European Research Council:
Funding Opportunities for InvestigatorInitiated Frontier Research
Dr. Dimitri Harmegnies
Research Project Adviser
European Research Council Executive Agency
Seventh Framework Programme for
Research and Technological Development
FP7 (2007-13)
Total FP7 Budget: € 50.4 billion
European Research Council
ERC:
15%
Cooperation
61%
Ideas
14%
JRC
3%
ERC executes Ideas Programme:
€ 7.51 billion
Euratom
5%
Capacities
8%
People
9%
European Research Council
Keypoints
 No network requirements
 PI + HI
 Investigator-driven (no preset of themes or
priorities)
Opportunities…
European Research Council
ERC: Aims
 To reinforce excellence, dynamism and
creativity in European research
 improve career opportunities &
independence for junior researchers
 increase competitiveness & international
visibility of established scientists and
scholars in Europe
European Research Council
Researchers Career development
and complementary ERC funding schemes
Funding schemes: Attractive, flexible grants
ERC Starting Grant (2-12 yrs post PhD)
ERC Advanced Grant
ERC Proof of Concept Grant (for ERC grantees)
ERC Synergy Grant (from 2012)
Senior
Professor
Full Professor
Junior Professor/
Associated Professor
Post-docs
Students &
Research
assistants
Post
Graduates
ERC grant holder
Researcher involved in ERC research projects
European Research Council
Starting and Advanced Grants
European Research Council
ERC Grant schemes 2012: StG and AdG
3 main scientific domains
 LS: Life Sciences
 PE: Physical Sciences and Engineering
 SH: Social Sciences and Humanities
Previously (2007-2011) 4th
domain: Funded cross-panel or
cross domain proposals.
European Research Council
ERC Grant schemes : panels
LS : Life Sciences
• LS1 Molecular and Structural Biology and
Biochemistry
• LS2 Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and
Systems Biology
• LS3 Cellular and Developmental Biology
• LS4 Physiology, Pathophysiology and
Endocrinology
• LS5 Neurosciences and neural disorders
• LS6 Immunity and infection
• LS7 Diagnostic tools, therapies and public
health
• LS8 Evolutionary, population and environmental
biology
• LS9 Applied life sciences and biotechnology
PE: Physical Sciences and
Engineering
• PE1 Mathematics
• PE2 Fundamental constituents of matter
• PE3 Condensed matter physics
• PE4 Physical and analytical chemical sciences
• PE5 Materials and synthesisPE6 Computer
science and informatics
• PE7 Systems and communication engineering
• PE8 Products and processes engineering
• PE9 Universe sciences
• PE10 Earth system science
SH : Social Sciences and Humanities
• SH1 Individuals, institutions and markets
• SH2 Institutions, values, beliefs and behaviour
• SH3 Environment, space and population
• SH4 The Human Mind and its complexity
• SH5 Cultures and cultural production
• SH6 The study of the human past
ERC: Strategy (1/2)
European Research Council
What kind of project?
 Excellence is the only criterion
 Innovative breakthrough research: high risk/high gain
 All fields of science and knowledge
Who can apply?
 Excellent researchers (PIs) of any nationality, age or current place of work
 In conjunction with a Host Institution (HI) based in Europe or associated
countries
 Individual research team: Free to choose national or trans-national team,
if scientific added value, no consortia
 The PI is expected to devote:
– Starting Grant : at least 50% of her/his total working time to the ERC funded
project and spend at least 50% of her/his total working time in an EU Member
State or associated country;
– Advanced Grant : at least 30% of her/his total working time to the ERC funded
project and spend at least 50% of her/his total working time in an EU Member
State or associated country
ERC: Strategy (2/2)
European Research Council
Host Institution
•
An ERC grant is awarded to the institution (Applicant Legal Entity) that
engages and hosts the Principal Investigator at least for the duration of the
project….with the explicit commitment that this institution offers appropriate
conditions for the Principal Investigator
•
The host institution must be established in a Member State or an
associated country. It may also be an International European Interest
Organisation (such as CERN, EMBL, etc.) or the European Commission's
Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The host institution can be any legal entity (public or private), which has
the infrastructure and capacity to carry out a frontier research project,
such as a university, a research organisation or a research-performing
company. Research-performing companies can host a PI as long as the PI's
independence is not constrained by the research strategy of the company
•
•
The ERC welcomes applications from Principal Investigators hosted by
private commercial research centres, including industrial laboratories.
