ERC Grants in 2013:
Evaluation of Proposals
Dr. Frank Kuhn
Social Sciences & Humanities
Scientific Management Department
B.2 Starting Grant Unit
30 August, 2012
Research Funding Symposium (cancelled)
APSA, New Orleans
Outline
• Part 1 – Funding Schemes 2013
• focus on:
• Starting Grant
• Consolidator Grant
• Part 2 – Data from previous calls
European Research Council
ERC profile
• ERC grants aim to support 'Frontier Research', in other words the
pursuit of questions at or beyond the frontiers of knowledge, without
regard for established disciplinary boundaries.
• Proposals of a multi- or interdisciplinary nature which cross the
boundaries between different fields of research, pioneering
proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or
proposals introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and
scientific inventions are encouraged, as long as the expected impact
on science, scholarship or engineering is significant.
• The research proposed should has a high-gain/high-risk profile, i.e.
if successful the payoffs will be very significant, but there is a higherthan-normal risk that the research project does not entirely fulfil its
aims.
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European Research Council
ERC Funding Schemes
Freedom of the individual grantee
ERC offers independence, recognition & visibility
• to work on a research topic of own choice, with a team of own choice
• to gain true financial autonomy for 5 years
• to negotiate with the host institution the best conditions of work
• to attract top team members (EU and non-EU) and collaborators
• to move with the grant to any place in Europe if necessary (portability
of grants)
• to attract additional funding and gain recognition; ERC is a quality
label
│4
ERC grant schemes - Strategic principles
•
All fields of science and scholarship are eligible
• Investigator-driven, bottom-up
•
Excellence is the only valid criterion
• Individual team + research project
• Irrespective of nationality, gender or age of researchers
•
Investment in research talent
• Attractive, flexible grants, up to five years
• Under control of the Principal Investigator
•
Independent individual teams in Europe
• All nationalities can apply
• Host organisation to be located in EU or Associated Country
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European Research Council
ERC Grant schemes
Four types of grants:
 ERC Starting Grant (StG):
Starting own independent research team or programme – € 1.5 M (up to € 2.0 M)/5 y
 ERC Consolidator Grant (CoG):
Consolidating own independent research team or programme – € 2.0 (up to € 2.75 M)/5 y
 ERC Advanced Grant (AdG):
Attract & reward established independent research leaders – € 2.5 (up to €3.5 M) /5 y
 ERC Synergy Grants:
Small groups of Principal Investigators – up to € 15 M/6 y
+ Proof of Concept funding
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European Research Council
ERC Grants
Applicants from outside Europe
“Can I apply as a Non-European?”
• Yes, you can. Candidates from outside Europe only need to find a EUbased host institution (HI) willing to host them for the duration of the project.
• ERC Grants by now a household name in European academia
• Likely to find a HI
• cp. ERC website for succesful HIs ("funded projects")
Additional incentives for Non-Europeans
• can apply for substantial additional funding
• in general: European universities offer additional incentives to ERC
Grantees (e.g. professorships, additional team positions)
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European Research Council
ERC Funding schemes
Planned budget 2012 & 2013
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StG and CoG 2013:
Two separate calls
European Research Council
The two streams of previous Starting Grant will be
separated into two separate calls:
Starting Grant: 2 – 7 years after PhD
Consolidator Grant: 7 – 12 years after PhD
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ERC Starting Grants Objective
"ERC Starting Grants boost the independent
careers of excellent researchers by
providing adequate support at the critical
stage where they are starting their own
independent research team or
programme."
ERC Consolidator Grants Objective
"ERC Consolidator Grants boost the
independent careers of excellent
researchers by providing adequate support
at the critical stage where they are
consolidating their own independent
research team or programme."
European Research Council
ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants
The applicant’s profile
“Am I competitive enough?”
