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European Research Council

Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society:

Can Greece Compete?

3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE

London, June 2007

Prof. Fotis C. KafatosPresident, ERC

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European Research Council

• A major European initiative to support frontiers research

• A logical development of the European Research Area

• Securely anchored in EU legislation

but at the same time…..

A revolutionary development

The ERC: Competion for Excellence at a Pan-European Level

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European Research Council

Ageing and shrinking population?

High Labour and Social Security costs?

Expensive production and services?

Limited natural resources?

Capital accumulation and management?

• Yes, an essential part of our civilization

Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Freud

Einstein, Watson & Crick, Jacob & Monod… and?

• What will be our future competitive advantage?

Does Europe Need Frontiers Research?

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European Research Council

• Leadership in Science, the Endless frontier

• Central Role in the Knowledge Triangle:

Education / Research / Innovation

• Investment in excellent research

is an imperative, not an option

Europe Can Only Compete Through Knowledge

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European Research Council

• Generate, Attract and Retain Top Talent

• Integrate and Internationalize our Efforts

• Encourage and Trust the Young

• Create Attractive Career Path

• Competitive Champions League, set standards

by merit only (as in football)

To Become More Competitive, Europe Must

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European Research Council

• Proposals of the Commission to establish ERC through Framework Programme 7

• Political Context: P. Busquin & ERA; J. M. Gago & Lisbon A. Mitsos & Added Value Argument:

Competition for Excellence at European Level

• Adoption FP7 (18/12/06) & Specific Programme “Ideas” (19/12/06); EC decision establishing ERC (02/02/07); 7.51b€ for 2007-2013

• ERC consists of an independent Scientific Council supported by a Dedicated Implementation Structure / Executive Agency

• EC acts as guarantor of ScC autonomy and integrity and ensures proper functioning of the ERC

• Commissioner Potočnik nominated ScC (18/07/06) by arms-length independent procedure (Patten Identification Committee)

Birth and Structure of the ERC

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European Research Council

• Collaborates with EC towards an autonomous, integrated

world-class Research Funding Agency

• Defined ERC Strategy & Annual Work Programme

• Decided Calls for Proposals

• Established Evaluation Rules & Procedures

• Selected Evaluation Panels

• Intensive 1 yr work before establishment

ERC Scientific Council:Aim, Responsibilities and Actions

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European Research Council

- Opportunities and independence for young scientists- Individual frontier research programs- Significant funding to make a difference

• Address essentials, obvious gaps in Europe

The ERC Strategy, 1

• Trust the dynamic of science- Interdisciplinarity is encouraged- Excellence attracts excellence- The effects of critical mass- From individual to institutional excellence

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European Research Council

• Keep it flexible- Evaluation panels judge investment levels - Researchers can rebudget- Grants are portable

The ERC Strategy, 2

• Keep it simple- All fields of science and scholarship are eligible- Excellence is the sole criterion- Research results are the only deliverable- Referees & Evaluation Panels selected by excellence- Flat 20% contribution to overheads

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European Research Council

See http://erc.europa.eu

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European Research Council

-Ca. 300 M€; 200 grants, average 1.5M€ for 5 years

- i.e. 200 new investigators per call, ca. 1400 in 7 years

Sole selection criterion: Excellence of person & proposal

- Eligibility: - ≤ 9 years since Doctorate + 3 years for service

- Recently established or offered a position

- To work within EU or Associated States

- No nationality criterion

3 Rs: Recruit, Repatriate, Retain TOP TALENT

ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (ERC Starting Grant)

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European Research Council

-Annual budget minus ERC Starting Grants

- From ca. 600 M€ to over 1 billion € / year

- ca. 200/500 grants awarded each year

- Sole selection criterion: Excellence of proposal & track record

- Eligibility: (a) investigators at all career stages

(b) located or moving to Europe

(c) no age limit or nationality criterion

Recruit, Repatriate, Retain

ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (ERC Advanced Grant)

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European Research Council

- Starting Grants First call: December 2006Submission deadline: 25 April 2007

- Advanced GrantsFirst call: early 2008

- Starting and Advanced GrantsOne call per year, from 2008

Calls for applications

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European Research Council

Principal Investigators (PI’s):

Outstanding young scientistsEuropean and non-EuropeanWorking or moving to Europe

Host institutions:

- Universities

- Research Organizations (including companies, if they allow independent research)

Based in a European Member State or Associated Country

Starting Grants: Foster Early Independence of Young Investigators

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European Research Council

Principal Investigators must be able to:

• choose their co-workers

• decide on the evolving directions of their work

• re-allocate resources as necessary

• publish their scientific results without restrictions and independently (with, as co-authors, only those who contribute to the work significantly)

ERC Starting Grants: Guarantees of Scientific Independence

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European Research Council

Host institutions have to maximize available administrative and legal options to provide for a competitive salary for nationals and non-nationals

• Host institution engages the PI, pays salary

• Part (or all) of PI’s salary can be charged the ERC Grant(joint funding?)

• Additional personnel costs related to research can be covered by the ERC Grant

ERC Grants: Salary Issues

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European Research Council

ERC Grants are portable:

• “Money follows the researcher”

• The PI is entitled to transfer the grant to another

institution after a minimum 2 years at the

sponsoring institution

• Proper justification and ERC approval required

ERC Grants:Portability

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European Research Council

• Social Sciences and Humanities (SH)

• Mathematics, physical sciences, information and communication, engineering, universe and earth sciences (PE)

• Life Sciences (LS)

Budget allocation

SH 15%PE 45%LS 40%

ERC Starting Grants: Scientific Domains

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European Research Council

Starting Grants First Call: Proposals received by domain

Domain Number of proposals %

Life Sciences 3,396 37.0

Physical Sciences & Engineering

4,408 48.1

Social Sciences & Humanities

1,363 14.9

Total 9,167 100

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European Research Council

Starting Grants First Call: % Geographic Distribution: European and Overseas Clusters

Cluster PI residenceHost Institution

location

EEC6:

BE, DE, FR, IT, LU, NL44.8 46.2

Next 9 of EU15:

AT, DK, EL, ES, FI, IE, PT, SE, UK35.5 37.2

Next 12 of EU 27:

BG, CY, CZ, EE, HU, LT, LV, MT, PL, RO, SI, SK

8.6 8.8

7 EU-associated or candidate:

CH, HR, IL, IS, NO, RS, TR7.9 7.8

6 Overseas highly developed:

AU, CA, JP, NZ, TW, USA2.8 0

AL, AR, BR, BF, CN, EG, IN, IR, KH, ME, MX, SN, TN, RU, SG, UA, UZ, ZA,

ZW0.4 0

100 100

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European Research Council

Starting Grants First Call: “Gain-loss” figures

CountryTo Institution -

From Residence

Italy + 44

* Greece + 36

France + 34

Spain + 32

Germany + 26

Sweden + 23

Austria + 17

U.K. + 15

Netherlands + 14

Finland + 11

Switzerland - 17

Romania - 8

Belgium - 4

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European Research Council

Can Greece Compete?

•Rich human resources•A few good universities of high level research institutions

But

•Structural limitations

•Universities:•“One type fits all” •Inflexible legal and political framework•Under-funded•Dispersed faculties•Locked into an unreformed system

•Research:•Under-funded (<0.6% of national income and declining)•Lack of a national programme for bottom-up research