The European Research Council Funding opportunities for top

The European Research Council: Funding opportunities for top scientists from anywhere in the world Dr Luis Fariña Busto Research Project Officer - Physical Sciences & Engineering ERCEA Scientific Management Department ││ 11 © Art & Build Architect / Montois Partners / credits: S. Brison

Outline • What is the ERC? • What does ERC offer? • How are ERC research proposals evaluated and by whom? │2

My two messages • We have some money for you • Sometimes we need some help to distribute it │3

What is the ERC? An autonomous funding body set up by the EU in 2007 and led by scientists Funding excellent researchers of any nationality To carry out frontier research in all fields of science and humanities 1 researcher, 1 Host Institution, 1 project, 1 selection criterion Substantial grants and a recognised label of excellence International, top level peer-review erc. europa. eu │4

ERC in H 2020 Budget 2014 - 2020 H 2020 budget € 77 billion ~ RMB 600 billion ERC budget € 13 billion ~ RMB 100 billion Almost € 2 billion ~ RMB 16 billion for calls in 2018 │5

ERC in the H 2020 Structure Ø The HORIZON 2020 main components: Excellent Science World class science is foundation of technologies, jobs, well-being Europe needs to develop, attract, retain research talent Researchers need access to the best infrastructures Industrial leadership Societal challenges Ø Excellent Science: European Research Council (budget under H 2020: € 13 billion) Future and Emerging Technologies Marie Skłodoswka Curie Actions Research Infrastructures │6

What does ERC offer? Creative Freedom of the Individual Grantee ERC offers selective and generous grants, independence, recognition & visibility Work on any research topic: completely bottom-up Gain financial autonomy for 5 years Negotiate the best work conditions with the host institution Attract top team members and collaborators (EU and non-EU) Portability of grants Attract additional funding and gain recognition: ERC is a quality label │7

Who can apply? Excellent Researchers Any nationality, any age or any current place of work In conjunction with a Host Institution based in Europe: EU or H 2020 associated countries We want you to come to Europe for a significant period of time ! │8

Researchers career development and complementary funding schemes ERC Ad. G - Advanced ERC Co. G – Consolidators Senior Professor ERC St. G - Starters Marie Skłodowska Curie Erasmus Full Professor Junior Professor/ Junior Researcher Associated Professor Post-docs Post Graduates Students │9

Priority to Young Scientists > 40 000 Ph. D and postdoc researchers working in ERC teams. Two-thirds of ERC grants to early-stage Principal Investigators. │ 10

What does ERC offer? ERC Grant Schemes Starting Grants Consolidator Grants starters 2 -7 years after Ph. D (≥ 50% commitment) up to € 1. 5 Million (+ € 0. 5 Million) for 5 years consolidators 7 -12 years after Ph. D (≥ 40% commitment) up to € 2 Million (+ € 0. 75 Million) for 5 years Proof-of-Concept bridging gap between research and earliest stage of marketable innovation up to € 150, 000 for ERC grant holders only Advanced Grants track-record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years (≥ 30% commitment) up to € 2. 5 Million (+ € 1 Million) for 5 years Synergy Grants 2 – 4 Principal Investigators up to € 10 (+ 4) Mio for 6 years │ 11

Additional funding Additional funding: 'Start-Up' costs for scientists moving to EU / Associated Countries Purchase of major equipment Access to large facilities Up to € 500 000 for Starting Up to € 750 000 for Consolidator Up to € 1 Million for Advanced grantees Up to € 4 Million for Synergy Grants │ 12

Extensions of eligibility window possible for St. G and Co. G for documented cases of: Maternity – 18 months per child (before or after Ph. D) Paternity – actual time taken off Military service Medical speciality training Caring for seriously ill family members No limit to the total extension │ 13

ERC Starting Grants (2 -7 y past Ph. D) Objective: support excellent PIs at the stage at which they are starting their own independent research team or programme Grant size: € 1. 5 M (possibility of additional € 0. 5 M) PI Profile: à à à Potential for research independence At least one publication as main author or without Ph. D supervisor Invited presentations in conferences Funding, patents, awards, prizes 50% of PI's time in the project + 50% in the EU or AC │ 14

ERC Consolidator Grants (7 -12 y past Ph. D) Objective: support excellent PIs at the stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme Grant size: € 2. 0 M (possibility of additional € 0. 75 M) PI Profile à à à Has achieved a certain degree of research independence Several publications as main author or without Ph. D supervisor Invited presentations in conferences Funding, patents, awards, prizes, mentoring 40% of PI's time in the project + 50% in the EU or AC │ 15

ERC Advanced Grants Objective: established research leaders with a recognised trackrecord of research achievements in the last 10 years Grant size: € 2. 5 M (possibility of additional € 1. 0 M) PI Profile à à à Active researchers with a significant track record in the last 10 years 10 top publications/3 research monographs as main author Invited presentations, organisation of major conferences Funding, patents, awards, prizes, mentoring 30% of PI's time in the project + 50% in the EU or AC │ 16

