ESI Projects

Evaluation of ESI Projects

The evaluation of ESI project proposals includes four phases.

First phase

Project consortia can register their project idea for Moonshot by submitting a “Motivated Application Form” (MAF). In a next step, all MAFs are discussed and a consolidated advice is drawn up for each of the MAFs by the WAR. The final decision regarding the selection of project ideas based on the MAFs lies with the governing bodies of the respective spearhead clusters which take into account the consolidated WAR advice. 

For MOTs 1-2-3, the decision is taken by the Moonshot industrial expert committees of MOTs 1-2-3 (composed of the companies of the Catalisti innovation committee with additional companies of the steel and petrochemical sector). 

For MOT4, the decision is taken by the Flux50 Board of Directors after review by the Moonshot industrial expert committee of MOT4 (composed of the companies of the Catalisti innovation committee with additional companies of the energy sector). 

After this first phase, the respective decisions are communicated to the applicants, including the underlying reasoning and, if positive, an overview of the next steps.

Second phase

In the second phase, each ESI project proposal is evaluated, in line with the VLAIO evaluation procedure, by three independent academic experts. VLAIO and the Moonshot operational team select these experts based on their project-specific and subject-related expertise. Naturally, all experts must meet certain objectivity criteria so that no conflicts of interest exist in their relationship with the submitting parties.

Each expert individually prepares a written evaluation of the project proposal that takes into account ESI-specific evaluation criteria, with specific focus on two parts of the project application: the scientific project description and the intended valorisation. Any questions the experts might have are submitted to and answered by the consortium in writing.

Third phase

In the third phase, the project proposal, together with the three evaluation reports and the rebuttal written by the project consortium, is provided to the industrial WAR members, collectively known as the ProjectWAR. The ProjectWAR assesses the project proposal against ESI-specific criteria and the overall Moonshot targets, taking its contribution to the Moonshot roadmap into account. On the basis of the project proposal, the three evaluation reports and the rebuttal, each industrial WAR member formulates an individual advice.

Then, all advices are discussed by the ProjectWAR in group until a consensus is reached. The ProjectWAR then ranks all submitted project proposals. In agreement with the ProjectWAR, a consolidated advice is formulated by the Catalisti and VLAIO representatives, which is presented to the Moonshot Governance Board (MGB).

Fourth phase

The MGB then makes a selection of promising project proposals. On the basis of the ProjectWAR ranking, the MGB can also implement a prioritization if required. Finally, the MGB presents its selection of project proposals to the Beslissingscomité bij het Fonds voor Innoveren en Ondernemen (HBC). Here, a final funding decision is made. If approved by the HBC, the ESI project proposal officially becomes a Moonshot project.