Commission issues manual of proposal-evaluation procedures
The European Commission has issued a "Manual of Proposal Evaluation Procedures", as the new approach followed in preparing and implementing the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (RTD) required an evolution in the earlier practices for evaluating research proposals. CORDIS is making the manual available at: URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp5/src/evalman.htm(opens in new window) The Commission has made clear its intention to make its management system ever more open and transparent towards all the actors involved in Community RTD. The purpose of this manual, prepared with the assistance of an interservice working group of representatives of "research" and "policy" Directorate-Generals, is to provide the "ground rules" or guidelines for the evaluation of proposals for RTD projects. Whilst maintaining the efficiency and speed of the process, it draws on the fundamental principles of managing EU RTD programmes: - Quality; - Transparency; - Equality of treatment; - Impartiality It describes the basic procedures that will be followed by all the programmes under FP5 of the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. The harmonization of the basic procedures between the specific programmes of FP5, which is implied by the preparation of this manual, is intended to make it easier for consortia and researchers to prepare their proposals in the full knowledge of the rules that will apply. However, this manual recognizes that individual programmes and/or action lines will have special needs in some circumstances and provides flexibility within a harmonized framework for programmes to adapt procedures to their own particular needs when this is appropriate.