I recently participated in a new evaluation round of innovation project proposals for one of the Horizon Europe programmes at the European Commission. A task not to take on lightly, because no less than 49 million Euros were allocated, money that is spent to develop technologies that will allow us to reach EU Green Deal targets by 2030 and 2050.
After an intensive two weeks of evaluating, negotiating and ultimately reaching consensus on which project proposals should receive funding, I dare say I am as proud as ever to be a European citizen. Through the evaluation procedure, the European Commission goes at great lengths to set a fair and transparent procedure that is designed to allocate funding fairly and effectively to the best and highest-impact proposals. They do so by appointing an interdisciplinary group of independent experts that represent men and women from many different academic backgrounds, from all ages and from all EU member states. Moreover, experts are asked in every step of the process to actively confirm that no conflicts of interest exist: if a given person could benefit from a given project, she is not allowed to evaluate it. Another key aspect is the assessment of the “do no significant harm” principle: it makes sure that initiatives that would harm environmental and climate goals do not receive financing.
Breakthrough technologies in the areas of energy production, construction, manufacturing, mobility etc are a much-needed aspect of the Net-Zero transition. Without investments (public or private) there is no way we can reach our 2030 and 2050 EU decarbonisation goals. Moreover, from our professional background and skill set we all have a contribution to make, whether you are working in industry, academia, government or the not-for-profit sector. Being an expert evaluator for the European Commission, and through this role making sure public funding is directed to towards high-impact decarbonization projects, was one way for me to contribute and definitely an interesting enough experience to repeat in upcoming years.
If you are also interested in working as an expert evaluator at the European Commission, check this link or feel free to get in touch with me.
