European Research Council (ERC)
Jornada informativa sobre
los proyectos financiados
por el ERC dentro del
programa
Horizonte 2020
Veronica Beneitez Pinero.
European Research Council
Octubre 2014
Contents
Established by the European Commission
• 1. H2020 and ERC
• 2. ERC basics
• 3. ERC submission of proposals
• 4. ERC achievements
• 5. Spain at ERC
│2
Established by the European Commission
1. H2020 and ERC
│3
H2020 and the ERC
Main Characteristics
Established by the European Commission
 HORIZON 2020: Current EU Research and Innovation
programme, with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7
years (2014 to 2020).
 The HORIZON 2020 main components (3 pillars):
 A. Excellent Science
World class science is foundation of technologies, jobs,
well-being
Europe needs to develop, attract, retain research talent
Researchers need access to the best infrastructures
 B. Industrial leadership
 C. Societal challenges
│4
H2020 and the ERC
Funding opportunities in Horizon 2020
A. Excellent Science
•European Research Council - Support of
the most talented and creative individual
researchers
 (ERC budget proposal : € 13 billion*)
Established by the European Commission
C. Tackling Societal
Challenges
•
Health, demographic change and
wellbeing;
•
•Training and career development through
Marie Curie Actions
Food security, sustainable
agriculture, marine and maritime
research, and the bio-economy;
•
Secure, clean and efficient energy;
•Research Infrastructures
•
Smart, green and integrated
transport;
•
Inclusive, innovative and secure
societies;
•
Climate action, resource efficiency
and raw materials.
•Collaborative research for Future and
Emerging Technologies
•B. Industrial leadership
•
•
•
Key Enable Technologies
(Nanotechnologies, Advanced
Materials,
Biotechnology, etc)
Access to risk finance
Innovation in SMEs
│5
H2020 and the ERC
Established by the European Commission
 REMINDER:
 A. Excellent Science:
European Research Council (budget under
H2020: € 13.1 billion)
Future and Emerging Technologies
Marie Sklodoswka Curie Actions
Research Infrastructures
│6
H2020 and the ERC
Researchers career development and complementary EU
funding schemes- Possible path for individuals
Established by the European Commission
ERC Advanced
ERC Consolidators
Senior
Professor
ERC Starters
Full Professor
Marie Curie
Erasmus
Junior Professor/
Junior Researcher
Associated Professor
Post-docs
Post
Graduates
Students
│7
H2020 and the ERC
Budget Horizon 2020
Established by the European Commission
H2020 budget € 77 billion
ERC budget € 13.1 billion
FP7 budget € 50.5 billion
ERC budget € 7.5 billion
JRC nonnuclear (3 %)
Co-operation
(65 %)
Capacities
(8 %)
People
(9 %)
Ideas
(15 %)
│8
H2020 and the ERC
2014 – 2020 budget
Established by the European Commission
│9
H2020 and the ERC
Changes and continuity in ERC
Established by the European Commission
 Essential features maintained:
 Same schemes, same principles, same selection procedures/criteria
 Independent Scientific Council with full authority over funding strategy
 Executive Agency with autonomous operation
 Increased budget (13.1 Bio € in current prices for 2014-2020):
 More opportunities than ever for top research talents
 Strengthening the Scientific Governance of the European
Research Council:
 Strengthening the links between the Scientific Council and ERC exec. agency
 Merging positions of President of ERC and Secretary General
 Full-time President based in Brussels
 3 Vice-Chairs elected from amongst the Scientific Council members
Established by the European Commission
2. ERC basics
│ 11
ERC basics
What is ERC?
Established by the European Commission
 An autonomous funding body set up by the EU in 2007 and led by
scientists.
 Funding excellent researchers of any nationality, to carry out frontier
research in EU countries or Associated Countries, via annual
competitions.
 In all fields of science and humanities, without thematic priorities.
Bottom-up approach.
 1 researcher (no pre-established networks), 1 Host Institution, 1
project, 1 selection criterion (EXCELENCE).
 Substantial grants (2.0 Mio Euro-3.5 Mio E) and a recognised label
of excellence.
 International, top level peer-review process.
