  The ASSESS project aims to determine the role of episodic mass-loss in the
evolution of massive stars. As a first step, we construct a catalog of
spectroscopically identified dusty, evolved massive stars in ten southern
galaxies for which Spitzer point-source catalogs are available. We conducted
multi-object spectroscopy of dusty massive star candidates in these galaxies
(spanning Z = 0.06-1.6 Zo) using the VLT. We obtained 763 spectra in WLM, NGC
55, NGC 247, NGC 253, NGC 300, NGC 1313, NGC 3109, Sextans A, M83 and NGC 7793.
The targets were selected using their Spitzer photometry, by prioritizing
targets with a strong infrared excess. We determined a spectral classification
for each target. Additionally, we used archival images from the HST to provide
a visual classification for 80 targets, as a star, cluster, or galaxy. We
provide a catalog of 541 spectroscopically classified sources including 185
massive stars, of which 154 are newly classified massive stars. The catalog
contains 129 red supergiants, 27 blue supergiants, 10 yellow supergiants, four
luminous blue variable candidates, seven supergiant B[e] stars and eight
emission line objects. Evidence for circumstellar dust is found in 24% of these
massive stars, based on their infrared colors. We report a success rate of 28%
for identifying massive stars among our observed spectra, while the average
success rate of our priority system in selecting evolved massive stars was 36%.
Additionally, the catalog contains 21 background galaxies (including AGN and
quasars), 10 carbon stars and 99 HII regions. We measured the line ratios
[NII]/Ha and [SII]/Ha for 76 HII regions and 36 other spectra with nebular
emission-lines, thereby identifying eight sources with shocked emission. We
present the largest catalog of evolved massive stars and in particular of red
supergiants in nearby galaxies at low Z beyond the Local Group.
