NGI Zero Discovery Eligibility information
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Eligibility
Projects are judged on their technical merits, strategic relevance to the Next Generation Internet and overall value for money. The key objective is to deliver potential break-through contributions to the open internet. All scientific outcomes must be published as open access, and any software and hardware must be published under a recognised free or open source license in its entirety.
| Weight | Criterion |
|---|---|
| 30% | Technical excellence/feasibility |
| 40% | Relevance/Impact/Strategic potential |
| 30% | Cost effectiveness/Value for money |
Requirements
Project proposals are written in English and:
- should be in line with the NGI vision and the call applied for
- should have research and development as their primary objective
- should be complete and concise (no longer than two pages for the main application)
- should satisfy any other hard eligibility criteria specific to the call, such as having a European dimension
All projects that fail on any of these knock-out criteria, will not be further reviewed and will be marked ineligible.
List of different types of activities
The following types of activities qualify for financial support, provided they are cost effective and have a clear link to the topics directly relevant to NGI0 and the objectives set out in the call:
- scientific research
- design and development of free and open source software and open hardware
- validation or constructive inquiry into existing or novel technical solutions
- software engineering aimed at adapting to new usage areas or improving software quality
- formal security proofs, security audits, setup and design of software testing and continuous integration
- documentation for researchers, developers and end users
- standardisation activities, including membership fees of standards bodies
- understanding user requirements and improving usability/inclusive design
- necessary measures in support of (broad)er deployability, e.g. packaging
- participation in technical, developer and community events like hackathons, IETF, W3C, RIPE meetings, FOSDEM, etc. (admission fee, travel and subsistence costs)
- other activities that are relevant to adhering to robust software development and deployment practices
- project management
- out-of-pocket costs for infrastructure essential to achieving the above
Definition of persons or categories of persons which may receive financial support
There are no categorical exclusions of persons who may not receive support from NGI0.
Given equal proposals, inhabitants of the EU and its associated countries are given priority, however if the project is of exceptional quality and the proposer holds unique technical expertise proposals from outside of those geographic areas can be eligible as well.
Young people that have not yet reached the age of legal consent in their country of origin (typically 18 years old) on the date of the deadline may apply without any constraints; consent from a legal guardian such as a parent does not have to be provided prior to initial submission, but will be required to enter any further negotiations.