How are ERC proposals evaluated? Excellence is the sole evaluation criterion Evaluation of excellence at two levels: • Excellence of the Research Project Ground breaking nature Potential impact Scientific Approach • Excellence of the Principal Investigator Intellectual capacity Creativity Commitment │ 17

All topics are eligible, but the evaluation needs a concrete ERC panel structure Each panel: Panel Chair and 10 -16 Panel Members Life Sciences LS 1 Molecular and Structural Biology and Biochemistry LS 2 Genetics, Genomics, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology LS 3 Cellular and Developmental Biology LS 4 Physiology, Pathophysiology and Endocrinology LS 5 Neurosciences and Neural Disorders LS 6 Immunity and Infection LS 7 Diagnostic Tools, Therapies & Public Health LS 8 Evolutionary, Population and Environmental Biology LS 9 Applied Life Sciences and Biotechnology Social Sciences and Humanities SH 1 Individuals, Markets and Organisations SH 2 Institutions, Values, Environment and Space SH 3 The Social World, Diversity, Population SH 4 The Human Mind and Its Complexity SH 5 Cultures and Cultural Production SH 6 The Study of the Human Past Physical Sciences & Engineering PE 1 Mathematics PE 2 Fundamental Constituents of Matter PE 3 Condensed Matter Physics PE 4 Physical & Analytical Chemical Sciences PE 5 Synthetic Chemistry and Materials PE 6 Computer Science & Informatics PE 7 Systems & Communication Engineering PE 8 Products & Process Engineering PE 9 Universe Sciences PE 10 Earth System Science │ 18

Who evaluates ERC proposals? • At step 1 - Panel members who discuss over several days - E. g. there is an ERC 2017 Ad. G panel with 12 members • Balance between generalist + specialised reviews • Careful treatment of interdisciplinary proposals • At step 2 - Panel members plus - typically 3 external (close) experts per proposal u! o y d e e Some 200 external reviewers per call per panel n We │ 19

Submission, evaluation and selection Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants 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 Proposals retained for step 2 Feedback to applicants Panel meeting + interview (St. G and Co. G) Proposals for funding Feedback to applicants │ 20

Two words on HEP proposals • The individual role of the PI must be clear • The originality of the proposal must be convincing │ 21

ERC Panel Members by Country of HI and Gender Averaged over the first 19 ERC calls 27% of the ERC panel members were women * Number of instances that experts of a certain country of origin are contributing to the ERC peer review │ 22

Overview of 2018 ERC Calls ERC calls Budget Call Opening Submission Deadline(s) Starting Grant 581 M€ 3 August 2017 17 October 2017 24 October 2017 15 February 2018 15 May 2018 30 August 2018 3 August 2017 14 November 2017 ERC-2018 -St. G (391 grants) Consolidator Grant 550 M€ ERC-2018 -Co. G (287 grants) Advanced Grant 450 M€ ERC-2018 -Ad. G (194 grants) Synergy Grant 250 M€ ERC-2018 -Sy. G (30 grants) For Work Programme see erc. europa. eu │ 23

International collaboration ERC promotes international participation to its grants through special agreements with sister institutions. One such "implementing agreement" was signed with NSFC in 2015. Calls are launched in October. https: //erc. europa. eu/managing-your-project/set-anddevelop-your-team https: //erc. europa. eu/sites/default/files/document/file/agree ment_ERC_NSFC_en. pdf │ 24

Some useful tools and links Read the Work Programme and Information for Applicants Contact your National Contact Point if you have questions View the step-by-step video Introduction to application process, including tips & tricks for the interview https: //erc. europa. eu/get_video/4009 Consult ERC website for latest funding opportunities, view ERC funded projects │ 25

The European Research Council More information: erc. europa. eu or watch: https: //player. vimeo. com/video/154715819 Sign up for news alerts: erc. europa. eu/keep-updated-erc Follow us on: www. facebook. com/European. Research. Council twitter. com/ERC_Research www. linkedin. com/company/european-research-council │ 26

Thank you! luis. farina-busto@ec. europa. eu │ 27

President ERC Scientific Governance by the Scientific Council Jean-Pierre BOURGUIGNON Margaret BUCKINGHAM Matthias KLEINER Vice-President Klaus BOCK Mart SAARMA Núria SEBASTIAN GALLES Christopher CLARK Eva KONDOROSI Athene DONALD Barbara ENSOLI Tomas JUNGWIRTH Michael KRAMER Kurt MEHLHORN Barbara ROMANOWICZ Nils Christian STENSETH Martin STOKHOF Nektarios TAVERNARAKIS Reinhilde VEUGELERS Michel WIEVIORKA Fabio ZWIRNER Janet THORNTON Isabelle VERNOS │ 28

How to prepare and submit an ERC research proposal? Have a bright, original and exciting idea Design a research project to implement the idea Get a letter of support from a Host Institution where the project is to be carried out (the HI must be located in the EU or any of the H 2020 associated countries) Write your research proposal Fully electronic/web based submission system Submit your research proposal before the deadline │ 29

