Application procedure

All applications aligned with the objectives of the Blue Shuttle Project will be considered for evaluation, and application procedure outlines the following steps:

An extension of the period may take place, in the event of the required number of applications and/or the desired profiles not being achieved. Any such extension will be publicly promoted in a timely manner.

• All information provided will be treated confidentially and stored only for the purpose of this call, following the EU legislation on data protection (EU Regulation 2016/67919). Data will be stored in a secure server operated by Blacknight (server) in Ireland.
• Once an application is received, an automated email will be sent to confirm the submission of the application.

Eligibility requirements

The organizations that intend to apply must comply with the following minimum requirements to have their challenge proposal admitted for evaluation:

• Application (all mandatory fields) must be fully completed.
• Have appropriate working knowledge of English.
• The organisation must be registered in the Atlantic Area regions of the following countries:
  • Ireland
  • Spain
  • France
  • Portugal
• The applicants must be aware that after this call, there is going to open a Call for Solutions to select a solution provider to match the selected challenge per country so, then, proceed to pilot projects (one per each country: Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal). The execution of these pilot projects must be feasible for implementation within a maximum time-frame of 12 months and with an approximate budget of 15.000 € (excluding VAT). Challenge proposals that imply solutions that greatly exceeds these limits will not be considered feasible, according to the Evaluation Criteria.
• The participant must agree with the processing of their personal data within the Blue Shuttle consortium, in accordance with the EU data protection legislation (EU Regulation 2016/67919).
• If selected, the applicant must cooperate with the solution providers (to be selected after this call) during the execution of the pilot project, and to comply to all terms and conditions stipulated by the Blue Shuttle consortium.

If the challenge application complies with the eligibility criteria above, the applicant will receive an email notification within 30 days of the deadline for submission. Otherwise, the application will not proceed, and the applicant will receive an email notification informing that the application was rejected for not meeting the eligibility criteria.

In case of any conflict of interest, for example due to economic interests, political affinities, family or emotional ties or any other relevant connection or shared interest, the Blue Shuttle consortium have the right to exclude the candidate from selection.

In the upcoming stage of the call for solutions, if no solution provider applies to a specific challenge, or if any solution provider is found to be eligible to a specific challenge, the Blue Shuttle consortium has the right to select another challenge. In this case, the challenge applicant will receive an email notifying this situation.

Evaluation criteria

Once the eligibility requirements are meet, the evaluation of the challenge proposals will be undertaken by the Blue Shuttle Evaluation Committee, constituted by the Blue Shuttle partners responsible for the execution of the pilot projects (MTU, WestBIC, PMBA, CTAqua and UPTEC and CIIMAR) and one representative of the Regional Stakeholders Groups (RSG) of each country (Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal). To avoid any conflict of interest, the RSG member of the jury cannot apply to this call. The final score will be the average score given by all evaluators.

The evaluation of each application will be transparent and fair, respecting the confidentiality of any information identified as confidential at the time it is provided, and applying the highest ethical and moral standards.

The submitted challenge proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Relevance to Blue Economy Sectors: The extent to which the proposal directly addresses common digital/technological needs within Marine Living Resources or Blue Biotechnology sectors, that could be transferable to other businesses.
2. Technical and Financial feasibility: Assessment of whether the proposed challenge is technically feasible within the constraints of current technology and resources. Assess whether the proposal highlights attainable and realistic goals aligned with the established time-frame and financial resources available, making efficient use of the resources provided by the Blue Shuttle Project.
3. Expected impact: Evaluation of the potential impact the proposed challenge and future solution will have on improving efficiency, sustainability, competitiveness, or resilience within the Blue Economy sectors.
4. Integration of Digital Technologies: Assessment of the extent to which the proposal leverages digital technologies, such as internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, or data analytics, among other, to address the identified needs.
5. Sustainability: Evaluation of whether the proposed challenge promotes environmental sustainability and resilience within the Blue Economy sectors.

Each criterion will be awarded a score from 1 to 20 marks, 1 being the lowest score and 20 being the highest. The minimum threshold for each criterion is 8 out of 20. Failing to score an 8 out of 10 in any of the five main criteria, it will result in the disqualification of the proposal. As such, given the 5 existing criteria, the maximum number of marks that an applicant may receive is 100, and the minimum threshold is 40.

Applications will be chosen according to the highest ranked, per country, following this evaluation criteria. In case of a tie, the Blue Shuttle Coordinator (CEEI Bahía de Cadíz) will be responsible for the tie-breaking vote.

Applicants will be informed about the decision regarding their challenge proposal within a maximum of two months after the submission deadline. Challenge proposals that were not selected, but that meet the minimum threshold, will be put on a reserve list, and may subsequently be invited to participate if a previously selected challenge choose to withdraw their participation, or if no solution provider apply to the challenge during the forthcoming call for solutions.

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