│ 12
ERC basics
ERC structure
Established by the European Commission
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 ERC 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 Executive 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
ERC basics
ERC Scientific Council Members (22)
Established by the European Commission
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Prof. Klaus BOCK (Chemistry)
Prof. Jean-Pierre BOURGUIGNON (Mathematics), ERC President
Prof. Nicholas CANNY (History)
Prof. Sierd A.P.L. CLOETINGH (Earth Sciences)
Prof. Tomasz DIETL (Physics)
Prof. Daniel DOLEV (Computer Sciences)
Prof. Athene DONALD (Biological Physics)
Dr. Barbara ENSOLI (Medicine)
Prof. Pavel EXNER (Applied Mathematics & Mathematical Physics), ERC Vice-President
Prof. Reinhard GENZEL(Astrophysics)
Prof. Carl-Henrik HELDIN (Molecular Cell Biology), ERC Vice-President
Prof. Timothy HUNT (Biology)
Prof. Matthias KLEINER (Engineering)
Prof. Eva KONDOROSI (Biology)
Prof. Mart SAARMA (Biology)
Prof. Nuria SEBASTIAN GALLES (Psychology), ERC Vice-President
Prof. Nils Christian STENSETH (Ecology & Evolution)
Prof. Martin STOKHOF (Philosophy)
Prof. Anna TRAMONTANO (Biochemistry)
Prof. Isabelle VERNOS (Molecular and Cell Biology)
Prof. Reinhilde VEUGELERS (Economics)
Prof. Michel WIEVIORKA (Sociology)
│ 14
ERCEA Organigramme
Established by the European Commission
│ 15
ERC basics
ERC funding schemes
Established by the European Commission
Starting Grants
Consolidator Grants
starters
(2-7 years after PhD)
up to € 2.0 Mio
for 5 years
consolidators
(7-12 years after PhD)
up to € 2.75 Mio
for 5 years
Synergy Grants (!!)
2 – 4 Principal Investigators
up to € 15.0 Mio for 6 years
No Synergy Call is foreseen for
2014. Depending on the analysis of
the pilot phase of the ERC Synergy
Grant, there may be a Synergy
Grant call for 2015.
Advanced Grants
track-record of
significant research
achievements in the
last 10 years
up to € 3.5 Mio
for 5 years
Proof of Concept
bridging gap between research - earliest
stage of marketable innovation
up to €150,000 for ERC grant holders
│ 16
ERC basics
Substantial grants to the very best
Established by the European Commission
 The Researcher (PI : Principal Investigator)
 ERC funds individual scientists
 Any nationality, age or current place of work in the
world
 Make Europe more attractive for global scientific
talent- Favor "brain gain" and reverse "brain drain"
 Starting, consolidator or advanced grant (depending
on work experience and scientific achievements)
 Exceptional profile
 Research team (to be created)
 The PI can choose national or trans-national team
members if scientific added value proven
 The grant covers the salary of team members
│ 17
ERC basics
Substantial grants to fund frontier research
Established by the European Commission
 Frontier research project
 All fields of fundamental research: Physical Sciences &
Engineering, Life Sciences, Social Sciences & Humanities
 Bottom-up: no predetermined subjects, no priorities
 High risk/high gain. Curiosity-driven research
 5 years projects
 No consortia
 Host Institution (HI) in EU countries or AC
 The one where the researcher already works, or any other
institution established in the EU or associated countries
 Grants are portable (= the PI can change Host
Institution)
 Universities, research centres; public or private
│ 18
ERC basics
Evaluation of proposals: main features
Established by the European Commission




Goal of the evaluation: select the best frontier research proposals
Only evaluation criteria: EXCELLENCE ("Olympic games")
Method: peer review
Structure: 25 panels distributed in 3 scientific domains (10 Physical
Sciences, 9 Life sciences and 6 Social Sciences and Humanities)
 Each panel consists of 1 panel chair and 12-16 panel members
What makes
ERC evaluation
exceptional?
