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PQC Integration — EU Submission Checklist
Proposal: €2.8M HORIZON-CL3-2025-CS-ECCC-06 Submission Deadline: 2025-12-15, 17:00 CET Coordinator: VaultMesh Technologies B.V. Version: 1.0 (2025-11-06)
Pre-Submission Checklist (Complete by Dec 11, 5pm CET)
Part A — Administrative Information (EU Portal)
Section 1.1 — General Information:
- Proposal acronym: PQC-Integration (or similar, max 20 chars)
- Proposal title: Post-Quantum Cryptography Integration for EU Critical Infrastructure (max 200 chars)
- Call identifier: HORIZON-CL3-2025-CS-ECCC-06 (verify on EU portal)
- Topic: Quantum-Safe Security for Critical Infrastructure
- Duration: 24 months
- Estimated eligible costs: €2,800,000
- Requested EU contribution: €2,000,000 (70% for RIA — Research and Innovation Action)
Section 1.2 — Coordinator Information:
- Legal name: VaultMesh Technologies B.V.
- Country: Ireland
- PIC Code: [9-digit code from EU Participant Register]
- Coordinator contact: Karol Stefanski, guardian@vaultmesh.org
- Phone: [International format]
Section 1.3 — Partner Information (4 partners):
- Partner 1: VaultMesh Technologies B.V. (IE) — PIC: [9 digits]
- Partner 2: Masaryk University (Brno, CZ) — PIC: [9 digits]
- Partner 3: Cyber Trust SME (GR) — PIC: [9 digits]
- Partner 4: Public Digital Services Agency (FR) — PIC: [9 digits]
Part B — Technical Proposal (Main Document)
Section 1 — Excellence (30 points):
-
1.1 Objectives (3 pages max):
- Overall objective clearly stated (quantum-safe transition for EU critical infra)
- 5-7 specific objectives listed with measurable outcomes
- Alignment with call topic explicitly shown
- TRL 4→6 progression explained
- Beyond state-of-the-art justified (what's novel?)
-
1.2 Relation to Work Programme (2 pages max):
- Call topic ECCC-06 addressed point-by-point
- Expected outcomes from call text mapped to deliverables
- Contribution to EU policy (NIS2, DORA, Cybersecurity Act) explained
- Cross-cutting priorities addressed (gender equality, open science, climate if relevant)
-
1.3 Methodology (10 pages max):
- Technical architecture diagram included (PQC_Architecture_EU_Reviewer.mmd → PNG)
- Work package descriptions (WP1-WP5) with objectives, tasks, deliverables
- TRL validation methodology described (lab → pilot → operational)
- Innovation beyond state-of-the-art justified with references
- Risk management approach outlined (link to Annex B)
-
1.4 Open Science Practices (1 page max):
- Open access publications (Gold/Green, which journals?)
- Open-source software (Apache 2.0, GitHub repos listed)
- FAIR data principles (data management plan in Annex)
- Open standards contributions (ETSI, IETF, ISO)
Section 2 — Impact (30 points):
-
2.1 Pathways to Impact (4 pages max):
- KPI table included (18 KPIs from PQC_KPI_Dashboard.md)
- Societal impact: audit cost reduction (30%), incident response (50% faster)
- Economic impact: €100K+ cost savings per organization, open-source adoption
- Scientific impact: 10+ publications, 5+ standards contributions
- Policy impact: NIS2/DORA compliance, EU digital sovereignty
- Communication & dissemination plan (workshops, conferences, media)
-
2.2 Measures to Maximize Impact (3 pages max):
- Exploitation strategy: open-source (Apache 2.0), commercial support (optional)
- Dissemination channels: GitHub, conferences (listed), pilot reports
- Target audiences: EU member states, critical infrastructure operators, researchers
- Sustainability plan: post-project community governance, continued development
-
2.3 IPR Management (1 page max):
- Background IP: VaultMesh existing codebase (Apache 2.0)
- Foreground IP: All project outputs under Apache 2.0 (open-source)
- Access rights: Consortium agreement defines partner rights
- Standards-essential patents: Commitment to FRAND licensing if applicable
Section 3 — Implementation (40 points):
-
3.1 Work Plan & Resources (15 pages max):
- Work package table (WP1-WP5 with lead, start/end months, person-months)
- Gantt chart included (PQC_Work_Package_Gantt.mmd → PNG)
- Deliverable list (13 deliverables with months, dissemination level)
