Open Call Round 1 - Call for External Evaluators
Date: 1 August 2026
Deadline: 30 September 2026
AENAON OPEN CALL 1
CALL FOR EXTERNAL EVALUATORS
1. About AENAON
AENAON is a Digital Europe Programme project funded by the European Union through the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECCC). The project aims to reinforce the cyber resilience of offshore wind installations and their interconnected grid-energy infrastructures through a Federated Digital Twin-based Cyber Range Platform, an interactive cyber range training programme and cybersecurity preparedness support services.
Through Open Call 1, AENAON will provide Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) for the validation, integration, testing and enhancement of cybersecurity technologies and services in realistic offshore wind and related critical-infrastructure environments.
2. Purpose of the Call
AENAON invites independent external experts to express their interest in supporting the evaluation of proposals submitted under AENAON Open Call 1. Selected evaluators will assess assigned proposals independently against the published Excellence, Impact and Implementation criteria and may participate in consensus discussions where required.
Evaluators will act solely in an independent expert capacity. They will not participate in contracting, payment or implementation-monitoring decisions.
3. Expertise Sought
Candidates should demonstrate relevant professional, academic or evaluation experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Critical-infrastructure cybersecurity and cyber resilience
- Operational Technology (OT), Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and SCADA security
- Offshore wind energy operations and related energy infrastructure
- Cyber ranges, digital twins, simulation environments and red-team/blue-team exercises
- Cyber risk, threat and vulnerability assessment
- Penetration testing, security validation and responsible vulnerability disclosure
- Cybersecurity training, preparedness and incident-response exercises
- Technology validation, integration, demonstration and innovation uptake
- Evaluation of EU-funded research, innovation, deployment or cascade-funding proposals
4. Mandatory Requirements
- Relevant expertise and experience in at least one of the target fields listed above
- Ability to assess proposals objectively, independently and within the required timetable
- Excellent written English and the ability to provide clear, evidence-based evaluation comments
- Full independence from the AENAON consortium members and from applicants assigned for evaluation
- Absence of any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest
- Commitment to strict confidentiality and responsible handling of applicant information
- Compliance with applicable data-protection requirements
- Availability during the expected evaluation period
5. Main Tasks of Selected Evaluators
- Review the Open Call documentation, evaluation criteria, scoring scale and evaluator instructions
- Assess each assigned proposal independently and impartially
- Provide criterion-specific scores, strengths, weaknesses and clear justification
- Complete the required individual evaluation reports within the agreed deadlines
- Participate in consensus discussions and contribute to an agreed consensus report, where requested
- Declare any conflict of interest immediately and refrain from evaluating affected proposals
- Maintain confidentiality before, during and after the evaluation process
6. Indicative Timeline and Conditions
Item | Information |
Expression-of-interest deadline | 30/09/2026 |
Evaluation period | November-December 2026 |
Working language | English |
Location | Remote / online |
Estimated workload | To be confirmed based on the number and complexity of assigned proposals |
Remuneration | Details will be communicated to shortlisted experts before appointment |
7. Remuneration and Evaluators Agreement
Selected experts will receive remuneration for the evaluation services performed, subject to the successful completion and acceptance of the assigned evaluations and any required consensus activities, in accordance with the terms and conditions established by the AENAON consortium.
Prior to the commencement of the evaluation process, each selected evaluator will be required to sign an Evaluator Agreement with the AENAON consortium. The Evaluator Agreement will establish, among other things:
- the scope of the evaluation assignment
- the expected workload and number of assigned proposals
- the remuneration and payment conditions
- the required supporting documentation for payment
- confidentiality obligations
- independence and conflict-of-interest requirements
- intellectual property and data protection provisions
- the evaluation timeline and expected deliverables
The applicable remuneration, payment arrangements and administrative procedures will be communicated to the selected experts before appointment and formally confirmed in the Evaluator Agreement.
Payment will be made following the successful completion and acceptance of the assigned evaluation work, including any required consensus activities, and upon submission of the required invoice or equivalent payment documentation, in accordance with the applicable AENAON administrative and financial procedures.
Any taxes, social security contributions or other statutory obligations arising from the remuneration shall remain the sole responsibility of the evaluator, in accordance with the applicable national legislation.
The evaluation assignment will commence only after the Evaluator Agreement has been duly signed by both parties.
8. How to Express Interest
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to provide additional information or participate in a brief clarification interview, where necessary. Following the selection process, the appointed experts will receive an Evaluator Agreement for signature before being formally appointed and assigned proposals for evaluation.
Interested experts are invited to submit their expression of interest by email to info@aenaon-project.eu, using the subject line ‘AENAON External Evaluator – Expression of Interest’.
The email should include:
- An up-to-date curriculum vitae in English, preferably in Europass or equivalent format
- A short motivation statement of no more than one page, describing the candidate’s relevant expertise and interest
- An indication of the main expertise areas for which the candidate wishes to be considered
- A brief description of previous proposal-evaluation or comparable assessment experience, if not clearly included in the CV
- Confirmation of availability during the indicative evaluation period
Shortlisted or selected experts will be required to sign a Declaration of Independence, Confidentiality and Absence of Conflict of Interest before receiving access to any proposal or applicant information.
9. Selection of Evaluators
Expressions of interest will be assessed on the basis of demonstrated expertise, relevant professional and evaluation experience, the complementarity and balance of the evaluator pool, availability, independence and absence of conflicts of interest. AENAON may contact candidates to request clarifications or additional evidence.
Submission of an expression of interest does not create any entitlement to appointment. Experts may be included in an evaluator pool and contacted according to the expertise required for the proposals received.
10. Independence, Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
Evaluators must act independently, impartially and in their personal capacity. They must not have any direct or indirect interest that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their independent judgement. Any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest must be disclosed immediately.
All proposal content, applicant information, evaluation records and related communications are confidential. Evaluators may not disclose, reproduce, share or use such information for any purpose other than the assigned AENAON evaluation.
11. Data Protection
Personal data submitted in response to this call will be processed solely for evaluator recruitment, selection, appointment, administration and audit purposes in accordance with applicable data-protection rules. Data may be accessed by authorised AENAON consortium personnel and competent bodies where required by applicable contractual, legal or audit obligations.
12. Contact
For questions concerning this Call for External Evaluators, please contact: info@aenaon-project.eu