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The European Research Council

Jose M Fernandez de Labastida

Head Scientific Department

Madrid, 29-6-2018

ERC: Work Programme 2019

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ERC basics

ERC achievements

Evaluation

Work Programme 2019

Horizon Europe

ERC and Spain

Outline:

The European Research Council

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ERC basics

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ERC basics Legal basis and strategy

Support for the individual scientists

Global peer-review

No predetermined subjects (bottom-up)

Support of frontier research in all fields of knowledge

The ERC supports excellence in frontier research through a

bottom-up, individual-based, pan-European competition

Str

ate

gy

Le

gis

lati

on

Scientific governance: independent Scientific Council with

22 members including the ERC President; full authority over

funding strategy and evaluation

Support by the ERC Executive Agency

Scientific quality as the only criterion aiming for excellence

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The European Commission • Provides financing through the EU framework programmes

• Guarantees autonomy of the ERC

• Assures the integrity and accountability of the ERC

• Adopts annual work programmes as established by the Scientific Council

The ERC Scientific Council • 22 prominent researchers proposed by an identification

committee

• President appointed following recommendation of a search committee

• Appointed by the Commission (4 years, renewable once)

• Establishes overall scientific strategy and annual work programmes

• Identifies evaluators

• Controls quality of operations and management

• Ensures communication with the scientific community

The ERC Executive Agency • Executes annual work programme

• Implements calls for proposals

• Organises peer review evaluation

• Signs and monitors grant agreements

• Carries out communications activities

• Provides support to the Scientific Council

ERC basics ERC Governance

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The ERC is a key component of Horizon 2020, the EU

programme for Research and Innovation

€13 billion budget for 2014-2020, i.e. 17% of the

Horizon 2020 budget

Over 70,000 applications received and around 8,500

projects funded

Highly competitive calls: overall success rate is 11.4 %

ERC basics Key figures

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Starting Grants

1 Principal Investigator (2-7 years after PhD)

up to € 2.0 Mio for 5 years

Synergy Grants 2 – 4 Principal Investigators up to € 15.0 Mio for 6 years

Proof-of-Concept Inquiring on the innovation potential

up to €150,000 for ERC grant holders

Advanced Grants

1 Principal Investigator up to € 3.5 Mio

for 5 years

Consolidator Grants

1 Principal Investigator (7-12 years after PhD)

up to € 2.75 Mio for 5 years

ERC basics ERC Funding Schemes

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ERC achievements

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ERC achievements Narrowing the EU-USA gap

The first reported ERC

publications began to appear

in 2007 and since then

publications acknowledging

ERC funding have gone from

contributing less than 0.1% of

EU top 1% publications in

2007 (2) to nearly 7% in 2014

(973).

Since ERC creation the gap

between EU top 1% cited

publications and US top 1%

cited publications has

continuously narrowed.

1% most cited Publications

Elsevier Scopus abstract and citation database, accessed January 2016

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ERC achievements Clarivate Analytics worldwide ranking of research

funders 2007-16

Research funder Papers Category

normalized citation impact

Percentage top 1% papers

Percentage of international

collaborations

European Research Council (ERC) 40.422 2,46 4,84% 59,24%

Wellcome Trust 41.040 2,10 3,60% 55,62%

US Department of Energy (DOE) 123.864 2,09 3,92% 39,39%

UK Medical Research Council 38.442 2,08 3,76% 48,81%

Swiss National Science Foundation 50.598 1,90 3,01% 59,03%

US National Institutes of Health (NIH) 617.950 1,73 2,61% 28,37%

US National Science Foundation (NSF) 380.893 1,73 2,76% 36,36%

French National Research Agency 41.385 1,62 2,04% 47,65%

German Research Foundation (DFG) 171.959 1,55 1,92% 48,56%

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ERC achievements Ex-post peer review evaluation

19%

25%

21%

60%

48%

50%

20%

26%

25%

1%

1%

4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2017

2016

2015

Qualitative evaluation of completed ERC projects Overall results for 2015, 2016 and 2017

A - Scientific breakthrough B - Major scientific advance

C - Incremental scientific contribution D - No appreciable scientific contribution

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ERC achievements Priority to young scientists

Two-thirds of ERC grants

to early-stage Principal

Investigators.