- Milestone table (5 major milestones with verification means)
- Effort table (104 person-months distributed across partners)
-
3.2 Management Structure (3 pages max):
- Organizational chart (coordinator, steering committee, WP leads)
- Decision-making process (steering committee votes, escalation)
- Reporting: monthly internal, quarterly to EU, M12/M24 reviews
- Quality assurance: deliverable peer review, external TRL audit
- Risk management: monthly risk register review (link to Annex B)
-
3.3 Consortium as a Whole (3 pages max):
- Partner complementarity table (what each brings, why needed)
- Track record: H2020/Horizon Europe projects, publications, industry experience
- Gender balance: target 40% female participation (if achievable)
- Geographic distribution: 4 countries (IE, CZ, GR, FR) → good EU spread
-
3.4 Other Aspects (2 pages max):
- Ethics: no human subjects, but GDPR compliance for pilot data
- Security: security-by-design approach, external audits planned
- Gender & diversity: gender equality plan reference (if required)
- Environment: no significant environmental impact expected
Section 4 — References (no page limit):
- 30-50 key references cited in methodology section
- NIST PQC standardization documents (FIPS 203, 204, 205)
- NIS2, DORA, Cybersecurity Act legal texts
- State-of-the-art PQC research papers (last 5 years)
Part B Annexes (Separate PDF Files)
- Annex A: PROOF_CHAIN.md (Cryptographic Proof-of-Governance) — 5 pages
- Annex B: PQC_Risk_Register.md — 8 pages
- Annex C: Data Management Plan (DMP) — 3 pages
- Annex D: Partner CVs (2-page EU format, 2-3 key personnel per partner) — 10-12 pages
- Annex E: Letters of Commitment (from pilot sites if not full partners) — 2-3 pages
- Annex F: Gender Equality Plan (if required by call) — 2 pages
Administrative Documents (Per Partner)
Partner 1 — VaultMesh Technologies B.V. (IE):
- Legal Entity Form (signed by authorized representative)
- Financial Capacity Statement (last 2-3 years audited accounts)
- 2-page CVs for 3 key personnel (EU format)
- PIC Code registration confirmed on EU portal
Partner 2 — Masaryk University (Brno, CZ):
- Legal Entity Form
- Financial Capacity Statement
- 2-page CVs for 3 key personnel
- PIC Code confirmed
Partner 3 — Cyber Trust SME (GR):
- Legal Entity Form
- Financial Capacity Statement
- 2-page CVs for 3 key personnel
- PIC Code confirmed
Partner 4 — Public Digital Services Agency (FR):
- Legal Entity Form
- Financial Capacity Statement
- 2-page CVs for 2 key personnel
- PIC Code confirmed
Consortium Agreement
- Draft consortium agreement circulated (by Nov 25)
- Legal review by all 4 partners (by Dec 5)
- Signed by all partners (by Dec 8)
- Uploaded to EU portal (consortium section)
Key clauses to verify:
- IP rights: foreground IP under Apache 2.0
- Budget allocation: 70.4% VaultMesh, 10% Brno, 12.5% Cyber Trust, 7.1% France
- Dispute resolution: steering committee vote, arbitration if needed
- Partner exit: replacement procedure, budget reallocation
EU Portal Mandatory Fields
Proposal Summary (for Public Database):
- 2,000 character summary (plain English, no jargon)
- Keywords: post-quantum cryptography, critical infrastructure, NIS2, DORA, quantum-safe
Ethical Issues:
- No human subjects → "Does not involve human subjects" checkbox
- GDPR compliance → "Data protection measures in place" checkbox
- No animal experiments → "Does not involve animals" checkbox
Gender & Cross-Cutting Issues:
- Gender equality plan referenced (or "Not applicable")
- Climate change relevance: "No significant impact"
- Open science: "Yes, all outputs open-source under Apache 2.0"
Budget Summary Table:
- Total eligible costs: €2,800,000
- Requested EU contribution: €2,000,000 (70%)
- Breakdown per partner (4 rows, all fields filled)
File Format & Size Requirements
Part B Main Document:
- File format: PDF/A (archival format)
- File size: <10 MB
- Font: Arial 11pt minimum, single-spaced
- Margins: 2cm all sides
- Page numbers: bottom center
- Total pages: ≤50 pages (excluding annexes)
Part B Annexes:
- Each annex: separate PDF file
- File size: each <5 MB
- File naming: Annex_A_ProofChain.pdf, Annex_B_RiskRegister.pdf, etc.
