Excel4Pro Open Call

Submission:

Excel4Pro Open Call for proposals will be submitted digitally through the opencalls.fund platform at https://opencalls.fund/open-call/excel4pro. All the documents needed for the application (Excel4Pro Open Call Kit) can be found on the Excel4Pro website, on the section dedicated to the Open Call (https://excel4pro.eu/open-call/). Interested Applicants should visit the Excel4Pro website for any updates and the FAQ section available in the opencalls.fund platform (https://opencalls.fund/open-call/excel4pro/faq).

Submissions received through any other channel will be automatically discarded.

Documents required in subsequent phases will be submitted via dedicated channels (e.g. via email or via the opencalls.fund platform), which will be indicated by the Excel4Pro consortium in the contracting phase.

In case multiple versions of the same application are submitted, only the last version will be evaluated. All the previous ones will be discarded.

Throughout the entire process, the confidentiality of applicants' identities and the contents of the proposals will be rigorously upheld. Any details pertaining to the proposed solution will be handled with the utmost discretion.

By applying to Excel4Pro Open Call consortia automatically accept the terms and conditions of the Open Call as described in the Open Call Kit.

Evaluation:

After the Excel4Pro Open Call is closed, an eligibility check process will be carried out by the Excel4Pro Advisory Board to discard non-eligible applications. Following the eligibility check, a remote evaluation will be done by carefully selected external reviewers. Each proposal will be reviewed by two (2) external evaluators with specific technical and/or business expertise related to the topics of the call.

The evaluators will have to evaluate each proposal under the specific evaluation criteria:

Alignment:

- Relevance and Alignment with Excel4Pro Open Call Objectives.

Excellence:

- Feasibility of concept;

- Ethics and compliance;

- Gender and inclusivity

Impact:

- Demonstration of impact on the Excel4Pro ecosystem;

- Impact and sustainability;

- Scalability and replicability;

- Dissemination and policy uptake;

- Community engagement

Value:

- Budget allocation;

- Use of resources

Implementation:

- Team expertise and roles;

- Quality of team as a whole;

- Risk management

All award criteria have the same weight. Each award criterion can be scored from 1 to 5 with a threshold of 3 points in each category, and a minimum of 15 points in total.

Excel4Pro Open Call will accept the submission of proposals from start-ups or SMEs established in Türkiye, Greece, or Ukraine. Startups and SMEs should specialize or intent to work on innovative technologies or solutions within the alternative plant-based protein area for the agri-food sector. Selected applicants will receive funding to innovate, test, validate, or implement breakthroughs within the Excel4Pro Focus Areas and integrate these innovations into the broader agri-food sector.

The Open Call will result in at least 9 projects (max €40k per project). In total, a €360K budget will be allocated as financial support to third parties.