Peers
Review procedure
│ 19
ERC basics
Evaluation of proposals: panel structure
Established by the European Commission
Social Sciences and Humanities
Life Sciences
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
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


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




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
SH1 Markets, Individuals and Institutions
SH2 The Social World, Diversity, Institutions and
Values
SH3 Environment ,space and population
SH4 The Human Mind and its complexity
SH5 Cultures & cultural production
SH6 The study of the human past
Physical Sciences & Engineering

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





PE1 Mathematics
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
│ 20
ERC basics
Evaluation of proposals: peers
Established by the European Commission
 Panel members: typically 375 / call



High-level scientists
Recruited by ScC from all over the
world: ~14% from outside Europe
About 12-16 members plus a chair
person
 Referees: typically 2000 / call


Evaluate only a small number of
proposals
Similar to normal practice in peerreviewed journals
US
(7%)
Other
(7%)
EU and
Associated
Countries
(86%)
│ 21
ERC basics
Evaluation of proposals: review procedure
Established by the European Commission
STEP 1
STEP 2
Remote assessment by Panel members
of section 1 – PI and synopsis
Remote assessment by Panel members
and reviewers of full proposals
Panel meeting
Panel meeting + interview (StG and CoG)
Proposals retained
for step 2
Ranked list of
proposals
Feedback to
applicants
•
•
Right balance between generalist + specialized review
Appropriate treatment of interdisciplinary proposals
│ 22
ERC basics
Submission of Proposals: Panel meeting – Step 1
Scoring
Established by the European Commission
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. The applicant may also be subject to resubmission
limitations in the next call(s).
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(s).
│ 23
ERC basics
Submission of Proposals: Panel meeting - Step 2 scoring
Established by the European Commission
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. The applicant may
also be subject to resubmission limitations in the next call(s).
│ 24
ERC basics
Resubmission restrictions
Established by the European Commission
•
•
•
Increasing number applications causes low success
rates and high panel workload
Currently 2013 applicants who received "C" at step 1 cannot resubmit in 2014.
For 2014 applicants tighter resubmission rules have
been implemented:
•
•
Those who receive B (Step 1 or Step 2) have to
wait out one year (next submission: 2016 call!!)
Those who receive a C will have to wait out two
years (next submission: 2017 call!!)
│ 25
ERC basics
Feedback to applicant
Established by the European Commission
• Evaluation Report includes:




Score (A, B or C)
"Ranking Range" in percentile for panel
Individual Reports of all experts (3-8)
Panel Comment
• Note: Some countries run complementary funding
schemes for A or B proposals…!
│ 26
Established by the European Commission
3. Submission of Proposals
│ 27
Submission of Proposals
Reminder: ERC funding schemes
Established by the European Commission
Starting Grants
Consolidator Grants
starters
(2-7 years after PhD)
up to € 2.0 Mio
for 5 years
consolidators
(7-12 years after PhD)
up to € 2.75 Mio
for 5 years
Advanced Grants
track-record of
significant research
achievements in the
last 10 years
up to € 3.5 Mio
for 5 years
Proof of Concept
bridging gap between research - earliest
stage of marketable innovation
up to €150,000 for ERC grant holders
│ 28
Submission of Proposals:
Work program 2015, summary of main features
Established by the European Commission
 Publication date of first calls : October, 2014
 Three ERC frontier research grants will be available under Work
Programme 2014: Starting; Consolidator; and Advanced Grants
 The Scientific Council will analyse the pilot phase of the ERC Synergy Grant
(calls were made under Work Programmes 2012 and 2013) before deciding on
the scope and timing of future calls. No SyG call under Work Programme 2015
 Extension of restrictions on applications will apply to the 2015 calls based
on the outcome of the evaluation of the 2014 calls
 Overhead: 25%
 Indicative budget for 2016 to help the research community to plan
applications
│ 29
Submission of Proposals
Work program 2015 calendar
Established by the European Commission
ERC calls
Budget
Call Publication
Submission
Deadline(s)
Starting Grants
485 M€
7 October 2014
3 February 2015
713 M€
13 November
2014
12 March 2015
450 M€
10 February 2015
2 June 2015
7 November 2014
5 February 2015
28 May 2015
1 October 2015
ERC-2015-StG
Consolidator
Grants
ERC-2015-CoG
Advanced Grants
ERC-2015-AdG
Proof of Concept
ERC-2015-PoC
15 M€
│ 30
Submission of Proposals
ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants.
