European Research Council

Consiglio Europeo delle Ricerche (ERC)
Established by the European Commission
Dr. Barbara ENSOLI,
Direttore Centro Nazionale AIDS
Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Roma
Membro del Consiglio scientifico ERC
ERC mission
Established by the European Commission
The ERC's mission is to encourage the
highest quality research in Europe
through competitive funding and to
support investigator-initiated frontier
research across all fields of research,
on the basis of scientific excellence
│2
La struttura dell'ERC
Established by the European Commission
La Commissione Europea
•
•
•
•
Fornisce finanziamenti attraverso i Programmi Quadro dell’UE
Garantisce l’autonomia del ERC
Assicura l’integrità e la responsabilità finanziaria del ERC
Adotta i programmi annuali di lavoro stabiliti dal Consiglio
Scientifico
Il Consiglio Scientifico del ERC
•
•
•
22 eminenti ricercatori proposti e identificati da un comitato indipendente
Nominati dalla Commissione (4 anni, rinnovabile una volta)
Stabilisce la strategia scientifica generale; programmi di lavoro annuali
(gare, criteri di valutazione, etc.); metodologia di valutazione tra pari (peer review);
selezione e accreditazione degli esperti
•
•
Controlla la qualità delle operazioni e della gestione
Assicura la comunicazione con la comunità scientifica
L’Agenzia del ERC
•
•
•
•
•
•
Esegue il programma annuale di lavoro stabilito dal Consiglio Scientifico
Gestisce appelli a proposte e fornisce informazioni ed assistenza ai partecipanti
Organizza valutazioni di pari (peer review)
Stabilisce e gestisce gli accordi di sovvenzione/borse di studio
Amministra gli aspetti scientifici e finanziari e segue gli accordi di sovvenzione
Svolge attività di comunicazione e assicura la diffusione delle informazioni
riguardanti l'ERC
ERC Working Groups
Established by the European Commission
There are currently five Working Groups in the Scientific Council
dedicated to the following topics, which are of particular interest to the
ERC:
• Gender Balance
• Open Access
• Innovation and Relations with Industry
• Widening Participation
• Key Performance Indicators
The Scientific Council may set up new Working Groups and discontinue
existing ones in response to changing requirements. They report
periodically on their work and conclusions to the plenary meetings of the
Scientific Council. Decisions taken by Committees and Working Groups
must be confirmed by the Scientific Council to be formally adopted.
│4
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
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
│5
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
Starting, consolidator or advanced grant (depending on
work experience and scientific achievements)
 Research team


The PI can choose national or trans-national team
members if scientific added value proven
The grant covers the salary of team members
│6
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
5 years projects
No consortia
 Host Institution (HI) in Europe



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
│7
Indipendenza, riconoscimento e visibilità
Established by the European Commission
L'ERC offre:
• Libera scelta dell’area di ricerca,dell'istituzione ospitante e dei membri
del team (europei e non)
• Reale autonomia finanziaria per 5 anni
• Possibilità di negoziare le migliori condizioni di lavoro con le istituzioni
ospitanti
• Mobilità dei ricercatori ovunque in Europa (portability of grants)
• Un "marchio di qualità" per attrarre finanziamenti aggiuntivi e
ottenere riconoscimento
• Procedure semplici e burocrazia "leggera"
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
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
│9
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 practise in peerreviewed journals
US
(7%)
Other
(7%)
EU and
Associated
Countries
(86%)
│ 10
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
Good benefit-cost ratio
│ 11
ERC basics
Evaluation of proposals: panel structure
Established by the European Commission
Social Sciences and Humanities
Life Sciences









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






SH1 Individuals, institutions & markets
SH2 The social world, diversity and common ground
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










