Mathias Dewatripont Université Libre de Bruxelles Member of the Scientific Council of the ERC The European Research Council January 2010.

Mathias DewatripontUniversité Libre de Bruxelles

Member of the

Scientific Council of the ERC

The European Research Council January 2010

European Research Council

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FP7 (EC)FP7 (EC)

7th Framework Programme (FP7)

“Family” of FP7 Specific Programmes Co-operation

IdeasIdeas

People

Capacities

Ideas: complementary to other FP7 supportpolicy vs. science-driven, bottom-up vs. targeted research


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FP7 FP7 IdeasIdeas Programme Programme

Creates the ERC (new “institution”): Scientific Council (ScC)

Executive Agency (ERCEA)

Provides funding: € 7.51 bn (2007-2013), around 15% of FP7 budget

Average budget: € ~1 bn per year

Sets overall objectives for researchand operating principles


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Boost European excellence in "Frontier Research" by investing in the best researchers and ideas

through competition at European level

on the basis of scientific excellence as the sole criterion

raising incentives towards quality and aspirations of individual researchers

providing benchmarks and leverage towards broader (structural) improvements in European research

Strategic AimsStrategic AimsOverviewOverview


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Why “Frontier Research”?Why “Frontier Research”?

Traditional terminology (“basic” / “applied” research

“science” vs. “technology”) is no longer appropriate: • Research at the frontiers is characterised by an

absence of disciplinary boundaries• New discoveries are often triggered by real world

problems (and vice-versa)• Progress in understanding phenomena and

techniques for investigation go hand in hand


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ERC GrantsERC GrantsStrategic principlesStrategic principles

All fields of science and scholarship are eligible investigator-driven, bottom-up

Excellence is the only valid criterion individual team + research project

Investment in research talent Attractive, flexible grants, up to five years

under control of the lead researcher (PI)

Independent individual teams in Europe nationality of researchers is not relevant

host organisation to be located in EU or AS


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ERC Grant SchemesERC Grant SchemesLaunch Strategy of ERC Scientific CouncilLaunch Strategy of ERC Scientific Council

Retain – Repatriate – Recruit

Favour “brain gain” and “reverse brain drain” increase competition, recognition and international visibility

for excellent individual scientists and scholars in Europe

ERC Advanced Grant: attract & reward established independent research leaders, up to 5 years, up to € 2.5 (3.5) Mio.

Keep (young) researchers in Europe improve career opportunities and independence - especially

for young researchers

ERC Starting Grant: attract & retain the next generation of independent research leaders, up to 5 years, up to € 2.0 Mio.


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ERC Grant SchemesERC Grant SchemesBudget 2007-2013Budget 2007-2013

Total (FP7 Ideas budget): € 7.51 bn As of 2010, ≈ 1/2 Starting Grants, 1/2 Advanced Grants Less than 5% for operational ERC management

2007 budget StG only, € 300 Mio.

2008 budget AdG only, Spring 2008, € 520 Mio.

2009 budget onwards: StG + AdG calls. Budget grows over time (2010: > than € 1bn).


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ERC Grant schemesERC Grant schemesOperational PrinciplesOperational Principles

Application in response to calls for proposals

Staged Evaluation Procedure due to large number of applications

ERC peer review evaluation process Proposals are assessed and ranked by PanelsScientific Council decides on peer review methodology and selects peer reviewers


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ERC Advanced GrantERC Advanced Grant (ERC Advanced Investigator Researcher Grant)(ERC Advanced Investigator Researcher Grant)

Designed to support excellent investigator-initiated research projects by established independent research leaders

Targeting researchers who have already established their independence as team leaders and are exceptional leaders in terms of significance of their research achievements (in the last 10 years)

up to 5 years, up to € 3,5 million per

grant

~2500 Advanced Grants over 7 years of FP7

(2007-2013)


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Individual Research Teams:

headed by a single “Principal Investigator” (team leader) + Co-PI in exceptional cases

of any nationality

if necessary, including additional team members.

The PI has the freedom to choose the research topic and the power to assemble his/her research team (including “co-Investigators”) meeting the needs of the project.

Teams can be of national or trans-national character

Hosting institution located in an EU member state or associated country

ERC GrantsERC GrantsWho can apply ?Who can apply ?


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Granting strategy Granting strategy

1. Managing demand for grants Maximise call budget

By preventing applications over 2 successive years (unless highly ranked but not funded)

Encourage the best to apply Excellent track record Strong leadership

Discourage trivial or low-quality applications Applications should be substantive (one-stage submission

with two stage evaluation) Disincentives to submission of applications which are not

of the highest quality


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ERC Advanced GrantERC Advanced Grant

Evaluation Criteria: Excellence is the sole award criterionEvaluation Criteria: Excellence is the sole award criterion

1. Principal Investigator- Quality of research output/track-record (10-year track-record)- Intellectual capacity and creativity (CV + leadership profile)

2. Research Project- Ground-breaking nature of the research- Potential impact- Methodology

3. Research Environment (assessed in Step 2 only)

- Contribution of the research environment to the project- Contribution of the project to research environment- Participation of other legal entities (if clear/ substantial added value)


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Proposal structureProposal structure

• Part A: Contains “normal” A1-A3 forms• Plus additional “A1T”: “Track Record”

– Summary of Scientific Leadership

– Summary of Track Record

• Part B: contains 3 sections & 1 annex Section 1

– Scientific Leadership (2 pages)

– CV (including “funding ID”) (2 pages)

– Track record (2 pages)

– Extended synopsis (5 pages) Section 2 = Scientific proposal (15 pages) Section 3 = Research Environment description (2

pages) Statement of support from the Host Institution


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Benchmarks of “track Benchmarks of “track record”record”

• Main author publications in major peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary scientific journals and/or in the leading peer-reviewed journals of their respective research fields

• Monographs and any translations of monographs (if applicable).

