│ 1 European Research Council 1 Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society: Can Greece Compete? 3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE London,

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European Research Council

Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society:

Can Greece Compete?

3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE

London, June 2007

Prof. Fotis C. KafatosPresident, ERC

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• 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

The ERC: Competion for Excellence at a Pan-European Level

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Ageing and shrinking population?

High Labour and Social Security costs?

Expensive production and services?

Limited natural resources?

Capital accumulation and management?

• Yes, an essential part of our civilization

Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Freud

Einstein, Watson & Crick, Jacob & Monod… and?

• What will be our future competitive advantage?

Does Europe Need Frontiers Research?

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• 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

Europe Can Only Compete Through Knowledge

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• 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)

To Become More Competitive, Europe Must

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• 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)

Birth and Structure of the ERC

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• 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

ERC Scientific Council:Aim, Responsibilities and Actions

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- Opportunities and independence for young scientists- Individual frontier research programs- Significant funding to make a difference

• Address essentials, obvious gaps in Europe

The ERC Strategy, 1

• 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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• Keep it flexible- Evaluation panels judge investment levels - Researchers can rebudget- Grants are portable

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

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See http://erc.europa.eu

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-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

ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (ERC Starting Grant)

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-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

ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (ERC Advanced Grant)

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- Starting Grants First call: December 2006Submission deadline: 25 April 2007

- Advanced GrantsFirst call: early 2008

- Starting and Advanced GrantsOne call per year, from 2008

Calls for applications

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Principal Investigators (PI’s):

Outstanding young scientistsEuropean and non-EuropeanWorking 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

Starting Grants: Foster Early Independence of Young Investigators

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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 co-authors, only those who contribute to the work significantly)

ERC Starting Grants: Guarantees of Scientific Independence

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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

ERC Grants: Salary Issues

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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

ERC Grants:Portability

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• 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%

ERC Starting Grants: Scientific Domains

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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: % Geographic Distribution: European and Overseas Clusters

Cluster PI residenceHost Institution

location

EEC6:

BE, DE, FR, IT, LU, NL44.8 46.2

Next 9 of EU15:

AT, DK, EL, ES, FI, IE, PT, SE, UK35.5 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, TR7.9 7.8

6 Overseas highly developed:

AU, CA, JP, NZ, TW, USA2.8 0

AL, AR, BR, BF, CN, EG, IN, IR, KH, ME, MX, SN, TN, RU, SG, UA, UZ, ZA,

ZW0.4 0

100 100

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Starting Grants First Call: “Gain-loss” figures

CountryTo 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 - 4

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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

│ 1 European Research Council 1 Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society: Can Greece Compete? 3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE London,

Documents

european research council

european research area

erc slide

excellent research

paneuropean level slide

europe need frontiers

knowledge slide

institutional excellence