The applicant’s profile
Established by the European Commission
“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
│ 31
Submission of Proposals
ERC Advanced Grants. The applicant’s profile
Established by the European Commission
 Track-record of significant research
achievements in the last 10 years
 Exceptional leaders and mentors
 10 publications as senior author in major
scientific journals
 5 granted patents
 10 invited presentations at international
conferences
 3 international conferences where Principal
Investigator was an organiser
 International prizes/awards
│ 32
Submission of proposals
ERC Evaluation process
Established by the European Commission
Single submission, but a 2-step evaluation
► one deadline per Call
► to a targeted panel (careful selection of
keywords)
► electronically only – via Participant Portal
► proposals have two parts:
Part A: administrative forms
Part B: scientific proposal itself (part B1 and B2)
Complete information: Guides for Applicants downloadable
form the ERC's website and from the Participant Portal
│ 33
Submission of Proposals
What is evaluated? Excellence is the sole evaluation
criterion
Established by the European Commission
Evaluation of excellence at two levels:
•
Excellence of the Research Project
 Ground breaking nature Important challenge? Substantially beyond
the current state of art? High-gain/high-risk balance
 Potential impact Possibility of a major break-through?
 Scientific Approach Feasibility, novel concepts/methodology
• Excellence of the Principal Investigator
 Intellectual capacity:Track-record, capacity to go significantly
beyond the state of the art, evidence of creative independent thinking
 Creativity
 Commitment : Willing to devote a significant part of PI's working time
(minimum of 50% for Starting, minimum of 40% for Consolidator
Grant, minimum of 30% for Advanced Grant)
Referees and panels evaluate and score each criterion, which results
in a ranking of the proposals.
Submission of Proposals
Evaluation Questions - Project
Established by the European Commission
│ 35
Submission of Proposals
Evaluation Questions - PI
Established by the European Commission
│ 36
Submission of proposals
Proposal structure
Established by the European Commission
Administrative forms (Part A)
1 – General information
2 – Administrative data of
participating organisations
3 – Budget
4 – Ethics
5 – Call specific questions
Research proposal (Part B1)
a – Extended synopsis
5p
b – Curriculum vitae (with funding ID) 2p
c – Track-record
2p
Research proposal (Part B2)
not evaluated in Step 1
Annexes
Commitment of the host institution
for ERC Calls 2014, etc
Scientific proposal
15p
a – State-of-the-art and objectives
b – Methodology
c – Resources
│ 37
Submission of Proposals
Differences in Part B1 and Part B2
Established by the European Commission
• Reminder:
 In Step 1: Panel members (generalists and with
multidisciplinary approaches) see only Part B1 of your
proposal: Prepare it accordingly!
 In Step 2: Both Part B1 and B2 are also send to
specialists around the world (specialized external
referees)
│ 38
Reviewer Exclusion
Established by the European Commission
• Applicants can nominate up to three persons to be
excluded from the evaluation of their proposal, specifying :
o Name
o Institution, City, Country
o Webpage
• 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.
│ 39
Submission of Proposals:
Some interesting aspects: Possibility of
eligibility extensions
Established by the European Commission
Eligibility window can be EXTENDED in StG & CoG for up
to 4.5 years for following cases:
•Maternity
leave: 1.5 years per child before or after
deadline
•Paternity
leave: for whatever documented paternity
leave that has been taken before or after deadline
•National
service, long-term illness, clinical training:
whatever documented time after deadline
Submission of Proposals
Some interesting aspects: Possibility to
exclude panelists/ reviewers
Established by the European Commission
• Up to three persons
• No reason has to be given
• Any independent expert, including panel chair, panel
members
• 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
│ 41
Eligibility
Established by the European Commission
Most common ineligibility reasons
• Submission after the deadline.
• Incomplete proposals.
• No commitment letter from the HI.
• PhD award date outside the window.
• Multiple-submission (only one application per
PI under the same WP).
│ 42
Preparing an application
Hints and tips ( Generalities)
Established by the European Commission
• Register early, get familiar with the system and templates
and start filling in the forms
• A submitted proposal can be revised until the call
deadline by submitting a new version and overwriting the
previous one
• Follow the formatting rules and page limits.
• Download and proof-read the proposal before submitting.
│ 43
Preparing an application
Hints and tips ( Part B 1)
Established by the European Commission
 Pay particular attention to the ground-breaking nature of the
research project – no incremental research!. Think big! Stateof-the-art is not enough.
 Know your competitors – what is the state of play and why is
your idea and scientific approach outstanding?
