1. EU’s 7th framework program (2007-2013) Cooperation Ideas (=ERC) People Capacities European Research Council (ERC) ERC The result of strong pressure from the scientists of Europe Aims of ERC Enforce basic research in Europe (retain, repatriate, recruit) Raise the level of ambition Establish a model for research funding Complement national support for basic research

2. ERC Scientific Council 22 members nominated by the scientific community and appointed by the commission Chair:Fotis Kafatos Vice Chairs:Helga Novotny Daniel Esteve About 6-8 meetings per year Role:Establish overall scientific strategy Control quality of operation and management Ensure communication with the scientific community

3. Budget ERC will obtain about 7.5 bn EUR for the period 2007-2013, i.e. 1 bn EUR per year Linear increase over the years, starting at 0.3 bn EUR 2007 and reaching 1.7 bn EUR 2013

4. General principles for ERC’s operation Autonomy Support to basic research in all fields ”Bottom up” principle Support to individual projects Evaluation by ”peer review” Quality and originality the only criteria No ”juste retour” Transparency Non-bureaucratic procedure Flexible grants Encourage ”cross-boundary” research

5. ERC grants Only two types of research support 1.Advanced Investigator Grants (AIG) 2.Starting Independent Researcher Grants (SIRG) (maximum 9 years after PhD) Grants Large (100,000 – 500,000 EUR per year for up to 5 years) Flexible Portable Implementation 2007: Starting Independent Researcher Grants – deadline April 25, 2007 2008: Advanced Investigator Grants – deadline November 2007 From 2009: both AIG and SIRG

6. Who can apply? The principal Investigator should work in : An EU country (27 countries) An Associate country (NO, IS, CH, IL) A Candidate country (HR, TR) However, applications can be made from outside Europe

7. Evaluation procedure Peer review evaluation 20 panels of 11 highly qualified scientists each will carry out the evaluation for the Starting Independent Researcher Grants (>20 panels for the Advanced Investigator Grants) Two-stage procedure (first stage, 4 page research program and a CV; second stage, 10 page research program and a CV) Outside experts and interviews involved in the second stage Evaluation criteria Potential of the people (research excellence, achievements, publications) Excellence and originality of the project

8. Distribution of budget The avavilable funds will initially be divided between the scientific domains: Humanities and social sciences15% Life sciences40% Natural sciences45% 80% of the funds will be allocated to the different panels. 20% of the funds will be withheld centrally and awarded to the projects of highest quality that was not founded in the first round.

9. Integrating ERC European Commission providing financial means ERC Scientific Council 22 members independent scientific governance ERC Board 5 members Chair 2 Vice Chairs Secretary General Director EA Executive Agency practical implementation and management of operations

10. Challenges Short time to organize ERC Legal status of ERC – how guarantee autonomy? Enormous expectations from the scientists of Europe Once in a life-time opportunity How handle the expected large number of applications?