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Why should my organisation apply?

Whether you represent a public entity, a private enterprise, an academic institution, a grassroots initiative, or an EU-funded project consortium, if you've spearheaded efforts to advance digital skills, we are looking forward to receiving your application. From small and medium-sized enterprises to multinational corporations, from community-led initiatives to government agencies, your contributions matter.  This is your chance to share your success story and inspire others on the journey towards a digitally inclusive future. Don't miss out on this opportunity to make a difference and be celebrated for your achievements. Apply now and let your impact be recognized!

Eligibility criteria 

These are the eligibility criteria:

  • The project or initiative must an ongoing project which has already reached at least half of its set milestones
  • The applicant can be an accomplished project that has ended no earlier than January 2023
  • Projects that have already been submitted and have been elected as winners in the EDSA23 edition cannot re-apply
  • The project or initiative must be implemented in at least one EU Member State. Projects that are also implemented in non-EU countries can apply, but have to demonstrate their impact in EU Member States.

Projects with various partner organisations can submit only one application, and the submission can be done either by the project leader/coordinator or a partner organization that has received prior consent from the coordinator. This means that if a project is implemented in various countries, it can only apply once. 

Applications for projects that do not fit these requirements will be rejected automatically. 

Categories 

The applications can be presented for only one of the following categories:

  • Digital Upskilling @ Work(digital upskilling initiatives in various professional sectors, facilitation of job placement of ICT professionals of all levels, upskilling and reskilling of SMEs) 
  • Digital Skills for Education(projects specifically aimed at digital upskilling for teacher and/or students and VET) 
  • Inclusion in the digital world(digital training and media literacy initiatives specifically aimed at groups of persons that experience a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and violence, including, but not limited to, ethnic minorities, migrants, people with disabilities, isolated elderly people and children, marginalised, hard to reach and high-risk groups, and initiatives to foster digital accessibility skills) 
  • Women in ICT Careers(projects specifically aimed at increasing the number of women ICT professionals or for the digital upskilling of women in the workforce or younger women in ICT)
  • Cybersecurity Skills(Cybersecurity skills development initiatives for citizens and SMEs) 

If your project or initiative touches various categories, you must choose only one of them for the application.

How to apply 

To apply, the contact person from the candidate organization must:

  1.  Register on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform by creating a user profile 
  2.  Create an Organization Profile (you can download the instructions here). Please verify first that your organization is not already registered, as indicated in the instructions. (If you are in doubt whether your organization is registered or not, please get in touch with the Platform team by emailing info@digitalskillsjobs.eu.). Note: do not wait for the approval of the Organisation - this will take some time for us to verify and approve - start already filling in the online application form.

Once the registration of the organization is completed, the applicant must fill in the application online using the same email address that was used to create the Organization on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, this will be the email for all further contacts regarding the Awards. Please note that the application needs to be filled in in English. Applications in other EU languages will not be accepted.

Each application will include:

  • A description of the project, a list of country(ies) and/or region(s) involved, partners and target audience, and the desired milestones;
  • A clearly stated connection between the project and the Digital Decade targets for digital skills (20M ICT Specialists and 80% of the EU population with basic digital skills, and gender equivalence);
  • Impact: a status update on the accomplishment of the project’s milestones to evaluate its impact;
  • Scalability and sustainability: how the project can be scaled up and sustained in the future;
  • Innovation and originality: why the project is innovative and what sets it apart from the others;
  • Relevant links to websites and dissemination channels

Selection procedure and timeline 

The application and selection procedures will be divided in 3 phases with the following timeline: 

Applications 

Applications for the awards will be open from 29 February to 5 April 2024 at 6pm CET (the deadline has been extended for 3 extra days).

Pre-selection and selection of the winners for each category 

After the closing of the applications, the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform Team will pre-evaluating the applications following the selection criteria specified below. For each category, up to 5 applications will be selected, based on the scoring obtained for each evaluation criteria. The finalist applications will be then presented to the jury, composed of 5 members belonging to European and International organisations active in the field of digital skills. The jury will meet to discuss the finalist applications and select the winners for each category. 

Announcing the finalists and winning projects 

The projects selected as finalists will be revealed at the end of May 2024 during an online event, and will be published in the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform and promoted via the @DigitalSkillsEU Social media channels (Facebook and Twitter).  

