Selection criteria for Project Outlines and Full Project Proposals

ITEA Project Outlines and Full Project Proposals will be evaluated and selected according to the following criteria:

1. Project Rationale and Objectives

Assessment focus: clarity, relevance, and coherence of the project intent.

• Is the problem statement clearly described, relevant, and well justified?
• Are the general problem, solutions and challenges to be addressed clearly described?
• Is the solution concept clearly defined and the proposed technological innovations logically addressing the identified challenges?
• Are the expected project outputs and results clearly described and realistic?
• Are use cases sufficiently defined to validate the proposed technological innovations?

2. Market, Business and Societal Impact

2.1 Business and Market Impact

Assessment focus: commercial relevance and exploitation potential.

• Are the target markets clearly defined and supported by a sound market analysis, including a competitor's analysis?
• Is the market value chain described, including the positioning of consortium partners?
• Is there a credible exploitation and commercialisation strategy for project results?
• Does the project demonstrate potential for economic impact (e.g. competitiveness, growth, jobs)?
• Is there a clear go-to market strategy, accompanied by a well-structured dissemination and communication plan?
• Are business KPIs clearly defined, measurable, and aligned with the project objectives?

2.2 Industry Impact

• Does the project contribute to industry-wide impact, such as:
• standardisation activities,
• open-source contributions,
• ecosystem or community adoption?
• Is there a concrete plan for engagement with relevant industry or standardisation bodies?

2.3 Societal Impactt

• Does the project contribute to one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
• Are the expected environmental and societal benefits clearly described and measurable?

3. Technological Innovation and Excellence

Assessment focus: novelty, ambition, and technical credibility.

• Are the technological innovations clearly described and well articulated?
• Is the State-of-the-Art (SoTA) clearly analysed and relevant?
• Is it clearly demonstrated how the proposed innovations advance beyond the SoTA?
• Are the innovations consistent with the project rationale and objectives?
• Are technological KPIs clearly defined, measurable, and supported by baseline and target values?

4. Consortium and International Collaboration

4.1 Consortium Composition and Value Chain Coverage

• Is the market and technology value chain sufficiently covered by the consortium?
• Are the roles and contributions of partners clearly described?
• If gaps exist, is there a mitigation strategy to address missing competencies?
• Does the consortium demonstrate an appropriate diversity (industry, SMEs, research, geography)?

4.2 Quality of International Collaboration

• Is there strong business-oriented collaboration enabling sustainable partnerships and impact?
• Is the technological collaboration balanced and clearly demonstrating joint development and knowledge exchange?
• Does the project promote cross-border innovation and ecosystem building?

4.3 Collaboration with Other R&D Initiatives

• Has the consortium identified synergies with other ITEA or external R&D projects?
• Is there potential for future collaboration or reuse of results?

5. Project Realisation and Management

(FPP only)

Assessment focus: feasibility and execution readiness.

• Is the project structure (work packages, dependencies) clear and coherent?
• Are milestones and deliverables relevant and well defined?
• Is there a credible project management approach, including risk management?
• Is the overall effort consistent with the objectives and work plan?
• Is the effort distribution per partner justified and balanced?

6. Proposal Quality

• Is the proposal clear, readable, and well structured?
• Is it focused and concise, avoiding unnecessary detail?
• Does it comply with the formatting and length requirements?

7. Eligibility Criteria

• Does the proposal comply with the ITEA Rules and Regulations?
• Are national eligibility requirements fulfilled for all partners?

(Eligibility compliance is a prerequisite, not a scoring criterion.)