The ERC Project Conception and Implementation of a European Research Council

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The ERC ProjectConception and Implementationof
a European Research Council

• Prof. E.-L. Winnacker
• ERC Secretary General

2
Overview

• Evolution of the ERC
• Our Strategic Intentions
• Funding Activities and Operations
• Organisation and Management

3
Evolution of supportto research in Europe

• National activities
• Research councils (DFG-1920, CNR-1923, CNRS-1939,
  SNF-1952), academies, etc.
• Intergovernmental activities
• CERN (1953), ESO (1962), ESA (1962/1975), EMBO
  (1963), ILL (1967), COST (1971), ESF (1974), EMBL
  (1978), Eureka (1985), ITER (1988), ESRF (1988),
  INTAS (1993)
• EU activities (supranational)
• Treaties of Rome ECSC Euratom - EC (1957), JRC
  (1959), JET (1973), FP1 (1984) FP7 (2006)
• European Research Area (2000)
• FP7 (2006-2013) Ideas/ERC, Marie Curie
  fellowships, research infrastructures, thematic
  priority areas

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The birth of theEuropean Research Council

• The ERC is
• A logical development of the European Research
  Area
• Securely anchored in European legislation
• but at the same time..
• A revolutionary development

5
ERC The FP7 Ideas Specific Programme

• A new institution
• Which is also part of the family of FP7
• Co-operation
• Ideas
• People
• Capacities
• Complementary to other FP7 support to research
  (bottom-up vs targeted research)

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FP7 Ideas Programme

• Creates ERC
• Provides funding
• Budget (2007-2013) 7.5 bn Euro(around 15 of
  FP7 budget)
• Average annual budget 1 bn Euro
• Sets overall objectives for research and
  operating principles

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Challenges forresearch in Europe

• Limited career opportunities in Europe,
  especially for young researchers, compared to
  more promising career opportunities elsewhere?
  brain drain to other professions or countries
• Dropping private RD investments? industrial RD
  is moving abroad
• Fragmentation of research and funding
  activities? lack of competition and visibility
• Complex Administration? not helping to
  attract/maintain the best researchers

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ERC Strategic Objectives (I)

• Reward the best researchers
• Researchers gain high European and international
  visibility
• Keep (young) researchers in Europe
• Favour brain gain and reverse brain drain
• Competition improves quality of research allows
  benchmarking
• High quality frontier research will stimulate
  early-stage industrial investment boost
  European share in IP and start-ups

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ERC Strategic Objectives (II)

• Improve career opportunities and independence -
  especially for young researchers ERC Starting
  Grant? attract retain the next generation
• Increase competition, recognition and
  international visibility for excellent individual
  scientists and scholars in Europe ERC Advanced
  Grant? attractive prestigious grants for
  established leaders
• Facilitate structural changes and adaptations of
  research systems in Europe? European benchmark
  for excellent research? Reconfiguration of
  research activities (within universities, in new
  collaborations)

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ERC guiding principles (I)

• All fields of science and scholarship are
  eligible? investigator-driven, bottom-up
• Excellence is the only valid criterion?
  individual team research project
• Independent individual teams in Europe?
  Nationality of researchers not relevant, host
  organisation to be located in EU or AS

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ERC guiding principles (II)

• Stimulate revolutionary and pioneering frontier
  research projects? Encouraging risk-taking and
  creativity? Go beyond main stream and beyond
  established frontiers of knowledge (ERC is not
  aiming at ordinary or routine research projects)
• Knowledge acquisition per se is a major cultural
  benefit? Research results are the main
  deliverable

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ERC Launch Strategy

• 2 funding streams operating on bottom-up basis
• Application procedures simplified
• ERC will be flexible to adjust mechanisms and
  scientific strategies
• ERC will complement (but not duplicate) existing
  European research initiatives

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Two Funding Streams

• Two streams of activity are foreseen
• ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant scheme
  (ERC Starting Grant)
• Call for proposals already published
• ERC Advanced Investigator Researcher Grant scheme
  (ERC Advanced Grant)
• Call for proposals at a later stage in 2007

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ERC Starting Grant(ERC Starting Independent
Researcher Grant )

• Main aim is the 3Rs Retain, Repatriate, Recruit
• 300M (approximately ? of ERC annual budget)
• 100000 400000 Euro per year (increments of
  50000 Euro)
• 200 Starting Grants per year, each for up to 5
  years
• 1400 Starting Grants over 7 years of FP7

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ERC Advanced Grant (ERC Advanced Investigator
Researcher Grant)

• Designed to support excellent high-risk
  investigator-initiated research projects by
  established investigators
• Targeting researchers who have already
  established their independence as team leaders
• 100000-500000 Euro per year
• max 2-3 Mio. Euro per grant (ca. 200 grants per
  year)

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ERC Grants

• Up to 5 years
• Two-step application Procedure (due to large
  number of expected applications)
• Peer review Panels determine proposals to be
  funded and applicable budgets
• Simple grant preparation
• Flexibility and portability
• Short annual reports plus detailed final report

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ERC budget 2007-2013

• Total (FP7 Ideas budget) 7.5 bn Euro
• 1/3 Starting Grants, 2/3 Advanced Grants
• 1st Call
• StG only, Jan 2007, 300 Mio. Euro
• 2nd Call
• AdG only, 2nd half of 2007, 550 Mio. Euro
• 3rd call onwards
• StG AdG 1.0 bn Euro per year

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Host Institution

• ERC Grants are a competitive challenge for
  awardees and host institutions alike.
• ERC advises to
• Proactively search for grantees
• Provide for a  welcome-package 
• Appropriate academic surroundings
• Access to the best students and postdocs
• Scientific independence
• Proper financial package
• Adapt institutional structures to the study of
   complex  systems.

