The European Commission’s call for expression of interest for the Funding & Tenders Portal Expert Database is permanently open for the entire duration of the EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) period 2021-2027.
The Commission and its executive agencies that manage Horizon Europe’s calls for proposals are continuously looking for new evaluators who assist the EU services in a personal capacity as experts with the implementation of EU funding and tenders managed through the Funding & Tenders Portal (F&T Portal), in particular:
- assessing applications for funding
- monitoring of projects and contracts
- providing opinions and advice on specific issues
Tasks may include evaluation, monitoring and advice of all types, such as assessment of applications, observing evaluation procedures, project reviews, coaching activities, and ethics reviews including checks and audits.
Individuals interested in becoming expert evaluators in Horizon Europe should register in the dedicated ‘Work as an expert‘ area of the F&T Portal. The Portal Expert Database is the central database for all expert work in this domain. Registration is a mandatory prerequisite for being contracted by the Commission to work as an evaluator on any EU funding programme.
Who is the Commission looking for?
The Commission is looking for experts with a high level of expertise and professional experience in all EU action and policy fields, particularly those relevant to Horizon Europe’s calls for proposals. Excellent language skills, in particular in English, are mandatory. The evaluation panels are composed of specialists with diverse backgrounds and from various sectors, such as industry, business associations and innovation agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other civil society organisations, local, regional and national administration, as well as universities and research organisations. The Commission strives to achieve gender equality and strongly encourages female experts to register.
Can I become an expert evaluator in Horizon Europe after the UK has left the EU?
Yes, there are no restrictions on nationality. The Commission welcomes experts from any country, as long as they are not subject to EU administrative sanctions (i.e. exclusion or financial penalty decision) or in one of the exclusion situations mentioned in the call text that bar them from receiving EU funds.
Why should I register?
Becoming an expert evaluator in Horizon Europe is the best way to get to know the evaluation process in the new programme and become successful as an applicant faster. Knowing how the evaluation process works and what the experts are looking for in an excellent proposal will allow you to improve your own applications in the future.
Furthermore, expert evaluators are remunerated for their work and have their expenses related to travelling to Brussels (if required) covered by the EU. A model contract for experts is available online.
Do I need to register again if I evaluated proposals in Horizon 2020 or other EU programmes?
If you previously selected the option to work for “All programmes and sub-programmes of the above selected EU and non-EU institutions” in your expert profile, by default you have made yourself available to all current and future programmes and no additional action is required, as you will be automatically included in the list of experts available in Horizon Europe.
However, if you only selected ‘Horizon 2020’ as the programme that you wished to work as an expert in, you will be required to update your profile by selecting the relevant box.