+ 40 000 PhD and

post-doc researchers

working in ERC

teams.

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Evaluation

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PART A – online forms

Info on Proposal, PI, HI and

overall budget

PART B2 – submitted as .pdf

• Scientific Proposal 15 p.

Template for the budget

Annexes – submitted as .pdf

• Statement of support of HI

• If applicable: explanatory

information on ethical issues;

copy of PhD (StG, CoG);

document for extension of

eligibility window (StG, CoG)

PART B1 – submitted as .pdf

• Extended Synopsis 5 p.

• CV 2 p.

• Track Record 2 p.

Funding ID beyond the 2 page limit for the CV

Explanatory comment if interdisciplinary

Optional template for the CV

Read the Information to Applicants

Evaluation Proposal structure

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Social Sciences and Humanities

SH1 Individuals, Markets and Organizations

SH2 Institutions, Values, Environment and Space

SH3 The Social World, Diversity and Population

SH4 The Human Mind and Its Complexity

SH5 Cultures and Cultural Production

SH6 The Study of the Human Past

Life Sciences

LS1 Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Structural Biology

and Molecular Biophysics

LS2 Genetics, ‘Omics’, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

LS3 Cellular and Developmental Biology

LS4 Physiology, Pathophysiology and Endocrinology

LS5 Neurosciences and Neural Disorders

LS6 Immunity and Infection

LS7 Applied Medical Technologies, Diagnostics, Therapies

and Public Health

LS8 Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology

LS9 Applied Life Sciences, Biotechnology and Molecular

and Biosystems Engineering

Physical Sciences & Engineering PE1 Mathematics

PE2 Fundamental Constituents of Matter

PE3 Condensed Matter Physics

PE4 Physical & Analytical Chemical Sciences

PE5 Synthetic Chemistry and Materials

PE6 Computer Science & Informatics

PE7 Systems & Communication Engineering

PE8 Products & Process Engineering

PE9 Universe Sciences

PE10 Earth System Science

Evaluation Evaluation panels

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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

Peers

Review procedure

What makes ERC

evaluation

successful?

Evaluation Main features

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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 peer-reviewed

journals EU and

Associated

Countries

(86%)

US

(7%)

Other

(7%)

Evaluation Peers

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Remote assessment by Panel members of

section 1 – PI and synopsis

Panel meeting

Proposals retained

for step 2

STEP 1

Remote assessment by Panel members

and reviewers of full proposals

Panel meeting + interview (StG and CoG)

Ranked list of proposals

STEP 2

Feedback to

applicants

• Right balance between generalist + specialized review

• Appropriate treatment of interdisciplinary proposals

• Good cost-benefit ratio

Evaluation Review procedure (StG, CoG and AdG)

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Remote assessment by

Panel members of PI and

synopsis

Panel chair meeting

Proposals retained for step 2

STEP 1

Remote assessment by Panel

members and reviewers of full

proposals

Feedback to

applicants

• Right balance between generalist + specialized review

• Appropriate treatment of interdisciplinary proposals

• Good cost-benefit ratio

Evaluation Review procedure (SyG)

Re-assessment by Panel

members

Interviews

Ranked list of

proposals

STEP 2 STEP 3

Panel meetings

(dynamically arranged)

Proposals retained for step 3

Feedback to

applicants

* Dynamically

arranged

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In Step 1 proposals are ranked by the panels on the basis of the individual

reviews and the panels' overall appreciation of their strengths and

weaknesses.

Proposals will be retained for Step 2 based on the ranked list and the

determined budgetary cut-off level.

Applicants will be informed on the score attained by their proposal:

o A: is of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation,.

o B: is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation.

o C: is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation.

In addition, applicants will be told the ranking range of their proposal out of

the proposals evaluated by the panel.

