External Validation Activities (EVAs)

Eligibility for participation in the External Validation Activities is strictly limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as defined by the EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC. To qualify, applicants must be legally established in an EU Member State or in a Horizon Europe Associated Country.

• It is essential to note that only individual SMEs are permitted to apply, as applicant consortia are not eligible. Any SME already participating as a member of the CONSOLE consortium is likewise ineligible. Each SME may submit only one proposal, thereby ensuring a fair and competitive process. In addition, applicants must ensure that their proposed activities are not subject to double funding from other EU programmes.

• Finally, all applications must be written in English, follow the official template, and adhere to the strict page limit, as non-compliance with these conditions will render a proposal ineligible.

• Each SME selected under the EVAs will receive a grant of €50,000, with a total of six awards available within an overall budget of €300,000.

• Funding will be disbursed in two instalments: an initial payment of 50% of the total upon signing the sub-grant agreement, and a final payment of the remaining 50% upon confirmation of delivery and approval of the final report. This method simplifies financial reporting and provides SMEs with flexibility in managing resources, particularly when costs are directly related to validation activities.

• Eligible costs include staff time for personnel involved in testing and feedback, the purchase of software licences or subscriptions necessary for the tasks, minor equipment not exceeding €5,000, and reasonably connected overheads. Ineligible costs include subcontracting of core validation tasks, the acquisition of major equipment, and any expenses already funded by other EU instruments.

Applications must be submitted solely through the official CONSOLE project website (www.consoleproject.eu), which will act as the sole point for managing the application and assessment process. The submission period will be open for at least 30 calendar days, with the exact opening and closing dates announced on the project website. Each application is composed of four components:

1. Part A – Administrative Eligibility Form must be completed online by applicants through the submission portal on the project website. The information provided in Part A will be checked during the administrative eligibility screening. Only proposals that meet these requirements will proceed to the evaluation of Part B (Technical Proposal). 

2. Part B – Technical Proposal, which must be completed using the official Application Form – Part B and uploaded as a PDF. This section, limited to 12 pages, covers Excellence, Impact, and Implementation. Applicants must adhere to the formatting rules: Arial font at size 11, line spacing set to 1.15, and margins of 2.5 centimetres on all sides. Headings and subheadings must adhere to the numbering provided in the template, and no modifications to the layout or structure are allowed. Any content beyond the 12th page in Part B will not be considered during evaluation. Submissions that are late, incomplete, or not compliant with these requirements will be automatically rejected.

Download HERE

3. Legal Entity Form (annexe), which must be uploaded as a supporting document to verify the applicant's legal and financial status.

Download HERE

4. Declaration of Honour (annexe), signed by the authorised representative of the SME, confirming SME status, eligibility, and the absence of double funding or conflict of interest.

Download HERE

After the eligibility evaluation, those eligible proposals will be evaluated with the highest standards of transparency, impartiality, and fairness. To ensure this, the consortium has already selected twelve independent experts, external to the project, who collectively possess expertise in cybersecurity, software development, EU-funded project evaluation, and SME innovation. Each part B of the proposal will be reviewed by three (3) evaluators with complementary backgrounds, guaranteeing balanced assessments of technical, business, and implementation aspects. Evaluators will be rigorously screened for conflicts of interest before their appointment. They must sign both a Confidentiality Agreement and a Declaration of Absence of Conflict of Interest before accessing any proposal documents.

The evaluation process consists of two distinct phases: an individual assessment phase, followed by a consensus phase. During the individual phase, each evaluator independently reviews the proposal according to the official criteria and sub-criteria, assigning scores and providing qualitative justifications for each assessment. In the consensus phase, the three assigned evaluators discuss significant differences in their scoring and rationale to reach a harmonised, consensus-based evaluation report. If consensus cannot be reached, the evaluation coordinator may intervene to facilitate alignment while maintaining impartiality.

Evaluation is based on three main criteria in line with European Commission standards: Excellence (40%), Impact (30%), and Implementation (30%). Each criterion is scored from 0 to 10, including half points. Minimum thresholds apply: a proposal must score at least 6 out of 10 in Excellence, 5 out of 10 in both Impact and Implementation, and achieve an overall weighted score of at least 7 out of 10 to be eligible for funding. Proposals that do not meet these thresholds will not be ranked among fundable proposals.

• Excellence will focus on the clarity and relevance of the proposed validation scenario, ensuring that it aligns with the objectives of CONSOLE. It will also evaluate the potential to generate valuable technical or regulatory insights that could benefit the broader industry or sector. Here, the specific languages used across the internal software development process will be scored as follows:

Technology / Language Score

Phoenix, Elixir 1.50

Clojure, Padrino 1.40

Go, Dart, Kubernetes, Perl, Sinatra, Swift 1.30

C#, Kotlin, Python, Rails, Nginx 1.20

C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, PHP, Ruby 1.10

JAR, Web 1.00

• Impact will assess the added value of the proposed activities for the SME, including how the business context will serve as a test bed for validation. Evaluators will consider how likely the feedback from the SME is to enhance the CONSOLE platform’s market readiness.

• Implementation will assess the feasibility of the proposed work plan, considering the team's qualifications, access to necessary infrastructure, and the applicant's ability to fulfil contractual and reporting obligations.

Each criterion will be scored on a scale from 0 to 10, with evaluators required to provide qualitative justifications for their scores. Evaluators will be instructed to consider both the innovation and practicality of the proposed work, ensuring that the selection process reflects the project's ambition to test its tools in credible, challenging, and representative real-world scenarios.

At the end of the evaluation, proposals will be ranked based on their consensus scores. The top six-ranked proposals, provided they meet the eligibility and threshold criteria, will be selected for funding. All applicants, regardless of the outcome, will receive an Evaluation Summary Report (ESR). The ESR will display the consensus scores for each criterion along with a summary of evaluators’ comments, enabling applicants to understand both the strengths and weaknesses of their proposal. This feedback system aims not only to justify funding decisions but also to assist applicants in improving future submissions to EU-funded calls.