In accordance with international standards for competitive selection of research projects, the foundation’s selection process is based on the principle of peer evaluation . So the foundation relies upon an international community of scientific experts from outside the Strasbourg campus to independently undertake written evaluations. The experts are mainly French and international figures in the scientific community, called upon by the foundation on the basis of proposals from the scientific board, based on criteria of expertise. Before being given access to the full applications, the evaluators sign a confidentiality agreement and declare themselves free of any conflict of interest . The projects are evaluated on the basis of their originality, feasibility, importance and excellence.