To apply, follow the link to the online submission system. Only proposals submitted through the online submission system within the call deadline will be evaluated. After the submission, the applicant will receive an e-mail which states the date and time of the submitted proposal.

Applications will be evaluated on a first come first served basis, i.e., applications will be evaluated in the order in which they are received. The consortium reserves the right to close the call before the deadline in case all the budget is used.

A three-step assessment procedure will be followed safeguarding the principles of transparency and equal treatment as described below.

1. Eligibility check of the Application Form.

2. Individual evaluation: each member of the Evaluation Review Panel will evaluate the application according to the evaluation criteria set out in the call.

3. Consensus group: in case of major deviation, the members of the evaluation review panel will communicate (email, online meeting, etc.) to evaluate collectively the application form, based on their individual evaluation, ensuring a coherent, fair and transparent evaluation. If no agreement is reached, a third evaluator will be involved.

Applicants are entitled to apply and benefit from more than one type of activity, reaching a total maximum funding of €60.000 per SME. The Applicant SMEs will be allowed to be granted maximum 2 Innovation Services (applying one time for up to 2 services).

Submitted applications will be assessed by the Evaluation Review Panel consisting of representatives of the METASTARS partners (2 reviewers per application).

The evaluation of the proposal will be done on a first-come first-served basis (i.e., proposals will be evaluated in the order in which they are received) while the evaluation period shall take maximum 15 working days, starting from the date of the submission of each proposal. Proposals with a score above the three individual thresholds and overall threshold of the evaluation criteria will be recommended for funding (until the exhaustion of the budget).

The applicants will receive an e-mail about the outcome of the evaluation directly after the evaluation is finalised along with instructions for the next steps in the case the applicant is awarded. The successful applicants will be requested to sign a Grant Agreement with the METASTARS project coordinator within 30 days from the notification of the project approval.