European Research Council
Education, Research and the Global
Knowledge Society:
Can Greece Compete?
Prof. Fotis C. Kafatos
President, ERC
3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE
London, June 2007
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European Research Council
The ERC: Competion for Excellence
at a Pan-European Level
• A major European initiative to support frontiers research
• A logical development of the European Research Area
• Securely anchored in EU legislation
but at the same time…..
A revolutionary development
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European Research Council
Does Europe Need Frontiers Research?
• Yes, an essential part of our civilization
Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Freud
Einstein, Watson & Crick, Jacob & Monod… and?
• What will be our future competitive advantage?
 Ageing and shrinking population?
 High Labour and Social Security costs?
 Expensive production and services?
 Limited natural resources?
 Capital accumulation and management?
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European Research Council
Europe Can Only Compete
Through Knowledge
• Leadership in Science, the Endless frontier
• Central Role in the Knowledge Triangle:
Education / Research / Innovation
• Investment in excellent research
is an imperative, not an option
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European Research Council
To Become More Competitive,
Europe Must
• Generate, Attract and Retain Top Talent
• Integrate and Internationalize our Efforts
• Encourage and Trust the Young
• Create Attractive Career Path
• Competitive Champions League, set standards
by merit only (as in football)
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European Research Council
Birth and Structure of the ERC
• Proposals of the Commission to establish ERC through Framework
Programme 7
• Political Context: P. Busquin & ERA; J. M. Gago & Lisbon
A. Mitsos & Added Value Argument:
Competition for Excellence at European Level
• Adoption FP7 (18/12/06) & Specific Programme “Ideas” (19/12/06); EC
decision establishing ERC (02/02/07); 7.51b€ for 2007-2013
• ERC consists of an independent Scientific Council supported by a
Dedicated Implementation Structure / Executive Agency
• EC acts as guarantor of ScC autonomy and integrity
and ensures proper functioning of the ERC
• Commissioner Potočnik nominated ScC (18/07/06) by arms-length
independent procedure (Patten Identification Committee)
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European Research Council
ERC Scientific Council:
Aim, Responsibilities and Actions
• Collaborates with EC towards an autonomous, integrated
world-class Research Funding Agency
• Defined ERC Strategy & Annual Work Programme
• Decided Calls for Proposals
• Established Evaluation Rules & Procedures
• Selected Evaluation Panels
• Intensive 1 yr work before establishment
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European Research Council
The ERC Strategy, 1
• Address essentials, obvious gaps in Europe
- Opportunities and independence for young scientists
- Individual frontier research programs
- Significant funding to make a difference
• Trust the dynamic of science
- Interdisciplinarity is encouraged
- Excellence attracts excellence
- The effects of critical mass
- From individual to institutional excellence
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European Research Council
The ERC Strategy, 2
• Keep it simple
- All fields of science and scholarship are eligible
- Excellence is the sole criterion
- Research results are the only deliverable
- Referees & Evaluation Panels selected by excellence
- Flat 20% contribution to overheads
• Keep it flexible
- Evaluation panels judge investment levels
- Researchers can rebudget
- Grants are portable
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European Research Council
See http://erc.europa.eu
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European Research Council
ERC Starting Independent Researcher
Grant (ERC Starting Grant)
-Ca. 300 M€; 200 grants, average 1.5M€ for 5 years
- i.e. 200 new investigators per call, ca. 1400 in 7 years
Sole selection criterion: Excellence of person & proposal
- Eligibility:
- ≤ 9 years since Doctorate + 3 years for service
- Recently established or offered a position
- To work within EU or Associated States
- No nationality criterion
3 Rs: Recruit, Repatriate, Retain TOP TALENT
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European Research Council
ERC Advanced Investigator Grant
(ERC Advanced Grant)
-Annual budget minus ERC Starting Grants
- From ca. 600 M€ to over 1 billion € / year
- ca. 200/500 grants awarded each year
- Sole selection criterion: Excellence of proposal & track record
- Eligibility: (a) investigators at all career stages
(b) located or moving to Europe
(c) no age limit or nationality criterion
Recruit, Repatriate, Retain
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European Research Council
Calls for applications
- Starting Grants
First call: December 2006
Submission deadline: 25 April 2007
- Advanced Grants
First call: early 2008
- Starting and Advanced Grants
One call per year, from 2008
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European Research Council
Starting Grants:
Foster Early Independence of Young Investigators
Principal Investigators (PI’s):
Outstanding young scientists
European and non-European
Working or moving to Europe
Host institutions:
- Universities
- Research Organizations (including companies, if they
allow independent research)
Based in a European Member State or Associated Country
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European Research Council
ERC Starting Grants:
Guarantees of Scientific Independence
Principal Investigators must be able to:
• choose their co-workers
• decide on the evolving directions of their work
• re-allocate resources as necessary
• publish their scientific results without
restrictions and independently (with, as coauthors, only those who contribute to the work
significantly)
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European Research Council
ERC Grants:
Salary Issues
Host institutions have to maximize available
administrative and legal options
to provide for a competitive salary for nationals
and non-nationals
• Host institution engages the PI, pays salary
• Part (or all) of PI’s salary can be charged the ERC Grant
(joint funding?)
• Additional personnel costs related to research
can be covered by the ERC Grant
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European Research Council
ERC Grants:
Portability
ERC Grants are portable:
• “Money follows the researcher”
• The PI is entitled to transfer the grant to another
institution after a minimum 2 years at the
sponsoring institution
• Proper justification and ERC approval required
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European Research Council
ERC Starting Grants:
Scientific Domains
• Social Sciences and Humanities (SH)
• Mathematics, physical sciences, information and
communication, engineering, universe and earth sciences
(PE)
• Life Sciences (LS)
Budget allocation
SH 15%
PE 45%
LS 40%
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European Research Council
Starting Grants First Call:
Proposals received by domain
Domain
Number of proposals
%
Life Sciences
3,396
37.0
Physical Sciences &
Engineering
4,408
48.1
Social Sciences &
Humanities
1,363
14.9
Total
9,167
100
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Starting Grants First Call:
European Research Council
% Geographic Distribution: European
and Overseas Clusters
Cluster
PI residence
Host Institution
location
EEC6:
BE, DE, FR, IT, LU, NL
44.8
46.2
Next 9 of EU15:
AT, DK, EL, ES, FI, IE, PT, SE, UK
35.5
37.2
Next 12 of EU 27:
BG, CY, CZ, EE, HU, LT, LV, MT, PL,
RO, SI, SK
8.6
8.8
7 EU-associated or candidate:
CH, HR, IL, IS, NO, RS, TR
7.9
7.8
6 Overseas highly developed:
AU, CA, JP, NZ, TW, USA
2.8
0
AL, AR, BR, BF, CN, EG, IN, IR, KH,
ME, MX, SN, TN, RU, SG, UA, UZ,
ZA, ZW
0.4
0
100
100
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European Research Council
Starting Grants First Call:
“Gain-loss” figures
Country
To Institution From Residence
Italy
+ 44
* Greece
+ 36
France
+ 34
Spain
+ 32
Germany
+ 26
Sweden
+ 23
Austria
+ 17
U.K.
+ 15
Netherlands
+ 14
Finland
+ 11
Switzerland
- 17
Romania
-8
Belgium
21
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European Research Council
Can Greece Compete?
• Rich human resources
• A few good universities of high level research institutions
But
• Structural limitations
• Universities:
• “One type fits all”
• Inflexible legal and political framework
• Under-funded
• Dispersed faculties
• Locked into an unreformed system
• Research:
• Under-funded (<0.6% of national income and declining)
• Lack of a national programme for bottom-up research
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