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
PE10 Earth system science
│ 12
ERC Calls
Total number
of applications
Starting Grant 2007
Starting Grant 2009
Starting Grant 2010
Starting Grant 2011
Starting Grant 2012
Starting Grant 2013
Consolidator Grant 2013
Starting and Consolidator Grant
Advanced Grant 2008
Advanced Grant 2009
Advanced Grant 2010
Advanced Grant 2011
Advanced Grant 2012
Advanced Grant 2013
Advanced Grant
Proof of Concept 2011 - 1&2
Proof of Concept 2012 - 1&2
Proof of Concept 2013 - 1
Proof of Concept
Synergy Grant 2012
Synergy Grant 2013
9,167
2,503
2,873
4,080
4,741
3,329
3,673
30,366
2,167
1,584
2,009
2,284
2,304
2,408
12,756
151
143
145
439
710
449
of which
Evaluated*
8,787
2,392
2,767
4,005
4,652
3,255
3,604
29,462
2,034
1,526
1,967
2,245
2,269
2,363
12,404
139
120
139
398
697
427
Funded
299
245
436
486
566
300
312
2,644
282
245
271
301
319
289
1,707
51
60
33
144
11
13
success rates**
3.4
10.2
15.8
12.1
12.2
9.2
8.7
10.2
13.9
16.1
13.8
13.4
14.1
12.2
13.9
36.7
50.0
23.7
36.8
1.6
3.0
Established by the European Commission
* withdrawn and ineligible proposals not taken into account
** percentage of funded proposals in relation to evaluated proposals
│ 13
ERC achievements
Grants per country of host institution
ERC Starting, Consolidator, Advanced Grant calls 2007-2013
Current Host Institutions – data as of 16/12/2013
Established by the European Commission
│ 14
ERC achievements
ERC grantees with ERA nationality*
Established by the European Commission
*) nationality as last declared by the principal investigator
│ 15
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
│ 16
ERC Consolidator Grants
Established by the European Commission
The European Research Council (ERC) has selected 312 top scientists in its first
Consolidator Grant competition.
With over 3600 proposals submitted, the demand for these grants rose by 46% this
year, compared to the corresponding group of applicants in 2012.
In terms of host institutions, the UK (62 grants), Germany (43) and France (42) are
in the lead.
In terms of researchers' nationality, Germans (48 grants) and Italians (46) are at the
top, followed by French (33), British (31) and Dutch (27) researchers.
│ 17
ERC Sinergy Grants
Established by the European Commission
ERC Sinergy Grants are intended to enable a small group of Principal Investigators and their teams
to bring together complementary skills, knowledge, and resources in new ways, in order to jointly
address research problems.
ERC Synergy Grants in brief:
•Research proposal: pioneering frontier research in any field of science, engineering or scholarship
•Groups: a minimum of two and a maximum of four Principal Investigators (PIs)
• Corresponding PI: acts as the ' with the ERCEA on behalf of the group
•No specific eligibility criteria but only exceptional proposals are likely to be funded in what are
expected to be extremely competitive calls
•ERC Synergy Groups: expected to be interdisciplinary, often using multidisciplinary approaches.
•Host Institution: engages the Corresponding PI for the duration of the grant. It should be a legally
recognised public or private research organisation situated in one of the EU Member
States or Associated Countries
•Funding: up to a maximum of €15 million for a period up to 6 years (pro rata for projects of shorter
duration)
•Calls for proposals: published annually with one deadline
│ 18
ERC Sinergy Grants 2013 Call,
no Italians…
Established by the European Commission
│ 19
ERC achievements
Developing a new generation of excellent scientists
(team members)
Established by the European Commission
2/3 of staff are people in the training phase of their career
Analysis of 995 ERC projects
│ 20
ERC achievements
Attracting excellent researchers (team members)
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
│ 21
Italy at ERC
Evaluated proposals from hosts in Italy
Established by the European Commission
Ineligible and withdrawn proposals not taken into account
│ 22
Italy at ERC
Granted proposals at host institutions in Italy
Established by the European Commission
*
* current host institutions; data as of 16/12/2013
│ 23
Italy at ERC
Success rates per country of Host Institution
Established by the European Commission
│ 24
Italy at ERC
Success rates per domain
Established by the European Commission
Italy 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│ 26
Italy at ERC
Mobility of researchers
ERC StG, CoG and AdG calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
23 Foreign PIs in Italy, from DE (5), US (3), FR (2), UK (2), NL (2), NO (2), BE (2), etc.
178 Italian PIs abroad
Current host institutions; data as of 16/12/2013│ 27
Italy at ERC
Top host institutions in Italy
ERC StG, CoG and AdG calls 2007-2013
Established by the European Commission
Current host institutions; data as of 16/12/2013
│ 28
Italy 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 16/12/2013 │ 29
ERC in H2020
Changes and continuity
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 the Executive 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
Call budgets
Established by the European Commission
For the Starting, Consolidatore and Advanced Grant
calls the ERC Scientific Council has established the
following indicative percentage budgets for each of the
three main research domains:
Phisical Sciences and Engineering
44%
Life Sciences
39%
Social Sciences & Humanities
17%
Indicative planning for main calls 2014
Established by the European Commission
Indicative planning for main calls 2015
Established by the European Commission
The European Research Council
Established by the European Commission
More information on
http://erc.europa.eu
National Contact Point in your country
http://erc.europa.eu/national-contact-points
Follow us on
EuropeanResearchCouncil
ERC_Research
│ 34

Download Report