Back to earth: bringing communities and citizens closer to soil

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SUBMISSION

The Application Form, via the EU Survey Platform is made up of one single document which is to be completed and submitted by each applicant. The application form will request:

1. Your contact information
2. A brief description of the proposed activity (max, 2500 characters)
3. A short statement on how the activity aligns with SOILTRIBES goals and supports your work (max, 2000 characters)
4. Estimated costs for the activity with brief explanation of the costs
5. A timeline for activity completion
6. Declarations

It is important to note when submitting your application, you must ensure it meets the admissibility criteria. Your application must:

1. be submitted by March 9, 2026 at 15:00 CET
2. be submitted electronically – paper or emails submissions are not accepted – through the EU Survey Link (hyperlink embedded)
3. be submitted in English
4. respect the number of characters, as indicated in each section of the Application form
5. have a budget equal to the fixed lump sum amount of €750 (VAT included)
6. be submitted by an eligible applicant (review section 2.1 of this document).

Note: Multiple applications are permitted, provided that each proposal relates to a distinct and clearly different activity.

Before you begin writing your submission, you can review the blank application form here.

EVALUATION & SELECTION

All submitted applications will be assessed through a clear, fair, and transparent evaluation process, based on predefined criteria aligned with the objectives of the SoilTribes project. The evaluation and selection process will adhere to EU standards of transparency, equal treatment, conflict of interest and confidentiality.

All applications will go through the following steps:

Step A: Administrative & Eligibility Check

The Administrative & Eligibility Check will be completed by the SoilTribes Consortium. Only those applications that meet all requirements outlined above in section 2.1 and section 4 will pass to Step B.

Step B: Evaluation of Applications

Jurors will review the Full Applications. The evaluation of applications will follow a one-stage process. The Evaluation will be based on a 100-point score considering the following criteria and weighting as per the table presented in the Guidelines. To be considered for funding, applications must meet the following conditions:

1. Score at least 50% on each individual evaluation criterion, and
2. Achieve an overall score of at least 50 out of 100 points.

Each application will be evaluated by two jurors, who are internal members of the consortium serving as Pillar Leaders. Jurors will be assigned in pairs according to their expertise and familiarity with the SoilTribes thematic pillars. Jurors will assess proposals independently using a shared evaluation package and scoring template. To ensure the integrity of the process, all jurors are required to declare any potential conflict of interest and to adhere to principles of unbiased assessment, transparency, and impartiality throughout the evaluation. After a dedicated kick-off meeting, the evaluation materials will be distributed, and jurors will begin individual review. Once all assessments are submitted, the project team will compile the results, calculate average scores, and identify significant discrepancies between reviewers. When necessary (when discrepancies in the total score are of 15 or more points), jurors will engage in consolidation meetings to agree on a final, harmonized score. A final ranking list will then be produced.

Step C: Selection

A Ranking Meeting between the SoilTribes Consortium and Jurors will be scheduled. During this meeting, the numerical ranking will be presented which takes into account the results of Step B. In addition to score-based ranking, the final selection will incorporate the following representation measures:

1. Geographic balance: A maximum of two selected applicants per country (per call)
2. Gender representation: Ensure a balanced and diverse selection of applicants based on gender.
3. Sectoral diversity: As much as possible, the final selection should reflect a range of profiles across the quintuple helix sectors and CoP pillars.
4. No ethics issues: The funded project has no ethical issues, or if, they are addressed and safeguards are implemented.