Evaluation Ranking and scoring in Step 1

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In step 2 (and Step 3 for SyG) proposals are ranked by the panels on the

basis of the individual reviews and an overall appreciation of their strengths

and weaknesses.

Proposals will be recommended for funding based on the ranked list and the

funds available.

Applicants will be informed on the score attained by their proposal:

o A: fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding if

sufficient funds are available.

o B: meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will not

be funded.

In addition, applicants will be told the ranking range of their proposal out of

the proposals evaluated by the panel.

Evaluation Ranking and scoring in Step 2 (and Step 3 for SyG)

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StG, CoG and AdG funding schemes:

• Those who receive B in Step 1 have to wait out one year to

apply again to the StG, CoG or AdG calls

• Those who receive a C will have to wait out two years to

apply again to the StG, CoG or AdG calls

Evaluation Resubmission restrictions

SyG funding scheme:

• Those who receive B (Step 1 or Step 2) have to wait out one

year to apply again to the SyG call

• Those who receive a C will have to wait out two years to

apply again to the SyG call, and one year to apply to the StG,

CoG or AdG calls

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Work Programme 2019

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• Synergy Grant: budget increase and possibility to include

up to one Principal Investigator based in a third country

• ERC Proof-of-Concept: lump sum pilot and budget

increase

• Adjustment for the extensions of eligibility windows in StG

and CoG

Work Programme 2019 Main novelties

│ 25 │ 25

• First call since reintroduction still ongoing –results in October 2018

• 2018 budget kept low to limit the number of applications: €250 M,

sufficient for about 30 projects

• 2019 Work Programme budget increased to €400 M, sufficient for

about 50 projects

• At any one time, one Principal Investigator per Synergy Grant Group except

the Corresponding one can be hosted or engaged by an institution outside

of the EU or Associated Countries

Work Programme 2019 Synergy Grant

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Fixed lump sum of €150 000, applicants cannot apply for lower amounts

Applicants to provide a description of resources planned for implementation

of proposed projects

Evaluation experts asked to assess whether resources described in the

proposal are appropriate for project implementation

Payment not linked to actual costs: if project is implemented properly

payment is due in full "regardless of the costs actually incurred"

Budget increase from 20 to 25 million Euros (+25%, +37 projects)

Work Programme 2019 Proof of Concept

Full PoC assessment report and Scientific Council response available at:

https://erc.europa.eu/news/review_praises_erc_poc_scheme

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Adjustment for the extensions of eligibility windows in StG and CoG:

• The documented amount of clinical training received by the

Principal Investigator is now considered only for the part taken

after the award of the first eligible degree and up to 4 years

maximum

Work Programme 2019 Extension of the eligibility window in StG and CoG

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Starting

Grant

Consolidator

Grant

Advanced

Grant

Synergy

Grant

Proof of Concept

Grant

Call identifier ERC-2019-StG ERC-2019-CoG ERC-2019-AdG ERC-2019-SyG ERC-2019-PoC

Call closes

(cut-off dates for PoC) October 2018 February 2019 August 2019 November 2018

January 2019

April 2019

September 2019

Budget million EUR

(estimated number of

grants)

580 (390) 602 (314) 390 (166) 400 (48) 25 (167)

Work Programme 2019 Indicative summary of WP 2019 calls

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Horizon Europe

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Horizon Europe Objectives and structure

Specific objectives of the Programme

Foster all forms of innovation and

strengthen market deployment

Strengthen the impact of R&I

in supporting EU policies

Support the creation and diffusion

of high-quality knowledge

Optimise the Programme’s delivery for impact in a strengthened ERA

Strengthening the European Research Area

Reforming and Enhancing the European R&I system Sharing excellence

Pillar 1 Open Science

European Research Council

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Research Infrastructures

Pillar 3 Open Innovation

European Innovation Council

European innovation ecosystems

European Institute of Innovation

and Technology

Pillar 2 Global Challenges and

Industrial Competitiveness

• Health

• Inclusive and Secure Society

• Digital and Industry

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

• Food and natural resources

Joint Research Centre

Clu

ste

rs

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Horizon Europe Budget: €100 billion* (2021-2027)

€25.8

€52.7

€13.5

€2.1 €2.4

€ billion In current prices

Open Science

Global Challenges & Ind.Competitiveness

Open Innovation

Strengthening ERA

Euratom

* This envelope includes EUR 3.5 billion allocated under the InvestEU Fund.