 Remember that only the extended Synopsis is read at Step 1
that gives first impression – concise and clear presentation is
crucial (evaluators are not necessarily all experts in the fields!)
 Also in Part B1 outline of the methodological approach
(feasibility!)
 Show your scientific independence in you CV
 Avoid any suspicion of plagiarism!
Preparing an application
Hints and tips (Part B 2)
Established by the European Commission
 Do not waste the second part (Part B2) – provide
sufficient detail on methodology, work plan,
selection of case studies etc. (15 pages)
 Check coherency of figures, justify requested
resources
 Explain involvement of team members.
 Provide alternative strategies to mitigate risk.
Preparing an application
Hints and tips (Generalities)
Established by the European Commission
 Register early, get familiar with the system and templates
and start filling in the forms
 Submit often: only the latest version is kept and you can
overwrite it any time until the call deadline
 Make use of the help tools and call documents (FAQ,
GfA, WP) to prepare your proposal
 Talk to the NCPs and OPEs
Preparing an application
Guidelines and other Resources
Established by the European Commission
•
Read the Guide for Applicants and the Ideas Work
Programme.
•
Any doubts about your eligibility or any other questions,
contact one of the NCPs or the ERCEA.
http://cordis.europa.eu/national_service/home_en.html
• subscribe to the ERC newsletter http://erc.europa.eu/keepupdated-erc
│ 47
Preparing an application
Check the already Funded Projects
Established by the European Commission
Menu allows
searching by
Funding Scheme,
Call Year and
Country of Host
Institution.
│ 48
Submission of Proposals
Check the statistics
Established by the European Commission
Menu allows
searching by
Funding Scheme,
Domain/Panel
and Grantees by
Country of Host
Institution.
│ 49
Established by the European Commission
4. ERC achievements
│ 50
ERC achievements
Time line
Established by the European Commission
Adoption of FP7
and IDEAS
Programme
Appointment of
22 Scientific
Council
Members
1st AdG call
Launch of ERC
& 1st StG call
3rd StG and
AdG calls
2nd StG and
AdG calls
6th StG, AdG calls
3nd PoC call
th
5 StG, AdG calls 2st SyG call &
2nd PoC call &
1st CoG call
st
1 SyG call
4th StG, AdG calls
& 1st PoC call
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
H2020
│ 51
ERC achievements
Rising applications
Established by the European Commission
│ 52
ERC Calls
Established by the European Commission
│ 53
ERC achievements
After 7 years of existence…
Established by the European Commission
 Highly recognised by the research community
 4 300 top researchers funded (65% are at an early-career stage); 64
nationalities represented
 Highly competitive (average success rate 12%)
 Working in almost 600 different institutions in 29 countries
 50% of grantees in 50 institutions : “Excellence attracts excellence”
 Benchmarking effect: impact on national programmes and agencies;
national funding for best "runners-up"
 Efficient and fast grant management
│ 54
ERC achievements
Grants per country of host institution
ERC Starting, Consolidator, Advanced Grant calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
│ 55
Current Host Institutions
Country
Higher-Education Institution
No
StG/CoG
AdG
Total
LS
PE
SH
UK University of Oxford
1
63
58
121
36
52
33
UK University of Cambridge
2
69
49
118
40
57
21
UK University College London
3
56
30
86
35
18
33
CH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich)
4
35
46
81
25
53
3
CH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
5
44
36
80
23
55
2
IL Weizmann Institute
6
51
28
79
45
33
1
IL Hebrew University of Jerusalem
7
43
30
73
33
26
14
UK Imperial College
8
34
27
61
23
38
UK University of Edinburgh
9
24
21
45
10
21
14
BE University of Leuven
9
30
15
45
12
23
10
UK University of Bristol
10
18
21
39
8
25
6
DE University of Munich (LMU)
11
14
24
38
16
16
6
NL Radboud University Nijmegen
12
25
12
37
14
11
12
NL University of Amsterdam
12
20
17
37
3
10
24
NL Leiden University
13
20
15
35
1
16
18
NL Utrecht University
14
20
13
33
8
17
8
14
25
8
33
9
23
1
CH University of Zurich
14
18
15
33
21
5
7
UK King's College London
15
22
9
31
12
5
14
IL Tel Aviv University
15
17
14
31
11
17
3
CH University of Geneva
15
14
17
31
19
