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ERC & the IDEAS Programme
The
supports investigator-driven, frontier research that may be carried out in any field of
research across the entire spectrum of disciplines (apart from nuclear energy research), without predetermined
priorities. Projects are implemented by “individual teams” led by a “principal investigator” (PI). Excellence is
the sole criterion for funding, and the peer review criteria are the excellence of the PI and the excellence of the
research project. The IDEAS programme is implemented by the European Research Council (ERC) according to
the principles of scientific excellence, autonomy, efficiency, transparency and accountability.
The
(1)
is the first pan-European funding agency for investigator-driven frontier research. It was set up in
2007 under the EU’s 7
th
Framework for Research & Development (FP7) - the main instrument for funding re-
search in Europe, running from 2007 to 2013. The total budget of the ERC is 7.5 billion
€
, spread over a period
of seven years, representing 15% of the entire FP7 budget.
The ERC is the newest pioneering component of
(2)
and displays notable differences with other EU R&D
programmes. ERC funding schemes are not based on traditional policy-driven priorities of the European Re-
search Area such as transnational cooperation, thematic priorities, or national and geographical quotas, and
supports research of a qualitatively different nature by encouraging excellent bottom-up projects at the cutting
edge of science.
Today there is no clear distinction between ‘basic’ and ‘applied’ research due to the fact that emerging areas of
science and technology often cover substantial elements of both. Even the boundaries between advancing the
frontier of knowledge and solving practical problems are blurred. As a result, the term ‘frontier” was coined to
define the nature of research supported by the European Research Council. ERC activities are directed towards
encouraging outstanding researchers to go beyond the established frontiers of knowledge and the boundaries
of disciplines. They comprise the funding of projects not only designed around fundamental research questions
but also those developed around well-defined technological challenges.
The
to increase the attractiveness of Europe for the best researchers worldwide and for industrial
research investment and to strengthen the EU’s capacity to generate new knowledge that will feed back into
the economy and society, improving Europe’s global competitiveness, prosperity and well-being. Ultimately, the
ERC aims to make the European research base better prepared to respond to the needs of a knowledge-based
society and provide Europe with the capabilities in frontier research necessary to meet global challenges. In this
sense, the ERC represents a decisive instrument towards achieving the objectives of the
(3)
.
The operational principles of the ERC is that of a Europe-wide competitive funding structure for frontier research
executed by individual teams, complementing and not replacing national funding. Competition is open to the
very best creative researchers across all scientific domains, irrespective of age, gender or nationality, who want
to conduct their research in an EU Member State or Associated Country. The ERC offers substantial funding to
senior research leaders (ERC Advanced Grants) as well as to early career top researchers (ERC Starting Grants).
It also provides flexibility and portability of funds. The ERC supports the brightest ideas through calls that en-
courage curiosity-driven, innovative, risk-taking interdisciplinary research of the highest quality at the frontiers of
knowledge. The competitive evaluation process - based on peer-review panels that are highly recognised and
respected - is based on the sole criterion of scientific excellence.
History & Governance Bodies
major research policy stakeholders recognize that frontier research is a key driver of technological and social
innovation. To succeed, any innovation system needs to reinforce its science base which produces new knowl-
edge and opens up radically new research venues. However, an impact assessment of previous FPs identified
the lack of dedicated mechanisms to support and strengthen excellent frontier research in Europe. Indeed,
prior to the ERC, this type of research was funded mainly at national level, while the focal point of EU R&D pro-
grammes laid mainly in pre-competitive cooperative applied research. The ERC was then created in order to ad-
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INTRODUCTION