BRUSSELS — A call for independent evaluators is now open to assess applications for the EOSC Gravity preparatory and inter-project grants aiming to grow the EOSC Federation. Interested candidates can submit their applications by 30 January 2026 (14:00 CET).
Evaluation work will take place from 25 February 2026 to 7 April 2026, with each evaluator receiving compensation for their work. Serving as an evaluator offers a unique chance to apply your expertise in shaping the future of the EOSC Federation. Full details of the call, including guidelines, rules and conditions, the selection process, timeline, and more, are available in the evaluator package.
EOSC Gravity may draw from the pool of applications submitted under this call for other EOSC Federation-related assessments, such as the Enrolment call of the EOSC Tripartite Governance or the second inter-project call under EOSC Gravity planned for the second half of 2026.
Selection criteria
The evaluators must meet the following mandatory criteria:
- Understanding of the EOSC Federation ecosystem and its build-up process (more details are available in the EOSC Federation Handbook),
- Broad knowledge of EOSC-A activities and initiatives, as well as Open Science principles and practices,
- Understanding of the training and skills development needs of the EOSC Federation,
- Familiarity with ICT technologies, software development processes, or service management systems,
- Be legally established or resident in a Member State of the European Union, including outermost regions and associated Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT); or in a Horizon Europe associated country at the time the EOSC Gravity grant entered into force (October 2024),
- Ability to work as a consultant and issue invoices/debit notes following the regulations of their own country.
Optional criteria:
- Experience in evaluating proposals for the European Commission, or similar relevant experience, is considered a plus.
Tasks
The evaluators will be responsible for providing an impartial and unbiased review of the applications assigned to them, following the determined evaluation process and timeline. The evaluation workflow includes the following steps:
- Participation in the onboarding session on 25 February 2026,
- Pre-assessment of the applications between 25 February 2026 and 18 March 2026,
- Participation in a panel meeting to determine a ranked list of applications. Each evaluator will participate in one remote panel meeting scheduled between 26-31 March 2026,
- Preparation of the consensus report (one per application) between 26 March 2026 and 7 April 2026: A summary of the pre-assessments and panel discussions to be sent to each applicant.
Compensation
Evaluators will receive compensation of 100€ per evaluation, provided it is properly completed and validated by ESF. This includes all the steps listed above under Tasks.
The Panel Chair, selected by ESF among the evaluators, will receive an additional 200€ for the panel day.
How to apply
Applications can only be submitted via the European Science Foundation (ESF) Platform. If you are a first-time user of the ESF Platform, you will need to create an account before applying.
If you have any questions about the process, please reach out to us at EOSC-Gravity-grants@esf.org and include “Evaluator call” in the subject line.
