Ranked list and reserve list

After evaluation the proposals that cleared every threshold are placed in a single ranked list by total score. The panel then works down the list, committing the topic's budget to each proposal in turn, until the money runs out. Where scores tie, a published set of tie-breaking rules applies. The decisive criterion depends on the action type, and further tie-breaks can consider factors such as the participation of SMEs or gender balance.

The line is drawn by arithmetic, not by judgement about the marginal proposal. Whether you are funded depends on the topic's budget, on how large the proposals above you were, and on how many were submitted, none of which you can influence and none of which reflects on your work.

Immediately below the line sits the RESERVE LIST. If a selected proposal withdraws, fails validation, cannot agree a grant, or comes in under budget, money can flow to the reserve. This does happen, and a reserve place is not a polite rejection, but it is unpredictable and can be resolved months later, which is difficult to plan a team around.

The budget itself can move. The Commission may top up an oversubscribed topic from elsewhere in the work programme, which pushes the line downwards after the ranking is fixed. This is the mechanism behind the occasional surprise letter well after the results were announced.

The practical lesson is to know your score and your rank rather than only the outcome. A proposal at 13.8 that missed the line is a resubmission candidate with a strong starting position; a proposal at 10.2 that missed it needs rebuilding, and the two deserve very different amounts of your next year.