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Horizon Europe Pillar 1, Open Science: reinforcing and extending

the excellence of the Union's science base

* This envelope includes EUR 3.5 billion allocated under the InvestEU Fund.

European

Research

Council

Frontier research

by the best

researchers and

their teams

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Equipping

researches with

new knowledge

and skills through

mobility and

training

Research

Infrastructures

Integrated and

inter-connected

world-class

research

infrastructures

€ 2.4 billion

€ 6.8 billion

€ 16.6 billion

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ERC and Spain

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Spain at ERC ERC funded projects by country HI

│ 35 │ 35

Spain at ERC ERC grants versus GERD

Host countries as of

05/12/2017

Linear fit

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Spain at ERC Top HIs in Spain

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336 PIs with Spanish nationality in Spain

110 foreign grantees in ES from 29 countries

118 Spanish PIs abroad in UK(40), FR(25), DE(17), CH(13)...

Spain at ERC Grantees at home and abroad

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Spain at ERC ERC proof of Concept 2011-17

Overall PoC share 10%

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Spain at ERC ERC panel member by country of HI and gender

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Spain at ERC Success rates by country of HI

Overall success rate

11,4%

│ 41

23 19

25 27 26

34

54

30

46

35

14 12 13

15 15 13 13 12 11

18

37

31

38 42 41

47

67

42

57 53

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

StG+CoG

AdG

Total

Spain at ERC Evolution of the number of grants with Spanish HI

Total: 453 grants

│ 41

2013: 14 StG and 20 CoG

2014: 22 StG and 32 CoG

2015: 12 StG and 18 CoG

2016: 23 StG and 23 CoG 2017: 22 StG and 13 CoG

│ 42

7,7% 7,8%

5,7% 5,6%

4,6%

5,6%

7,7%

4,6%

6,5%

4,8%

5,0% 4,9% 4,8% 5,0% 4,7% 4,6%

6,8%

4,3% 4,8%

6,7%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

StG+CoG AdG

Spain at ERC Evolution of the % of grants with Spanish HI

2013: 4,7% in StG and 6,4% in CoG

2014: 6,7% in StG and 8,6% in CoG

2015: 3,4% in StG and 6,0% in CoG

2016: 5,9% in StG and 7,3% in CoG

2017: 5,4% in StG and 4,0% in CoG

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6,2%

9,1%

8,1% 8,6%

9,6% 11,4% 10,0%

7,5%

8,1% 8,3%

7,4%

6,2% 6,1% 6,5%

5,6%

9,4%

12,2%

8,8%

8,0%

7,2% 7,7%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

StG+CoG

AdG

Spain at ERC Evolution of the % of applications with Spanish HI

2013: 10,7% in StG and 12,4% in CoG

2014: 8,6% in StG and 11,8% in CoG

2015: 6,9% in StG and 8,3% in CoG

2016: 7,7% in StG and 8,7% in CoG

2017: 7,4% in StG and 9,3% in CoG

2018: 6,9% IN StG and 8,1% in CoG

│ 44

567

227 234

350

454

799

581

374 426

464 412

134 96

130 129

216

294

190 157 174 167

701

323 364

479

670

1093

771

531

600 631

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

StG+CoG

AdG

Total

Spain at ERC Evolution of the number of applications with

Spanish HI

2013: 354 StG + 445 CoG

2014: 283 StG + 298 CoG

2015: 203 StG + 171 CoG

2016: 226 StG + 200 CoG

2017: 228 StG + 236 CoG

2018: 218 StG + 194 CoG

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Thank you for your attention