Administrative Documents:
- Scanned signatures: high-resolution (300 DPI)
- File format: PDF
- Total size all docs: <20 MB
Final Checks (Dec 11-14)
Dec 11 (5pm CET) — Proposal Freeze:
- All partners approve final version (email confirmations)
- No further edits after this point (version control locked)
- PROOF_CHAIN.md updated with new Merkle root (if any files changed)
Dec 12 — Portal Upload (Day 1):
- Create proposal on EU Funding & Tenders Portal
- Fill Part A (administrative info) — 30 min
- Upload Part B main document — 10 min
- Upload Part B annexes (6 files) — 15 min
- Upload administrative documents (per partner) — 30 min
- Verify all mandatory fields filled — 30 min
Dec 13 — Validation & Corrections (Day 2):
- EU portal validation runs (checks file sizes, mandatory fields)
- Fix any validation errors (red flags)
- Re-upload corrected files if needed
- Ask partners to review their sections in portal
Dec 14 — Final Review (Day 3):
- Coordinator reviews entire proposal in portal
- Check budget table sums to 100%
- Check all partner PICs are correct
- Check all file uploads are readable
- Run spell check on Part B (UK English)
Dec 15 (before 5pm CET) — SUBMIT:
- Click "Submit Proposal" button
- Confirm submission (irreversible after this)
- Download submission receipt (PDF)
- Email receipt to all partners within 1 hour
- Celebrate 🎉
Post-Submission (Dec 16+)
Immediate:
- Consortium debrief call (within 3 days)
- Document lessons learned (for Digital Twins submission in Jan)
- Archive proposal version (GitHub tag: pqc-submission-2025-12-15)
- Update PROOF_CHAIN.md with submission timestamp
Within 1 Month:
- Prepare for potential clarification requests from EU (rare but possible)
- Start preparing Digital Twins proposal (deadline: Jan 20)
- Apply PQC lessons to Digital Twins process
Within 6 Months (EU Decision):
- EU funding decision typically announced 4-6 months post-submission
- Expected: May-July 2026
- If successful: Grant agreement preparation (2-3 months)
- Project kickoff: Likely Sep-Oct 2026
Sanity Checks (Run Before Submission)
Budget Sanity Check
# Verify from consortium-tracker.csv:
VaultMesh: €1,970,000 (70.4%)
Univ Brno: €280,000 (10.0%)
Cyber Trust: €350,000 (12.5%)
France Public: €200,000 (7.1%)
TOTAL: €2,800,000 (100.0%)
# Check: Total = €2.8M ✓
# Check: Sum of percentages = 100% ✓
# Check: No partner >30% (coordinator exception) ✓
Person-Month Sanity Check
# Total: 104 person-months over 24 months
# Average: 4.3 FTE across 4 partners
# Check: Realistic? Yes (VaultMesh: 2 FTE, others: ~1 FTE each)
VaultMesh: 44 PM (1.8 FTE avg over 24 months)
Univ Brno: 24 PM (1.0 FTE)
Cyber Trust: 30 PM (1.25 FTE)
France Public: 18 PM (0.75 FTE)
Deliverable Sanity Check
# 13 deliverables over 24 months = 1 every ~2 months
# Check: Reasonable cadence? Yes
# Early deliverables (M3-M8): 3 (requirements, architecture, initial implementations)
# Mid deliverables (M10-M18): 7 (core development, testbed, pilots prep)
# Late deliverables (M20-M24): 3 (pilot reports, standards, final assessment)
Emergency Contacts
EU Portal Technical Support:
- Email: EC-FNT-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu
- Phone: +32 2 29 93333 (Belgium)
- Hours: Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00 CET
Coordinator:
- Karol Stefanski: guardian@vaultmesh.org
- [Signal/phone for urgent issues]
Partner Escalation (if unreachable):
- Univ Brno: [backup contact]
- Cyber Trust: [backup contact]
- France Public: [backup contact]
Success Criteria
Submission is successful if:
- ✅ Submitted before Dec 15, 17:00 CET (hard deadline)
- ✅ No EU portal validation errors (all mandatory fields filled)
- ✅ All 4 partners confirmed their sections
- ✅ Budget adds to exactly 100%
- ✅ Consortium agreement signed by all partners
- ✅ Part B ≤50 pages (excluding annexes)
- ✅ PROOF_CHAIN.md included as Annex A (unique differentiator)
Post-submission success:
- 🎯 EU evaluation score ≥12/15 points (threshold for funding)
- 🎯 Estimated probability: 60-70% (with cryptographic governance differentiator)
- 🎯 If funded: €2M EU contribution over 24 months, project starts Sep 2026
Document Control:
- Version: 1.0-SUBMISSION-CHECKLIST
- Date: 2025-11-06
- Owner: VaultMesh Technologies B.V. (Coordinator)
- Classification: Consortium Internal (Critical Reference Document)
- Related: PQC_Work_Package_Gantt.mmd, PQC_Risk_Register.md, PQC_KPI_Dashboard.md