A certificate given to proposals that scored above threshold but could not be funded for lack of budget.
A Seal of Excellence is a certificate awarded to a proposal that scored above all thresholds but could not be funded because the topic's budget ran out. It is a statement that the proposal was assessed as fundable by the Commission's own process.
It comes with no money from the EU. Its value is that OTHER funders accept it as evidence. National and regional authorities, structural fund programmes and some national innovation agencies operate schemes that fund seal holders directly, sometimes with a lighter application because the evaluation has already been done.
Whether such a scheme exists where you are is entirely a matter of national policy. Some countries fund seal holders as a matter of routine; others have no mechanism at all. Your National Contact Point knows which case applies and is the fastest way to find out.
The seal is most established for the EIC Accelerator and for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, where the volume of high-scoring unfunded proposals is largest and national top-up schemes have grown around them.
Even where no money follows, it is worth using. It is credible third-party evidence of quality for an investor, a board, a partner or the next proposal's Implementation section, a rejection you can put in a pitch deck.
| Ranked list and reserve list | Proposals above threshold are ranked by score; the budget is spent down the list, and those just below the cut sit in reserve. | |
| Evaluation criteria | Proposals are scored on excellence, impact and implementation, each out of 5, with thresholds to clear. | |
| Managing authority | The national or regional body that runs calls funded from the structural funds in its territory. | |
| National Contact Point (NCP) | A publicly funded adviser in your country whose job is to help you apply, at no charge. |
Eight questions, no account, nothing sent anywhere. You will know which of the 1526 open calls you can actually enter before you finish your coffee.
Check my fit
