1. European Research Council Paul Knobbs Research Development Manager Research Support Office

2. Format of the next 1.5 hours. My presentation Introduction to FP7 Introduction to ERC Starter Grant and Advanced Grant Grantcraft – Dr. Martin Pickard Introduction to the broad aims of the European Research Council. Starter Grant and Advanced Grant Prof. Sergei Turitsyn Writing a successful Advanced Grant

3. Framework 7 - Intro The programme has been running since 1984 Largest pot of research funding in Europe, £50 billion allocated for spend between 2007 – 2013 Next period of expenditure 2013 – 2020 is expected to increase significantly

4. The Schemes Available

5. The European Research Council The ERC funds 'frontier research' in any area of research (apart from nuclear fission and fusion). In terms of peer review, the scientific excellence of the PI and the Research Project are the only criteria for funding. Proposals should rise to pioneering and far-reaching challenges at the frontiers of the field(s) addressed, and can involve new, ground-breaking or unconventional methodologies, whose risky outlook is justified by the possibility of a major breakthrough with an impact beyond a specific research domain/discipline.

6. Starting Grants - Eligibility The Starting Grant funds projects led by a Principal Investigator (Any Nationality) and (if they wish) their team. The PI is based at a 'Host Institution‘ (must be in the EU) For the Starting Grant call, the PI must have been awarded his/her first PhD (or equivalent doctoral degree) 2 - 12 years prior to the publication date of the call for proposals (July 2011). PIs will be evaluated either as a ‘starter’ (between 2 and 7 years post PhD) or a ‘consolidator’ (more than 7 years post PhD) during the evaluation process. For more details, see the Guide for Applicants (once available).

7. Starting Grant – Review Process Scientific excellence is the sole criterion to assess and select proposals. 50% for the PI and 50% for the research. Applicants choose which panel to submit their proposal to, and can choose a secondary panel if the proposal falls across more than one panel. Two step review. Two parts to the proposal B1, short version of application (10 pages); B2, full application (15 pages). Step1 – B1 is reviewed, if passes threshold B1 and B2 will be called for full review. If Step 2 is passed candidate is called for interview in Brussels.

8. Advanced Grant – Eligibility & Review Process Eligibility - The PI can be any age and any nationality. For Advanced Grants, there are no rules in terms of having a PhD or time after PhD. However, the ERC seeks to fund only exceptional research leaders. PIs should be exceptional leaders in terms of originality and significance of their research contributions Review Process - As above, but no interview

9. Resubmission Rules For the current call, Starter Grant and Advanced Grant, the resubmission rules are that a PI who has submitted an eligible proposal may not reapply, unless his/her proposal was evaluated above the quality threshold at the end of step 1 of the evaluation. The quality threshold is scoring 2 or more out of 4 for the Principal Investigator criterion and 2 or more out of 4 for the research project criterion).

10. ERC - Funding Starter Grant Funding up to € 2 M for a duration of up to 5 years (covering up to 100% of the direct project costs and a contribution corresponding to 20% of the direct costs towards indirect costs) No less that 50% of PI time charged to grant Advanced Grant Funding up to € 3.5 M for a duration of up to 5 years (covering up to 100% of the direct project costs and a contribution corresponding to 20% of the direct costs towards indirect costs). No less that 50% of PI time charged to grant

11. ERC Deadlines and Final Bits Starting Grant - Open 1 st July 2011. Deadline Autumn 2011. Advanced Grant – Open November 2011. Deadline Spring 2012 Guide For Applicants is essential reading. It contains the Application Form template, review guidelines and details of review process. The guide is available at - http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.F P7CallsPage http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.F P7CallsPage Applications are made through EPSS. As ever, involve your RDM.

12. Other websites for info CORDIS – The home of FP7 - http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html ERC - http://erc.europa.eu/http://erc.europa.eu/ National Contact Points UKRO – http://www.ukro.ac.uk/http://www.ukro.ac.uk/