• Potential for research independence
• Evidence of scientific maturity
• At least one (StG) /several (CoG) publications without
participation of PhD supervisor
Promising track-record of early achievements
• Significant publications
• Invited presentations in conferences
• Funding, patents, awards, prizes
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European Research Council
Submission of proposals
Single submission
► one deadline per Call (new 2012 -13)
► to a targeted panel
► electronically only
► proposals have two parts:
Part A: administrative forms
Part B: scientific proposal itself
Complete information: Guides for Applicants
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European Research Council
Submission of proposals
Proposal structure
PART A – online forms
A1
A2
A3
Proposal and PI info
Host Institution info
Budget
Annexes – submitted as .pdf
•
•
Statement of support of HI
If applicable: explanatory
information on ethical issues;
copy of PhD (StG & CoG); document
for extension of eligibility
window (StG & CoG)
PART B1 – submitted as .pdf
CV
Track Record
Extended Synopsis
2 p.
2 p.
5 p.
PART B2 – submitted as .pdf
Scientific Proposal
15 p.
(incl. budget table)
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European Research Council
Timetable of 2013 ERC calls
Call Publication
Submission
Deadline
10 July 2012
17 Oct. 2012
10 July 2012
22 Nov. 2012
ERC-2013-SyG
10 October 2012
10 Jan. 2013
Consolidator
Grant
7 November 2012
21 Feb. 2013
ERC calls
Starting Grants
ERC-2013-StG
Advanced Grants
ERC-2013-AdG
Synergy Grants
ERC-2013-CoG
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European Research Council
Review Process: two steps
Submission of
full proposals
Individual assessment of full
proposal by panel members &
referees
Eligibility check
Step 1 (remote) evaluation on
the basis of section 1 of
proposal* by panel members
AdG :
StG: 2nd
2nd Panel
meeting
Panel meeting
incl. interviews
of applicants
1st Panel meeting
Proposals
passing to step 2
Proposals
selected for funding
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ERC StG and CoG Schemes
Evaluation of Excellence: Criterion 1: Research Project
• Ground-breaking nature and potential impact
of the research:



To what extent does the proposed research address important
challenges?
To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of
the art (e.g. novel concepts and approaches or development across
disciplines)?
How much is the proposed research high risk/high gain?
ERC StG and CoG Schemes
Evaluation of Excellence: Criterion 1: Research Project
• Scientific Approach:




To what extent is the outlined scientific approach feasible (based on
Extended Synopsis)?
To what extent is the proposed research methodology appropriate to
achieve the goals of the project (based on Scientific Proposal)?
To what extent does the proposal involve the development of novel
methodology (based on Scientific Proposal)?
To what extent are the proposed timescales and resources necessary
and properly justified (based on Scientific Proposal)?
ERC StG and CoG Schemes
Evaluation of Excellence: Criterion 2: Principal Investigator(s)
• Intellectual capacity, creativity and
commitment:




•
The PI has demonstrated the ability to propose and conduct groundbreaking research and his/her achievements have typically gone
beyond the state-of-the-art.
The PI provides abundant evidence of creative independent thinking.
The ERC Grant would contribute significantly to the establishment
and/or further consolidation of the PI's independence.
The PI is strongly committed to the project and demonstrates the
willingness to devote a significant amount of time to the project (min
50% of the total working time on it and min 50% in an EU Member
State or Associated Country) (based on Scientific Proposal).
fully agree, agree partially, disagree partially, strongly disagree
European Research Council
Feedback to Applicants
New scoring system (2012 – 2013)
• A, B, C system replaces numerical Scoring
• Scoring system during remote evaluation and panel meeting
is the same as in the previous year
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Feedback to Applicants
European Research Council
New scoring system (2012 – 2013)
End of Step 1:
A. Proposal is of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the
evaluation;
B. Proposal is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2
of the evaluation;
C. Proposal is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the
evaluation. The applicant may also be subject to
resubmission limitations in the next call
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Feedback to Applicants
European Research Council
New scoring system (2012 – 2013)
End of Step 2:
A. Proposal fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is
recommended for funding if sufficient funds are available;
B. Proposal meets some but not all elements of the ERC's
excellence criterion and will not be funded.