9
3
FI University of Helsinki
16
16
14
30
21
7
2
16
18
12
30
28
No
StG
AdG
Total
LS
PE
SH
FR National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
1
142
66
208
58
119
31
DE Max Planck Society
2
67
45
112
60
45
7
FR National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm)
3
39
18
57
54
1
2
FR French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission
4
34
9
43
7
35
1
ES Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
5
25
15
40
15
20
5
FR National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automatic Control (INRIA)
6
19
12
31
Top
European
Institutions
hosting
at least 30
ERC
Grantees
by funding
Schemes
Established by the European Commission
IL Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
SE Karolinska Institute
Country
Research Organisation
StG/CoG 2007-2013
AdG 2008-2013
First legal
signatories
of the grant
agreement
Data as of 16/12/2013
2
31
│ 56
ERC achievements
ERC grantees with ERA nationality*
Established by the European Commission
*) nationality as last declared by the principal investigator
│ 57
ERC achievements
ERC grantees with a non-ERA nationality*
ERC Starting and Consolidator Grant calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
TOTAL number of grantees with non-ERA nationality :
207 StG/CoG and 101 AdG
Data as of 16/12/2013
*) nationality as last declared by the principal investigator
│ 58
ERC achievements
Developing a new generation of excellent scientists
Established by the European Commission
2/3 of staff are people in the training phase of their career
Analysis of 995 ERC projects
│ 59
ERC achievements
Attracting excellent researchers
Established by the European Commission
Composition of ERC teams (PIs not included)
Analysis of 995 Starting and Advanced Grants
53% of non-ERA team members ''attracted'' to Europe
with the ERC grant (10% of all team members)
EU: 67%
Assoc. Countries: 12%
non-ERA: 18%
unknown: 3%
Most non-ERA from
China, US, India,
and Russia
│ 60
ERC achievements
Publication from ERC funded projects
Established by the European Commission
Already over 20.000 papers acknowledging ERC support
published in international, peer reviewed* Thomson
journals.
Reuters, WoS, End of 2012
│ 61
ERC achievements
Highly distinguished grantees
Established by the European Commission
Serge
Haroche
Konstantin
Novoselov
Nobel 2012
Nobel 2010
Ada
Yonath
Christoforos
Pissarides
Andre
Geim
Theodor
Hansch
James
Heckman
Jean-Marie
Lehn
Stanislav Smirnov
AdG 2008
2013 Wolf Prize awarded to
Simon Donaldson
AdG 2009
2013 Holberg Prize awarded to Bruno Latour - AdG 2010
Elon Lindenstrauss
AdG 2010
2013 Crafoord Prize awarded to Lars Klareskog - AdG 2009
Other Prizes awarded to ERC grantees
EMBO GOLD MEDAL 2011 – Simon BOULTON - AdG 2010
Peter Zoller - SyG 2012
2012 Prizes awarded
to ERC grantees
FEBS|EMBO WOMEN IN SCIENCE 2011 - Carol ROBINSON - AdG 2010
EMBO GOLD MEDAL 2012 Jiri FRIML - StG 2011
EMBO GOLD MEDAL 2010 – Jason W CHIN - StG 2007
BALZAN PRIZE 2012 David BAULCOMBE - AdG
2008
THE SHAW PRIZE IN MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES 2011 - Christodoulou Demetrios - AdG 2009
EUROPEAN LATSIS PRIZE 2012 Uffe HAAGERUP
- AdG 2009
L'ORÉAL-UNESCO AWARD FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE 2011 - Anne L'Huillier - AdG 2008
KELVIN PRIZE 2012 Colin McINNES - AdG 2008
WOLF PRIZE 2010 – Anton ZEILINGER, David BAULCOMBE - AdG 2008, Alain ASPECT - AdG 2010LEIBNIZ PRIZE 2012 Michael BRECHT - AdG 2008
CRAFOORD PRIZE 2011 and EUROPEAN LATSIS PRIZE 2010 – Ilkka Hanski - AdG 2008
MILLENIUM AWARD 2010 – Michael GRATZEL - AdG 2009
& Joerg WRACHTRUP - AdG 2010
│ 62
ERC achievements
A success story for European research
Established by the European Commission
More than 5 years of excellent IDEAS
Events around the world - ERC goes global campaign
Wide media coverage (both specialised & general press)
User-friendly website and social media accounts
NCPs
AV products
Quarterly e-newsletter
Specific brochures & more
│ 63
ERC achievements
ERC around the world
Established by the European Commission
AAAS, USA
"Summer Davos" in China
Global Research Council
meetings
│ 64
Established by the European Commission
5. Spain at ERC
│ 65
Spain at ERC
Evaluated proposals from hosts in Spain
Established by the European Commission
Ineligible and withdrawn proposals not taken into account