How to prepare and submit an ERC research proposal? Proposal structure PART B 1 – submitted as. pdf PART A – online forms • • • A 1 Proposal and PI info A 2 Host Institution info A 3 Budget Annexes – submitted as. pdf • HI support letter • copy of Ph. D (St. G, Co. G); • document for extension of eligibility window (St. G, Co. G) Extended Synopsis CV 2 p. Early Achievements (St. G and Co. G) or 10 -year Track Record (Ad. G) 2 p. 5 p. PART B 2 – submitted as. pdf • Scientific Proposal Read the Information to Applicants. . . … and follow the indications in the WP 15 p. │ 30

Preparing your proposal: Questions to ask yourself as an applicant Does it promise to go substantially beyond the state of the art? Is it timely? (Why wasn't it done in the past? Is it feasible now? ) What's the risk? Is it justified by a substantial potential gain? Do I have a plan for managing the risk? Why is my proposed project important? Why am I the best person to carry it out? (avoid exaggerating!) Am I internationally competitive as a researcher at my career stage and in my discipline? Am I able to work independently, and to manage a 5 -year project with a substantial budget? ││ 31

Preparing your proposal: Hints and tips (Generalities) Check the "novelty/excellence" of your idea (see previous ERC grants on the topic) Register early, get familiar with the system and templates and start filling in the forms Use the help tools and call documents (Information for Applicants, Work Programme, Frequently asked questions) to prepare your proposal Talk to your Institution's grant office and other ERC grantees Download and proof-read the proposal before submitting A submitted proposal can be revised until the call deadline by submitting a new version and overwriting the previous one │ 32

Preparing your proposal: Tips - Differences between Parts B 1 and B 2 In Step 1: Panel members see only Part B 1 of the proposal (prepare it accordingly!) Pay particular attention to the ground-breaking nature of the research project – no incremental research. State-of-the-art is not enough. Think big! Know your competitors – what is the state of play and why is your idea and scientific approach outstanding? Part B 1: concise and clear presentation is crucial (not all evaluators are experts in your field) Outline of the methodological approach is recommended (feasibility assessment) Show your scientific independence in your CV (model CV provided in the part B 1 template) Select the "right" Panel – very IMPORTANT!, ID explanation for 2 ry panel ││ 33

Preparing your proposal: Tips - Differences between Parts B 1 and B 2 In Step 2: Both Part B 1 and B 2 are read by Panel Members & Remote Referees Do not just repeat the synopsis, go into details Provide sufficient details on methodology, work plan, selection of case studies etc. (15 pages) Explain hypothesis or provide preliminary data (if exists) Make sure you give full references (excluded from page limits) Provide alternative strategies to mitigate risks Check coherency of figures Justify requested resources - Explain involvement of team members (ERC proposals are NOT collaborative ones) - show the need of collaborators (if any) ││ 34

Preparing your proposal: Tips - Part B 2: Proposal budget considerations Budget analysis carried out in Step 2 evaluation (meeting) Panels have responsibility to ensure that resources requested are reasonable and well justified Panels do not “micro-manage” project finances Budget cuts need to be justified on a proposal by proposal basis (no acrossthe-board cuts) But not explained costs are often cut! Panels to recommend a final maximum budget based on the resources allocated/ removed Ask for funding for Open Access – this is obligatory in Horizon 2020! │ 35

Preparing your interview: Some tips and suggestions • If invite to Step 2 interview (St. G and Co. G): – Get Panel Members interested in you and what you are doing – Practice thoroughly, many times; typically a 10 minute presentation followed by 10 -15 minutes of questions – Panels want to see that these are your ideas, not those of your supervisor – It is normal to be nervous … │ 36

After 10 Years, a Success Story │ 37

Main features for 2017 • Strict resubmission restrictions • If scored a B in Step 1, can re-apply in the second year (2019 call) • If scored a B in Step 2 can re-apply in the next year (2018 call) • If scored a C, can re-apply in the third year (2020 call) • Recommended model CV • Obligation for Open Access • 25 % HI overhead • Funding ID in part B 1: obligatory tables to be filled in • Secondary panel: dedicated box for justification in part B 1 • References do not count towards the page limits │ 38

Main features for 2017 - continued • Time and place commitment of the PI are eligibility criteria (ex. 30% time on the project and 50% spent in Europe for Ad. G 2017) • Restrictions on proposals rejected on research integrity grounds – PIs excluded for two years to re-apply • Part B 2: new table added: PI is requested to justify additional funding above the normal 2. 5 M€ Request for additional funding above EUR 2 500 000 for Keep only that category(ies) that apply to the project. (a) covering eligible 'start-up' costs for a PI moving from another country to the EU or an Associated Country as a consequence of receiving an ERC grant and/or, (b) the purchase of major equipment and/or, (c) access to large facilities. Justification │ 39

ERC Funded Projects by Country of HI │ 40

Success Rate by Country of HI │ 41

Grantees at Home and Abroad │ 42

STG 2016 Results │ 43

STG 2016 Results │ 44

COG 2016 Results │ 45

COG 2016 Results │ 46