With this pilot the Commission wants to tackle concerns that the evaluation process could be perceived as biased towards well-known organisations in countries with better performing Research and Innovation systems. The Commission indicates that a recent independent study has not revealed such a bias.
The pilot aims to identify whether the implementation of blind evaluation within the legal requirements and operational context creates any difficulties. If this is not the case, it might lead to a modified approach, with a greater use of blind evaluations, which could effectively mitigate the risk of real, potential or perceived reputational bias.
The recording of a recent Commission information webinar on the topic is available here.
Calls concerned by the pilot
In the Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2024, all first-stage proposals of two-stage call topics will be evaluated blindly (except one call for Widening).
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More details here.