Remember evaluators read many proposals:
- Short sentences and paragraphs
- Bullet points for lists
- Tables and figures where appropriate
- Executive summary that captures key points
Common Reasons for Low Scores
On Excellence
- Unclear or incremental innovation
- Methodology not sufficiently described
- Objectives too vague or unmeasurable
- Ignoring obvious risks
On Impact
- Vague impact claims without evidence
- No clear exploitation strategy
- Unrealistic market assumptions
- Generic dissemination plan
On Implementation
- Illogical work plan structure
- Partner roles unclear or unbalanced
- Budget doesn't match activities
- No risk management approach
Responding to Evaluator Comments
If you resubmit a revised proposal:
- Address every criticism explicitly
- Don't be defensive
- Show how you've improved the proposal
- Thank evaluators for constructive feedback
Final Tips
- Read evaluation criteria first - then write to them
- Use evaluator-friendly language - make scoring easy
- Be your own evaluator - score yourself before submitting
- Get external review - fresh eyes catch blind spots
- Leave time for polish - clarity matters
Understanding the evaluation process helps you write proposals that evaluators can easily score highly. Make their job simple, and you'll increase your chances of success.