• Granted patents (if applicable)

• Invited presentations into peer-reviewed, internationally established conferences and/or international advanced schools (if applicable)

• Expeditions that the applicant has led (if applicable)

• International conferences in the field of the applicant that have been organised (member of the steering and/or organising committee) by him/her (if applicable)

• International Prizes/Awards/Academy memberships (if applicable)


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Indicators of “leadership”Indicators of “leadership”

•Content and impact of the major scientific or scholarly contributions of the applicant to his or her own research field and/or neighbouring research fields and, if applicable, their wider societal impact;

•The international recognition that these major contributions have received from others (publications or appropriate equivalents/additional funding/ students/international prizes and awards/ institution-building/other);


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• Single submission (1 stage, 2 step)

• Electronic submission via EPSS

• Early pre-registration strongly recommended

• 3 deadlines Physical Sciences on 24th February at 5 pm.

Life Sciences on 17th March at 5 pm.

Social Sciences on 7th April at 5 pm.

Submission of proposalsSubmission of proposals


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3 main research domains + interdisciplinary research, with separate indicative budgets:

─ Physical Sciences & Engineering (39%)

─ Life Sciences (incl. medical) (34%)

─ Humanities & Social Sciences (14%)

─ Interdisciplinary (13%)

Indicative budgetsIndicative budgets


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Panel structurePanel structure

• 3 domains – 25 panels

• StG Panels distinct from AdG Panels

• Selection of Panel Members responsibility of the ScC


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Panels:Panels: Interdisciplinary, forward-looking constitutionInterdisciplinary, forward-looking constitution

Examples (Panels for ERC Starting Grant)

SH1: Individuals, institutions and markets:SH1: Individuals, institutions and markets: economics, finance and management

PE10: Earth system science:PE10: Earth system science: physical geography, geology, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography, climatology, ecology, global environmental change, biogeochemical cycles, natural resources management

LS5: Evolutionary, population and LS5: Evolutionary, population and environmental biology:environmental biology: evolution, ecology, animal behaviour, population biology, biodiversity, biogeography, marine biology, ecotoxicology, prokaryotic biology


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Submission to PanelsSubmission to Panels

• Applicant submits to a Targeted Panel (of PI choice ) Can choose one additional “Alternative Review Panel”

• In case cross-panel or cross-domain proposal, evaluation by members of other panels

• “Interdisciplinary domain” is being populated at a later stage


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Evaluation CriteriaEvaluation CriteriaScientific Excellence is the sole CriterionScientific Excellence is the sole Criterion

1. Quality of Principal Investigator

2. Quality of research project

3. Research Environment and Resources

Referees and panels evaluate and score criteria 1 and 2 numerically (with equal weights), which will result in the ranking of the proposals

Criteria 3 will be considered (step 2) on a "pass/fail" basis and commented but not scored


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Two-step evaluationTwo-step evaluation

• Step 1: Section 1 of Part B evaluated against Criterion 1 (PI)

and 2 (Research Project) Proposal needs to pass threshold for both criteria to

pass to second step Evaluated by Panel Members

• Step 2: All three sections evaluated against all three

evaluation criteria Evaluated by Panel Members + Remote Evaluators


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Evaluation processEvaluation process

Step 2(Panel + remote)

Indiv assessmentsIndividual marks

Interdisciplinary flagPANEL MEETINGS

Ranking

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Proposal

Step 1(panel)

Indiv AssessmentsIndividual Marks

PANEL MEETINGSRanking

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Proposal

Submission

+ HI support letter

Eligibility Check

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Proposal


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Interdisciplinary DomainInterdisciplinary Domain

• Interdisciplinary Research domain (cross-domain & cross-panel) indicative budget of 13% total budget

• Proposal submitted to a primary panel • Step 1:

Primary panel determines if proposal is “interdisciplinary” Can take into account if secondary panel is indicated

Proposal “flagged” as interdisciplinary, if appropriate

Possibility to invite reviews from members of other panels

• Step 2: Interdisciplinary proposals, not funded within panel budget, will be

transferred to Interdisciplinary Domain for consideration there


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• Can pay for PI wage (if not paid by Host Institu-tion), sabbaticals, teaching buyout, wage supple-ments.

• Can pay for co-authors, research assistants, post-docs.

• Can pay for travel, equipment, … linked to the project.

• Overhead for Host up to 20% of the grant.

Flexible (and portable) grantsFlexible (and portable) grants


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ERC Work Programme

ERC Guide for Applicants (Research Grants plus CSAs)

ERC Grant agreement

Other:

ERC Guide for Grant Holders

ERC Guide for Peer Reviewers

ERC Rules on submission, evaluation, selection and award procedures

DocumentationDocumentation


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Applicants Services

• ERC National Contact Pointsinform, raise awareness and provide advice on ERC funding opportunities, application, follow-up

• ERC helpdesk

• EPSS helpdesktechnical support on electronic proposal submission

• ERC website: http://erc.europa.euNews Alert


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Thank you !

Mathias Dewatripont Université Libre de Bruxelles Member of the Scientific Council of the ERC The European Research Council January 2010.

Documents

research talentattractive

targeted research nicosia

erc grant schemesbudget

fp7 budget average budget

panels scientific council

erc new institution

total fp7 ideas budget

europeerc advanced grant