European Research Council
Profile of StG applicant
Any nationality or age
Any current place of work
but: working or moving to work in Europe
2-12 years of experience after PhD
Potential for independence and evidence of maturity
e.g. publications without PhD supervisor
Track-record of early research achievements
appropriate to the research field and career stage
 Starter & Consolidator streams
European Research Council
ERC StG: Starter and Consolidator streams
• By definition in StG 2011 call
2-7 yrs post-PhD (starter)
7-12 yrs post-PhD (consolidator)
• Extending eligibility window (max. 16.5 yrs) or changing
stream possible
• Career break
maternity & paternity (before or after PhD)
illness, clinical qualifications, national service,
unemployment, volunteer work, etc (after PhD)
IMPORTANT: Panel makes final decision
European Research Council
Profile of AdG applicant
• Active researchers having a track-record of significant research
achievements in the last 10 years
• Benchmarks (one or more below) including
10 publications as senior author
3 major research monographs
Other (individually or in combination)
5 granted patents
10 invited presentations
3 research expeditions led by the applicant
3 organized prestigious conferences
International recognition through scientific prizes/awards
or membership in well-regarded academies
European Research Council
Composition of ERC Proposal
PART A – online forms
A1
A2
A3
Proposal and PI info
Host institution info
Budget
Annexes – submitted as .pdf
•On ethics
•Host institution support letter
•StG: PhD certificate
Panels evaluate
just this part
in Step 1!!!!!
PART B1 – submitted as .pdf
Track Record of PI
StG: early achievements
StG: Scientific Leadership Potential
AdG: last 10 yrs
CV (including “funding ID”)
Extended synopsis
PART B2 – submitted as .pdf
Full project description
incl. budget & ethics table
Panels evaluate
this part only in Step 2!!!
European Research Council
ERC Grant schemes
Review process (StG and AdG)
STEP 1
STEP 2
Remote assessment by Panel members
of section B1
Remote assessment by Panel members
and external reviewers of sections
B1&B2
Step 1 Panel meeting
Proposals retained
for step 2
Up to 3 times panel’s
Indicative budget
Feedback to
applicants
Step 2 Panel meeting (+ interview
for StG)
Ranked list of
proposals
Proposals funded in priority
order based on their rank
Feedback to
applicants
European Research Council
Opportunities
 PI…
 HI …
European Research Council
Timetable of StG and AdG calls
ERC open
calls
Starting
Grants
Publication
of call
20 July 2011
ERC-2012-StG
Advanced
grants
16 November
2011
Submission
Deadline(s)
PE: 12 Oct. 2011
LS: 09 Nov. 2011
SH: 24 Nov. 2011
February -April
2012
ERC-2012-AdG
│ 29
European Research Council
Proof of Concept
European Research Council
ERC Proof of Concept
ERC call name
Budget
Size of Grants
Publication of
call
Submission
Deadline(s)
15 June 2011
Proof of Concept
€10M
ERC-2011-PoC
CSA pilot
Max. €150,000
for 12mths
29 Mar. 2011
78 proposals
submitted
08 Nov. 2011
Proof of Concept
€10M
ERC-2012-PoC
(1% total 2012
budget)
Max. €150,000
for 12mths
 From ‘blue sky research’ to
commercialisation
 Fundamental research often
generates opportunities for
commercial application
 ERC-funded excellent ideas
should not miss these
opportunities!
02 Feb. 2012
03 May 2012
03 Oct. 2012
Bridging the Innovation gap
Innovation
European Research Council
ERC Proof of Concept
Eligibility: Holders of an ERC grant with idea substantially drawn from an
ERC-funded project
Proposal Submission: 2 deadlines per year, 7 page proposal with short
description, early stage innovation strategy, plan of activities and budget
Evaluation:
In one step, non-scientific evaluation
Pass/fail on 3 criteria:
• Innovation potential
• Quality of the proof of concept plan
• Budget
Outcome: A "package" to be presented
to venture capitalists
European Research Council
Synergy grants
European Research Council
ERC Synergy Grants
ERC call name
ERC Synergy
grant
ERC-2012-SyG
Budget
Size of
Grant
€150M
Max. €15M
for upto six
(10% total
2012 budget) years
 “Synergy” : from the Greek
“συνεργός” (synergós):
“working together”
 Investigator-driven ‘blue sky’
research
 2-4 excellent PIs with
complementary skills
 Interdisciplinary research with
added value
Publication of
call
25 Oct. 2011
Submission
Deadline(s)
25 Jan. 2012
European Research Council
ERC Synergy: project profile
 Sole criterion is excellence – not collaboration for its own
sake
 Investigator driven: no preset themes or priorities
 Projects interdisciplinary in nature, using multidisciplinary
approaches
 Projects involve new combinations of skills and
disciplines, bringing together researchers from different
institutions, sectors or countries
European Research Council
ERC Synergy: PI profile
 Small groups of 2 – 4 Principal Investigators, not consortia
 No transnationality requirement
 PIs ideally located in the same place for significant periods
of the project
 Time commitment of all PIs to project: at least 30% working
time on project and 50% in an EU Member State or
associated country
 PIs with excellent track records of independent creative
thinking, regardless of career stage
European Research Council
Support
ERC website: http://erc.europa.eu
Documents to read twice (with highlighter pen in hand!!!)
ERC Work Programme for the considered call
Guide for Applicants
Help
ERC National Contact Points
ERC Helpdesk
EPSS helpdesk (electronic proposal submission)
European Research Council
Thank you
Dimitri.Harmegnies@ec.europa.eu