PRE-SUBMISSION REVIEW
A late-stage diagnostic for Horizon Europe proposals
Submitting a Horizon Europe proposal often feels like a race against time.
By the final days before the deadline, many researchers ask themselves:
Is my project truly as compelling and relevant as it needs to be?
What will evaluators actually see when they read this?
Which issues are cosmetic — and which ones are structural and could jeopardise my chances of success?
This is exactly what my Pre-Submission Review is designed to answer.
What this service is — and what it is not
The Pre-Submission Review is a late-stage, evaluator-focused diagnostic of your Horizon Europe proposal.
It is designed for researchers who:
have already drafted a complete proposal
are close to submission
want an honest, expert assessment of how their proposal is likely to be perceived
It is not a substitute for:
structured project design
early strategic guidance
coaching during the writing process
building project logic from scratch
If you are still unsure what to write or how to structure your proposal, this service may arrive too late to deliver its full value.
What you will gain
This review helps you see your proposal from the evaluator’s side, before it is too late to act on critical points.
Specifically, I will help you:
Identify structural risks
Where key decisions were postponed, assumptions remain implicit, or coherence breaks down across sections.
Distinguish between fixable and non-fixable issues
Not all problems are equal at this stage. I will clearly indicate what can realistically be improved before submission and what represents a strategic weakness to be aware of.
Strengthen clarity and internal consistency
By highlighting misalignments between objectives, methods, impacts, and resources — and showing how they will likely be read by evaluators.
Reduce blind spots — not uncertainty
This service does not offer reassurance.
It offers clarity, even when that clarity is uncomfortable.
What's included
A full evaluator-style reading of your proposal
Written comments directly in the document
A structured assessment covering:
relevance to the call
coherence of project logic
consistency across sections
clarity and readability for evaluators
A short written summary highlighting:
main strengths to protect
critical risks
realistic priorities for last-minute action
A one-hour call to walk through the feedback and discuss how to interpret and use it
When this service works best
The Pre-Submission Review is most effective when:
the proposal logic is already largely defined
the review is used to fine-tune, not to redesign
you want to submit with a clear understanding of remaining risks — not false peace of mind
Not sure if this is the right step?
If you are unsure whether a Pre-Submission Review is appropriate for where you are right now, I strongly recommend starting with a free introductory call.
In that conversation, we can assess:
whether your proposal is structurally ready for a late-stage review
or whether earlier, more strategic support would better serve your work
Who am I?
Hi! I am Serena,
for more than 20 years I have worked exclusively on European research funding — and in particular on Horizon Europe and its predecessor programmes.
I have supported hundreds of researchers in the health domain, across different career stages and institutional contexts.
This means I am deeply familiar with:
the structure and logic evaluators expect
the recurring weaknesses in health proposals
the decision points that most often undermine otherwise strong ideas