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Who can apply? European and International Teams

• ERC (Ideas specific programme) encourages
  participation of researchers from European and
  non-European countries
• Level of participation varies with regard to
  roles and funding
• Roles
• Principal Investigator
• Can be of any nationality
• But PIs host organisation needs to be
  established in EU Member States or Associated
  Countries, or be a international European
  Interest Organisations (such as CERN, EMBL, etc.)
  or the JRC
• Team Members
• Can be of any nationality and established in
  almost any country
• International Cooperation Partner Countries
  (ICPC)
• Industrialised Countries, e.g. Australia, Canada,
  Japan, USA

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Applications for Grants (I)

• Two-step application procedure (risk of
  oversubscription)
• 1st stage - Outline Proposal max 8 Pages (341)
• 2nd stage Full Proposal max 16 Pages (4102)
• Proposal Components
• CV self-evaluation of the PIs research
  achievements funding ID
• Brief Description of scientific and technical
  aspects of the project
• Description of the scientific environment and
  resources
• Electronic Submission only (via EPSS)
• Deadline April 25th 2007

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Applications for Grants (II)

• Eligibility (ERC Starting Grant)
• PI
• 2-9 years since completion of PhD Special
  circumstances will be taken into account, such as
  maternity/paternity leave, military/civil service
  (2 years max.)
• PI and contributing investigators (team members)
• Any nationality
• One ERC Grant per investigator only may be
  active at any one time
• Hosting institution
• Located in a EU member state or associated
  country
• Intra-European grant portability allowed

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Evaluation criteria

• Potential of applicant
• Quality of project
• Research environment
• Referees and panels evaluate and score criteria
  under Heading 1 and Heading 2 numerically which
  will result in the ranking of the projects
• Criteria under Heading 3 will be considered as
  "pass/fail" and commented but not scored

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Peer review evaluation

• Approx. 20 high level panels (10 members), based
  on
• Coherence across all broad research domains and
  fields
• A forward-looking approach
• Encouragement to interdisciplinarity
• Funding allocations independent of the panel
  structure
• Flexibility and inclusiveness
• Multidisciplinary projects appraised by all
  appropriate panels
• ScC members monitoring quality of the process

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Panel Structure

• Physical Sciences , Engineering Sciences,
  Universe and Earth Sciences (8 panels)
• Biological and Life Sciences (7 panels)
• Social and Human Sciences (5 panels)
• Each panel consists of one Panel Chair and
  approximately 10-12 panel members
• Panel Chair oversees evaluation process for the
  proposals assigned to his/her panel in
  collaboration with the ERC staff
• The Panel Chair gives high level stamp of
  credibility and visibility to the whole
  evaluation process

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ERC Structureand Organisation

• The Scientific CouncilIndependent scientific
  governance
• The AgencyPractical implementation and
  management of operations
• The European UnionProviding the financial means

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The Scientific Council Structure Organisation

• 22 Members of ScC elected the Chair and
  Vice-Chairs
• Chair Prof. Fotis Kafatos
• Vice-Chairs Prof. Helga Nowotny and Dr Daniel
  Estève

• Secretariat of the ScC
• Regular Plenary Meetings (every 1-2 months)

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The Scientific Council Members Role

• 22 high level scientists reflecting the full
  scope of European research, appointed by the
  Commission
• Role
• Establish overall scientific strategyannual work
  programmes (incl. calls for proposals, evaluation
  criteria) define peer review methodology ensure
  selection and accreditation of experts
• Control quality of operations and management
• Ensure communication with the scientific community

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The Agency

• Execute annual work programme (established by
  the Scientific Council)
• Implement calls for proposals and provide
  information and support to applicants
• Organise peer review evaluation
• Establish and manage grant agreements
• Administer scientific and financial aspects and
  follow-up of grant agreements

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The European Union (represented by the European
Commission)

• Provide financing through the EU framework
  programmes
• Guarantees autonomy of the ERC
• Assures the integrity and accountability of the
  ERC
• Adopts annual work programmes as established by
  the Scientific Council

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ERC Secretary-General

• Prof. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker(Jan 2007 June
  2009)
• Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell(July 2009 Dec 2011)
• Role
• Ensure integrated operation of ERC
• Member of ERC board

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• 5 person management board
• President (Chair of the Scientific Council)
• Vice-Presidents (Vice-Chairs of the Scientific
  Council)
• Director of the Agency
• ERC Secretary-General

ERC Board
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Initial structurefor ERC development
European CommissionDG Research
Scientific Council
Directorate SImplementationof the Ideas
programme

• S1 Strategic mattersand relations with the ScC
• S2 Management
• S3 Logistical support
• S4 Administration finance

ERC political negotiation
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The first home for the ERC

• Madou Plaza Tour Madou
• Brussels
• 2 dedicated floors (5th/6th)
• 140 work places
• 5 meeting rooms
• 1 auditorium (192 seats)

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Further Information
Website of the ERC Scientific Council at
http//erc.europa.eu