Division 2.2.6 Eligibility check

Proposals must fulfil all of the eligibility criteria if they are to be retained for peer review evaluation. These criteria are rigorously applied. In the case of two-stage proposal submission, each stage is subject to an eligibility check. All proposals submitted under a call will be subject to checking against the following eligibility criteria:

• Receipt of proposal before the deadline (date and time established in the call);

• Completeness of the proposal, i.e. the presence of all requested parts and forms^f1;

• Scope of the call: the content of the proposal must relate to the objectives, to the topics and to the funding scheme set out in the call, as defined in the Ideas work programme. A proposal will only be deemed ineligible on grounds of ‘scope’ in clear-cut cases^f2;

• All additional eligibility criteria applying to the call that are specified in the Ideas work programme and in the call fiche.

If it becomes clear before, during or after the peer review evaluation phase, that one or more of the eligibility criteria has not been met, the proposal is declared ineligible and is withdrawn from any further examination. Where there is a doubt on the eligibility of a proposal, the peer review evaluation may proceed pending a final decision on eligibility. The fact that a proposal is evaluated in such circumstances does not constitute proof of its eligibility.

If the question of eligibility is not clear-cut and a more comprehensive review of the case is deemed necessary, an eligibility review committee may be convened. The committee’s role is to ensure a coherent legal interpretation of such cases and equal treatment of the applicant legal entities and PIs involved in the proposal^f3.

Those PIs whose proposals are found to be ineligible will be informed of the grounds for such a decision.