Overview of guidelines to researchers.
An evaluator or reviewer is an individual who judges the value and/or success of the research, either at proposal stage (as part of the funding decision making processes), or during the progress of the project itself. The EU-Commission recruits high-level experts from academia, business or from the Civil Society to evaluate proposals and review running research processes. The experts are contracted by the Commission on a limited basis. Their motivation to be involved might be to support the scientific mechanisms that aim to supporting good research quality or they could also be interested in extending their networks through the collaboration with other peers across fields from different parts of Europe.
CSOs are involved in a research project because their specific competences are expected to boost the project somehow, e.g. by having transformative effects on the knowledge production, by providing expert knowledge, by increasing the legitimacy of the project, by using their often wide dissemination networks to share insights from the project etc. Sometimes the practices of CSO involvement are based on scientific methods like transdisciplinary research, action research or community based participatory research but often they are not well structured. We expect the wide application of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) within the Horizon2020 which will lead to more projects involving CSOs. Against this background, the guidelines listed here are hints for evaluators to examine structural necessities for successful projects involving CSOs.
Key Recommendations
E1. Consider the public relevance of the project
E2. Review the appropriateness of the proposed co-operation structures and funding allocation