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European Research Council
Feedback to Applicants
Ranking range – Step 1
• “A” proposal do not receive an Evaluation Report
• “B” proposal will receive 10% ranking slices starting from
the cut-off point between A and B
 e.g. Ranking range 36% - 45%
 Last tranche will be rounded up (larger)
• “C” proposal will receive simply the top and the bottom
percentage positions
 E.g. From 68% to 100%
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European Research Council
Feedback to Applicants
Ranking range – Step 2
• “A” proposals within panel budget at meeting (funding for
sure) will simply receive the top and bottom percentage of
group

E.g. Top 45%
• “A” proposal outside panel budget (i.e. not sure if budget
available) will receive their individual ranking position with
a 2% ranking range

E.g. 52 - 54%
• “B” proposal will simply get top and bottom of group

e.g. between 58% and 100%
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Possibility to exclude reviewers (new
since AdG 2012)
European Research Council
• Applicants can nominate up to three persons to be excluded from
the evaluation of their proposal, specifying the reason for exclusion:
•
•
•
Direct scientific rivalry
Professional Hostility
Similar situation which would impair or put in doubt the objectivity of the
potential evaluator
• Exclusion may concern any independent expert, including the panel
chair, panel members as well as remote referees
• The concerned persons will be excluded from the evaluation of the
proposal assuming that the ERCEA is still in a position to evaluate
the proposal properly
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Scientific domains
 For operational reasons : 25 panels in 3 main domains
PE: Physical Sciences, Engineering (10 panels)
LS: Life Sciences (9 panels)
SH: Social Sciences and Humanities (6 panels)
 Allocation of call budget per domain as follows:
PE domain: 44%
LS domain: 39%
SH domain : 17%
Within domains, budgets are allocated to the panels in proportion to the
number of submissions
FP7 budget € 50.5 billion
ERC budget € 7.5 billion; Increase by € 250 M/year
JRC nonnuclear (3 %)
Co-operation
(65 %)
Capacities
(8 %)
People
(9 %)
Ideas
(15 %)
ERC Panel Structure: 3 Domains, 25 Panels
Each panel :
Panel Chair and 10-15 Panel Members
Life Sciences (LS)

9
LS1 Molecular & Structural Biology &
Biochemistry
LS2 Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics &
Systems Biology
LS3 Cellular and Developmental Biology
LS4 Physiology, Pathophysiology &
Endocrinology
LS5 Neurosciences & neural disorders
LS6 Immunity & infection
LS7 Diagnostic tools, therapies & public health
LS8 Evolutionary, population & environmental
biology
LS9 Applied life sciences & biotechnology
Social Sciences and Humanities (SH)  6
SH1 Individuals, institutions & markets
SH2 Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour
SH3 Environment & society
SH4 The Human Mind and its complexity
SH5 Cultures & cultural production
SH6 The study of the human past
Physical Sciences & Engineering (PE)  10
PE1 Mathematical foundations
PE2 Fundamental constituents of matter
PE3 Condensed matter physics
PE4 Physical & Analytical Chemical sciences
PE5 Materials & Synthesis
PE6 Computer science & informatics
PE7 Systems & communication engineering
PE8 Products & process engineering
PE9 Universe sciences
PE10 Earth system science
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Eligibility
For the Starting Grant the Principal Investigator shall have been awarded his/her first
PhD at least 2 and up to 7 years prior to the publication date of the call for proposals
of the ERC Starting Grant.
For the Consolidator Grant the Principal Investigator shall have been awarded
his/her first PhD over 7 and up to 12 years prior to the publication date of the call for
proposals of the ERC Consolidator Grant.
The effective elapsed time since the award of the first PhD can be reduced in the
following properly documented circumstances.
