The European Research Council ERC: Work Programme 2019 Jose M Fernandez de Labastida Head Scientific Department Madrid, 29-6-2018 1
The European Research Council Outline: ERC basics ERC achievements Evaluation Work Programme 2019 Horizon Europe ERC and Spain 2
ERC basics 3
Strategy Legislation ERC basics Legal basis and strategy The ERC supports excellence in frontier research through a bottom-up, individual-based, pan-european competition 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 Support for the individual scientists Global peer-review No predetermined subjects (bottom-up) Support of frontier research in all fields of knowledge 4
ERC basics ERC Governance 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 5
ERC basics Key figures 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 % 6
ERC basics ERC Funding Schemes Starting Grants 1 Principal Investigator (2-7 years after PhD) up to 2.0 Mio for 5 years Consolidator Grants 1 Principal Investigator (7-12 years after PhD) up to 2.75 Mio for 5 years Advanced Grants 1 Principal Investigator up to 3.5 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 7
ERC achievements 8
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 9
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% 10
ERC achievements Ex-post peer review evaluation Qualitative evaluation of completed ERC projects Overall results for 2015, 2016 and 2017 2015 21% 50% 25% 4% 2016 25% 48% 26% 1% 2017 19% 60% 20% 1% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% A - Scientific breakthrough C - Incremental scientific contribution B - Major scientific advance D - No appreciable scientific contribution 11
ERC achievements Priority to young scientists + 40 000 PhD and post-doc researchers working in ERC teams. Two-thirds of ERC grants to early-stage Principal Investigators. 12
Evaluation 13
Evaluation Proposal structure PART A online forms Info on Proposal, PI, HI and overall 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 PART B2 submitted as.pdf Scientific Proposal 15 p. Template for the budget Read the Information to Applicants 14
Evaluation Evaluation panels 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 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 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 15
Evaluation Main features 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 What makes ERC evaluation successful? Peers Review procedure 16
Evaluation Peers 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 US (7%) Other (7%) EU and Associated Countries (86%) 17
Evaluation Review procedure (StG, CoG and AdG) STEP 1 STEP 2 Remote assessment by Panel members of section 1 PI and synopsis Remote assessment by Panel members and reviewers of full proposals Panel meeting Panel meeting + interview (StG and CoG) Proposals retained for step 2 Feedback to applicants Ranked list of proposals Right balance between generalist + specialized review Appropriate treatment of interdisciplinary proposals Good cost-benefit ratio 18
Evaluation Review procedure (SyG) STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 Remote assessment by Panel members of PI and synopsis Remote assessment by Panel members and reviewers of full proposals Re-assessment by Panel members Panel chair meeting Panel meetings (dynamically arranged) Interviews Proposals retained for step 2 Proposals retained for step 3 Ranked list of proposals Feedback to applicants Feedback to applicants * Dynamically arranged Right balance between generalist + specialized review Appropriate treatment of interdisciplinary proposals Good cost-benefit ratio 19
Evaluation Ranking and scoring in Step 1 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 o o A: is of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation,. B: is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation. 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. 20
Evaluation Ranking and scoring in Step 2 (and Step 3 for SyG) 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 o A: fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding if sufficient funds are available. 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. 21
Evaluation Resubmission restrictions 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 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 22
Work Programme 2019 23
Work Programme 2019 Main novelties 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 24
Work Programme 2019 Synergy Grant 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 25 25
Work Programme 2019 Proof of Concept 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) Full PoC assessment report and Scientific Council response available at: https://erc.europa.eu/news/review_praises_erc_poc_scheme 26 26
Work Programme 2019 Extension of the eligibility window in StG and CoG 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 27 27
Work Programme 2019 Indicative summary of WP 2019 calls 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) 28
Horizon Europe 29
Clusters Horizon Europe Objectives and structure Specific objectives of the Programme Support the creation and diffusion of high-quality knowledge Strengthen the impact of R&I in supporting EU policies Foster all forms of innovation and strengthen market deployment Optimise the Programme s delivery for impact in a strengthened ERA Pillar 1 Open Science European Research Council Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research Infrastructures 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 Pillar 3 Open Innovation European Innovation Council European innovation ecosystems European Institute of Innovation and Technology Strengthening the European Research Area Sharing excellence Reforming and Enhancing the European R&I system 30
Horizon Europe Budget: 100 billion* (2021-2027) 2.1 2.4 13.5 25.8 billion In current prices Open Science Global Challenges & Ind. Competitiveness Open Innovation 52.7 Strengthening ERA Euratom * This envelope includes EUR 3.5 billion allocated under the InvestEU Fund. 31
Horizon Europe Pillar 1, Open Science: reinforcing and extending the excellence of the Union's science base European Research Council Frontier research by the best researchers and their teams 16.6 billion Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions Equipping researches with new knowledge and skills through mobility and training 6.8 billion Research Infrastructures Integrated and inter-connected world-class research infrastructures 2.4 billion * This envelope includes EUR 3.5 billion allocated under the InvestEU Fund. 32
ERC and Spain 33
Spain at ERC ERC funded projects by country HI 34 34
Spain at ERC ERC grants versus GERD Linear fit Host countries as of 05/12/2017 35 35
Spain at ERC Top HIs in Spain 36 36
Spain at ERC Grantees at home and abroad 110 foreign grantees in ES from 29 countries 336 PIs with Spanish nationality in Spain 118 Spanish PIs abroad in UK(40), FR(25), DE(17), CH(13)... 37 37
Spain at ERC ERC proof of Concept 2011-17 Overall PoC share 10% 38 38
Spain at ERC ERC panel member by country of HI and gender 39
Spain at ERC Success rates by country of HI Overall success rate 11,4% 40
Spain at ERC Evolution of the number of grants with Spanish HI Total: 453 grants 80 70 67 60 50 40 30 20 37 23 14 38 31 25 19 12 13 42 41 27 26 15 15 54 57 47 46 42 34 30 13 13 12 11 53 35 18 StG+CoG AdG Total 10 0 2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 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 41
Spain at ERC Evolution of the % of grants with Spanish HI 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 7,7% 7,8% 5,7% 5,6% 4,6% 5,6% 7,7% 6,8% 4,6% 6,5% 6,7% 4,8% StG+CoG AdG 4% 5,0% 4,9% 4,8% 5,0% 4,7% 4,6% 4,3% 4,8% 2% 0% 2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 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 42
Spain at ERC Evolution of the % of applications with Spanish HI 14% 12% 12,2% 10% 8% 9,1% 8,1% 8,6% 9,6% 9,4% 11,4% 10,0% 8,8% 8,0% 8,1% 8,3% 7,4% 6% 4% 6,2% 6,2% 6,1% 6,5% 5,6% 7,5% 7,2% 7,7% StG+CoG AdG 2% 0% 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 43
Spain at ERC Evolution of the number of applications with Spanish HI 1200 1093 1000 800 600 400 200 701 567 134 479 323 364 350 227 234 96 130 129 670 454 216 799 294 771 581 190 631 600 531 464 426 374 157 174 167 412 StG+CoG AdG Total 0 2007-2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 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 44
Thank you for your attention 45