│ 66
Spain at ERC
Granted proposals at host institutions in Spain
Established by the European Commission
*
* current host institutions; data as of 11/02/2014
│ 67
Spain at ERC
Success rates per country of Host Institution
Established by the European Commission
│ 68
Spain at ERC
Success rates per domain
Established by the European Commission
Spain at ERC
ERC grant distribution to countries of HI
ERC StG, CoG and AdG calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
*) Host institution refers to the organisation with which the first grant agreement was signed│ 70
Spain at ERC
Mobility of researchers
ERC StG, CoG and AdG calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
61 foreign PIs in Spain
•
176 Spanish PIs in the country
•
61 foreign PIs in Spain from 21
different nationalities, mainly IT
(16), DE (10), UK (5), NL (4), US (4)
•
45 Spanish PIs abroad, mainly in
UK (17), CH (7), FR (7), DE (6)
45 Spanish PIs abroad
Current host institutions; data as of 11/02/2014│ 71
Spain at ERC
Host institutions in Spain
ERC StG, CoG and AdG calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
Current host institutions; data as of 11/02/2014
│ 72
Spain at ERC
PoC grants by country of host institution
ERC PoC calls 2011, 2012 and 2013-1
Established by the European Commission
Current host institutions; data as of 11/02/2014 │ 73
Spain at ERC
Synergy Grant Calls 2012 and 2013
Established by the European Commission
│ 74
The European Research Council
Audiovisual Materials-Spain
Established by the European Commission
1) Video clip entitled “Miradas cruzadas sobre el ERC”
and is https://vimeo.com/78730046
2) Two short video clips produced by two ERC grantees
on their respective research, whom we also featured in the
general clip above.
PRESBYOPIA
http://player.vimeo.com/video/35940554
NANOFORCELLS http://vimeo.com/78411423
│ 75
The European Research Council
Established by the European Commission
- More information on
http://erc.europa.eu
- To subscribe to the ERC newsletter
http://erc.europa.eu/keep-updated-erc
- National Contact Point in your country and OPE in UZ
http://erc.europa.eu/national-contact-points
Follow us on:
EuropeanResearchCouncil
ERC_Research
│ 76
Established by the European Commission
6. ERC PI engagement
│ 77
Agenda
Established by the European Commission
Central role of the Principal Investigator in ERC GA
I.
Introduction
II. Legal basis
III. Contractual specificities
IV. Rights & Obligations
V. ERC services focused on PIs
│ 78
PI central role
I. Introduction
Established by the European Commission
Proposal/Project
Expertise/Knowledge
Principal
Investigator
central role
Strengthening ERA
Scientific leadership
CANNOT REPLACE PI
WITHOUT PI
NO ERC GA
│ 79
PI central role
II. Legal basis
Established by the European Commission
 Grant Agreement – PI named, but not signatory
 Annex II – General conditions II.2 & II.3
 Supplementary agreement
 Work Programmes – Commitments on project and in EU

Completed by national legislation & HI practice
│ 80
PI central role
III. Contractual specificities
Established by the European Commission
Principal
Investigator
Evaluation & Award
-------------------------Scientific Reporting
& Commitment
ERCEA
Supplementary
Agreement
Grant
agreement
Host
Institution
│ 81
PI Rights and Obligations
Established by the European Commission
RIGHTS
OBLIGATIONS
 Scientific Autonomy
 Scientific Responsibility
 Access rights to background
and foreground
 Confidentiality & IPR
 Adequate working conditions
 Time Commitment & in EU
 Independent publications
 Dissemination
 Portability
 Inform HI about changes
│ 82
PI central role
IV. Rights (i) – Scientific Autonomy
Established by the European Commission
 Access to facilities required for the project
 Infrastructures
 Equipment
 Autonomy in the selection and management of the team
 Control on the budget
 Attn: Possible restrictions due to:
• National legislations
• HI usual practices
│ 83
PI central role
IV. Rights (ii) – IPR Access Rights
Established by the European Commission
HI has to provide the PI and his/her team with:
 Free access to background
information owned by the institution before the project started and
necessary for its implementation
 Free access to the foreground
results generated by the project & necessary for its achievement