Extension may be requested - must be supported by official documents:
- maternity /paternity leave
- long-term illness, clinical training or national service
Eligibility & Re-Submissions
Ineligibility






submission after the deadline
incomplete proposals including annexes
no commitment letter from HI
HI outside EU MS or AC
PhD award date (>12 or <2)
Missing supporting official document
Re-application
 only one active ERC grant at any time
 only one application per PI under the same WP
 if 2012 ► 2013: only if > evaluated at least as A or B in
step 1
Host Institution
Applicant legal entity: institution that engages and hosts the PI
for the duration of the project
Any type of legal entity: universities, research centres, business
research units … as long as it is in MS or AC
Commitment of HI: to ensure that the PI may
- apply for funding independently
- manage research and funding for the project
- publish independently as senior author
- have access to reasonable space and facilities
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European Research Council
ERC Structure
The European Commission
•
•
•
•
Provides 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
The Scientific Council
•
22 prominent researchers proposed by an independent
identification committee
•
•
Appointed by the Commission (4 years, renewable once)
Establishes overall scientific strategy; annual work programmes
(incl. calls for proposals, evaluation criteria); peer review methodology;
selection and accreditation of experts
•
•
Controls quality of operations and management
Ensures communication with the scientific community
The ERC Agency
•
•
•
•
•
•
Executes annual work programme as established by the Scientific Council
Implements calls for proposals and provides information and support to applicants
Organises peer review evaluation
Establishes and manages grant agreements
Administers scientific and financial aspects and follow-up of grant agreements
Carries out communications activities and ensures information dissemination
to ERC stakeholders
European Research Council
The ERC Scientific Council Members
(re-newed 1 February 2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Prof. Claudio BORDIGNON (IT – Medicine)
Prof. Nicholas CANNY, (IE – History)
Prof. Sierd A.P.L. CLOETINGH (NL – Earth Sciences)
Prof. Mathias DEWATRIPONT (BE – Economics)
Prof. Tomasz DIETL (PL – Physics)
Prof. Daniel DOLEV (IL – Computer Sciences)
Prof. Carlos M. DUARTE (ES – Biology)
Prof. Daniel ESTEVE (FR – Physics)
Prof. Pavel EXNER (CZ – Applied Mathematics & Mathematical Physics)
Prof. Hans-Joachim FREUND (DE- Physics & Physical Chemistry)
Prof. Carl-Henrik HELDIN (SE – Molecular Cell Biology), ERC Vice President
Prof. Timothy HUNT (UK - Biology)
Prof. Norbert KROO (HU – Physics)
Prof. Maria Teresa LAGO (PT – Astrophysics)
Prof. Henrietta L. MOORE (UK – Social Anthropology)
Prof. Helga NOWOTNY (AT – Social Studies of Science), ERC President
Prof. Christiane NÜSSLEIN-VOLHARD (DE – Genetics)
Prof. Alain PEYRAUBE (FR – Linguistics)
Dr. Jens ROSTRUP-NIELSEN (DK – Chemistry)
Prof. Mart SAARMA (EE – Biology)
Prof. Anna TRAMONTANO (IT- Biochemistry)
Prof. Isabelle VERNOS (ES – Molecular Biology)
Prof. Helga Nowotny
Vienna Science and
Technology Fund (WWTF)
European Research Council
ERC Website
│ 34
Essential documents
European Research Council
• Call published on Participants Portal:
https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/ideas?callIdentifi
er=ERC-2013-StG
• Work Programme 2013 - Ideas
 Guide for Applicants (ERC Starting Grant 2013)
 Step by step submission via EPSS
• ERC website:
 ERC Guide for Grant Holders
 ERC Guide for Peer Reviewers
European Research Council
Results of completed calls
│ 36
European Research Council
Panel Members and Chairs
│ 37
Outline
• Part 1 – Funding Schemes
• Starting Independent Researcher Grant
• Part 2 – Data from previous calls
European Research Council
