1. Eligibility check: this is the very first step carried out. The Permanent Secretariat checks whether the submitted applications comply with the eligibility criteria listed in the UIA Terms of Reference. All applicants (eligible and not eligible) receive an e-mail notification from the Permanent Secretariat about the status of their project. Applications declared eligible are considered for the second step of the selection process, the strategic assessment.
2. Strategic assessment: a Panel of External Experts with in-depth knowledge of the topics of the Call is in charge of a Strategic Assessment. The Panel evaluates the proposals according to 4 weighted criteria:
- Innovativeness (40%)
- Partnership (15%)
- Measurability of results (15%)
- Transferability (10%)
Applications successfully scoring above a certain threshold are considered for the last step of the selection process, the Operational Assessment, and receive a notification. Applicants whose proposals do not qualify for the Operational Assessment also receive a notification, together with an overall conclusion summarising the Panel of External Experts’ assessment.
3. Operational assessment: the Permanent Secretariat performs the last step of the assessment process, during which the quality of the proposal will be checked: i.e. are the work plan, budget and management structures coherent and well justified? This assessment accounts for the last 20% of the overall assessment score. Building on the results of the Operational Assessment, a Selection Committee composed of the European Commission and the Entrusted Entity meets to make the final selection. All applicants who reach the Operational Assessment stage are notified of the final decision. Awarded projects are officially announced during the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels. You can read our Guidance section 3.2, for a complete overview of our selection process and scoring system.
Please feel free to contact the Permanent Secretariat at info@uia-initiative.eu should you have any questions.