The winners of the awards will be announced during an online event in the month of July, and the winners will be invited to come to Brussels to receive the award.


Evaluation criteria 

The finalist applications will be evaluated by the jury, which will be attributing a scoring based on 5 criteria for a maximum of 25 points, of which 22 are the main evaluation criteria, for a total of maximum 22 points, and three additional points based on extra criteria, as described below:
 

IndicatorDescriptionScore - Max 22
Impact

How is the project/initiative impacting its target beneficiaries? What is the wider impact of the actions implemented as part of the project/initiative? Please define the milestones and goals set and the status (completed, ongoing). For ongoing project please specify the state of advancement regarding the set milestones. 

 

5

Sustainability/ Scalability 

How is the project supported (through funding or self-sustainable) and is the project meant to continue in time? What are the sources of financial support, and is the project structured in a way that will allow it to expand in the future?

 

5
Innovation and originality 

Is the project innovative in its area/region of implementation? What are the innovative characteristics? (this can refer to both technology or tools used or to processes or to the outreach strategy)

 

5
Communication and dissemination 

How is the project being disseminated to reach its target public and to make a wider impact? Please mention, if applicable, use of social media and communication strategies implemented.

 

4
Clarity of presentation 

The applications will be also evaluated based on the clarity of the application content.

 

3


The application form will include an additional number of questions meant to evaluate the overall project and give extra points (max 3 in total):

Accessibility: was the project conceived and planned or adapted to include people with disabilities? This includes making sure the digital platforms used and the content created is available to people with specific needs in terms of hearing, vision, learning or understanding content and limited mobility. Max 1 point.

Environmental Sustainability: Does the project respect the principles of environmental sustainability (sustainable material choice, energy saving, etc.)? How was the project or initiative planned in order to limit its impact on the environment (e.g. promoting the use of public transport to reach the location of the training or event or using a paperless approach)? Max 1 point.

Inclusion and diversity: was the project conceived, planned and communicated in an inclusive way, ensuring the participation of a diverse public? Max 1 point.

Maximum points: 25

Pre-selection and evaluation of applications - Transparency 

The pre-selection of the applications received will be carried out by the Digital Skills and Platform Team, a consortium of organisations led by European Schoolnet and consisting of Tremend, DIGITALEUROPE, LIKTA, European DIGITAL SME Alliance and Public Libraries 2030. In the case of applications involving one or more of the consortium partners, the said applications will be evaluated by another partner which is not involved in the candidate project. 

The jury members for the final evaluation will be selected based on both competence and experience criteria on the 5 award categories, and on the lack of involvement in any of the finalist projects, so as to avoid conflict of interest. 

Prizes 

The winners of each category will receive the following: 

  • Mention and presence in the online event to announce the winners; 
  • Publication of their initiative/project on the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform and promotion on the @DigitalSkillsEU Social Media accounts 
  • A trophy and certificate; 
  • An invitation to participate in the awards ceremony in Brussels, with travel and accommodation offered by the organisers.

The finalists for each category will have their project/initiative presented in the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform and promotion on the @DigitalSkillsEU Social Media accounts.

Additional rules for the applicants 

The submission of an application for the European Digital Skills Awards 2024 implies full acceptance of these Regulations. 


The provision of partial or untruthful information during the presentation of the application will result in exclusion from the Awards. 


Participants guarantee that the candidate initiative does not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of third parties. It also relieves the organisers of any claim or dispute for any reason made by third parties that may arise regarding the use and exploitation of the initiatives promoted in the context of the aforementioned Awards. 


The organisers reserve the right to exclude initiatives whose content violates the intellectual property rights of third parties, is contrary to the law, public order or morality. 


Under no circumstances may the applicants make claims against the organisers, in relation to participation in this award and any failure to select the initiative presented. 


The organisers reserve the unquestionable right to cancel or suspend the competition and the distribution of prizes at any time in the event that factors beyond their control do not allow operations, all candidates will be promptly notified of this. 


Participants will be able to communicate and disseminate their participation in the Awards and the result achieved using the press-kit provided by the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform team. 

Have a question?

For any questions regarding the application process, you can visit the FAQ page or contact the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform team at info@digitalskillsjobs.eu

The applications are now closed: the finalists will be announced in May, and the winners in July - want to stay always up to date on the EDSA24? Sign up for the Digital Skills and Jobs Newsletter!