Data from previous calls
ERC Starting grant calls 2007 - 2012
Submitted proposals by domain
Starting Grant
5000
Physical Sciences and Engineering
9,167
4500
Life Sciences
4406
Social Sciences and Humanities
4000
3500
-73%
3399
+16%
3000
4,741
2500
+42%
4,080
2000
+15%
2058
2,873
7
1500
2,5037
1362
1000
1690
1653
1440
1205
1112
1030
927
950
1030
638
500
464
0
Starting Grant 2007
Starting Grant 2009
Starting Grant 2010
Starting Grant 2011
Starting Grant 2012
│ 39
ER C 2 0 11
European Research Council
Data from previous calls
ERC Advanced grant calls 2008 - 2011
Submitted proposals by domain
Advanced Grant
1500
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Life Sciences
Social Sciences and Humanities
1300
+14%
1100
2,284
+27%
2,167
-27%
2,009
997
900
917
902
1,583
700
789
766
736
621
578
500
512
486
404
335
300
100
Advanced Grant 2008
-100
Advanced Grant 2009
Advanced Grant 2010
Advanced Grant 2011
ER C 2 0 11
│ 40
European Research Council
Data from previous calls
ERC Competitions 2007 - 2011
Success rates
Total number of
applications
received
of which
Evaluated*
Funded
success rates**
Starting Grant 2007
9.167
8.794
299
3,4
Starting Grant 2009
2.503
2.392
245
10,2
Starting Grant 2010
2.873
2.767
436
15,8
Starting Grant 2011
4.080
4.005
478
11,9
18.623
17.958
1.458
10,3
Advanced Grant 2008
2.167
2.034
282
13,9
Advanced Grant 2009
1.583
1.526
245
16,1
Advanced Grant 2010
2.009
1.967
271
13,8
Advanced Grant 2011***
2.284
2.245
293
13,1
8.043
7.772
1.091
14,6
Starting Grant
Advanced Grant
* withdrawn and ineligible proposals not taken into account;
** percentage of funded proposals in relation to evaluated proposals
*** main-list proposals in column "funded"
│ 41
European Research Council
Data from previous calls
ERC Competitions 2007 - 2011
Success rates by country of Host Institution
Success
rates rates
by country
of Host
Success
per country
ofInstitution
HI
25
20
15
16
15 14
14 13
12
9
9
8
8
8
7
6
6
6
5
5
4
3
3
3
4
2
1
Iceland
Norway
Israel
Switzerland
Slovenia
Poland
Bulgaria
Greece
Czech Republic
Italy
Portugal
Cyprus
Ireland
Finland
Estonia
Hungary
Spain
Sweden
Denmark
Belgium
Germany
UK
The Netherlands
0
Austria
1
Turkey
10
10
France
awarded/evaluated proposals (%)
22
│ 42
European Research Council
Origin of Grantees
ERC Starting & Advanced grant calls 2007 – 2011
Number of Grantees
550
500
Grantees moving to the country
("ERA" & "non-ERA" nationals)
450
Grantees staying in the country:
"Non-ERA" nationals
400
Grantees staying in the country:
other "ERA" nationals
350
Grantees staying in the country:
nationals of that country
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
UK
DE
FR
NL
CH
IT
ES
IL
SE
BE
AT
DK
FI
HU
NO
EL
Country of host institution
IE
PT
PL
CZ
CY
BG
EE
TR
IS
StG&AdG 2007-2011
*) Host institution refers to the organisation with which the first grant agreement was signed
│ 43
European Research Council
International exchange of researchers
ERC Starting & Advanced grant calls 2007 - 2011
240
Nationals abroad
Non-nationals in the country
190
number ERC grantees
140
90
40
-10
-60
-110
-160
UK CH DE FR NL AT ES SE IT DK BE NO FI
IE
IL PT HU CZ CY BG SI EL RO PL TR HR EE LU LT MT RS SK
European Research Council
ERC Starting grant 2007-2011
ERC Advanced grant 2008-2010
Over 2000 ERC grantees
500
486
AdG
300
200
100
303 301
174
161
150
StG
132 125
92
74
56
42 37
24 22 20 20 16
0
9
8
4
3
2
1
1
1
UK
DE
FR
NL
CH
IT
ES
IL
SE
BE
AT
FI
DK
HU
NO
EL
IE
PT
PL
CZ
CY
BG
EE
IS
SI
TR
Funded Proposals
400
Country of HI
│ 45
European Research Council
Age of StG and AdG grantees
60
Number of grantees
50
40
30
20
10
0
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
45
47
49
51
53
55
57
59
61
63
65
67
69
71
73
Age of the grantees
│ 46
European Research Council
Thank you!
ERC: http://erc.europa.eu/
Euraxess: http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess
E-Mail: frank.kuhn@ec.europa.eu
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