FEATURES OF EXPERT SELECTION OF GRANT APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The article emphasizes that in order to receive non-refundable grant resources, potential grant recipients need to create a package of documents and send it to participate in the grant program/competition in order to participate in the selection, after which the project proposal goes through several stages of selection. It is emphasized that potential applicants need to know the features of the competitive selection of applications in order to take into account all the subtleties when forming the application package of documents. The study analyzed the peculiarities of the expert evaluation of grant applications using the example of three grant programs of different complexity: Horizon Europe Program, USAID Agro Program in the direction of "Support for the processing of grain, oil and leguminous crops into food, fodder, industrial products and biofuel" and "eRobota" programs in the direction of "Own business". In order to generalize the approaches of grant providers to the consideration of project proposals of applicants, the article traces the process of consideration and evaluation of project proposals in these programs. The classification of acceptability criteria by which experts select project proposals at the first stage is demonstrated. Eligibility criteria may relate to: 1) applicants who can participate in the competition (their organizational and legal form, term from the date of registration, type of activity, etc.); 2) projects for the implementation of which a grant may be provided (project of institutional or project support, etc.); 3) types of costs that can be financed by the grant (in particular, fees of project participants, transport costs, costs of project activities), etc. In order for the application submitted to the competition to successfully pass this stage of selection, it is necessary that it meets all three groups of eligibility criteria. The criteria that are taken into account by experts during the second stage of the expert review of applications are demonstrated on the example of the Horizon Europe Program, the USAID Agro Program in the direction of "Support for the processing of grain, oil and leguminous crops for food, fodder, industrial products and biofuel" and "eRobota" programs in the direction of "Own business". Summarized: in order to be supported, the application must pass all stages of competitive selection. There may be several such stages, depending on the specifics of the program or competition. Most often, these are the following stages: technical selection, evaluation of applications by experts and negotiations with applicants, or presentation of projects and adoption of a final decision.