even after the transfer of the GA
│ 84
PI central role
IV. Rights (iii) – Working conditions/labour law
Established by the European Commission
HI has to provide the PI with:
 Health and safety environment to work (accoring to European and
international standards)
 Proper/ legal social security schemes:
 Leaves (annual, sickness, parental)
 Pensions
Standards fixed by national legislations & HI practices
│ 85
PI central role
IV. Rights (iv) – Independent Publications
Established by the European Commission
• Authority to deliver scientific reports to the Agency
• Authority to publish as senior author
• Authority to invite as co-authors only those who have
contributed substantially to the reported work
│ 86
PI central role
IV. Rights (v) – Portability
Established by the European Commission
 Reasons:
 Better professional conditions
 Better research conditions
 Problems with HI
 Others
HI cannot object unless for legal obstacles
Transfer of GA, PF, unused budget (staff & equipment)
PRIOR AGREEMENT FROM ERC
(eligibility criteria, EWS, non-detrimental to the project)
│ 87
PI central role
IV. Obligations (i) – Scientific Responsibility
Established by the European Commission
 Effective supervison of the project:
 Project to be implemented as indicated in the Annex I
 Staff under direct supervision of the PI
 Management of all resources necessary for the project
 Scientific Reporting:
 ERC grants have only two scientific reporting periods
 This should : (i) Be submitted in due time
 (ii) Demonstrate substantial progress (Annex I)
Failure to meet these obligations can lead to termination
– AT THE END
│ 88
PI central role
IV. Obligations (ii) – Confidentiality & IPR
Established by the European Commission
PI must preserve the confidentiality of any data, documents or other
material that is identified as confidential
This obligation no longer applies when:
• information is made public by means other than a breach of
confidentiality information is communicated to the recipient without
any obligation of confidence by a third party who is in lawful
possession
• disclosure of the confidential information is foreseen by (national)
law or by other provisions of this grant agreement or the
supplementary agreement;
PI must respect beneficiary's IPRS during and after the project
│ 89
PI central role
IV. Obligations (iii) – Time Commitment & in EU
Established by the European Commission
 StG & CoG
- at least 50% of their total working time to the ERC-funded project
- at least 50% of their total working time in EU/AC
 AdG & SyG
- at least 30% of their total working time to the ERC-funded project
- at least 50% of their total working time in EU/AC
Calculation on the whole duration of the project
Synergy – PIs core time together
Higher thresholds can be imposed at the evaluation stage or
later in the implementation by the Agency
│ 90
PI central role
IV. Obligations (iv) – Dissemination
Established by the European Commission
 Wide access through efficient dissemination of research
results are key to further scientific progress.
 Results of the research shall be disseminated as
swiftly as possible by the beneficiary, in line with the
rule for IPR protection (Art. II. 30 General Conditions)
 ERC financial support shall always be acknowledged
 Open Access (best efforts)
│ 91
PI central role
IV. Obligations (v) – Inform HI about changes
Established by the European Commission
Obligation to inform HI & ERC about:
 Any substantial change in methodology/objectives
 Any event jeopardising or affecting substantially the project
 Substantial financial reorganisation
 Transfer of the project to a new Host Institution
Timing is important
Risk of ineligible costs
Risk of termination
│ 92
PI central role
V. ERC services focused on PIs
Established by the European Commission
 Daily support (procedures, communication, and dissemination)
 PI helpdesk
 Simplified & pre-filled templates
 Scientific reporting
 Financial reporting
 Amendment request
 FAQs
 Outreach events for Principal Investigators
│ 93
Useful links
Established by the European Commission
 Grant Management mailbox:
ERC-C2@ec.europa.eu
 Amendment mailbox:
ERC-C2-amendments@ec.europa.eu
 PI helpdesk mailbox:
ERC-C2-PI-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu
│ 94
Thank you for your attention!