Areas of Union competence deriving from the Treaty (Article 182 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) 1. A multiannual framework programme, setting out all the activities of the Union, shall be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, after consulting the Economic and Social Committee. The framework programme shall: — establish the scientific and technological objectives to be achieved by the activities provided for in Article 180 and fix the relevant priorities, — indicate the broad lines of such activities, — fix the maximum overall amount and the detailed rules for Union financial participation in the framework programme and the respective shares in each of the activities provided for. 2. The framework programme shall be adapted or supplemented as the situation changes. 3. The framework programme shall be implemented through specific programmes developed within each activity. Each specific programme shall define the detailed rules for implementing it, fix its duration and provide for the means deemed necessary. The sum of the amounts deemed necessary, fixed in the specific programmes, may not exceed the overall maximum amount fixed for the framework programme and each activity. 4. The Council, acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure and after consulting the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, shall adopt the specific programmes.

Competences of the Agency (Commission Decision 2008/37/EC) Objectives The Agency was set up in December 2007 by Commission Decision 2008/37/EC, for the management of the specific Community Programme ‘Ideas’ in the field of frontier research in the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003. ‘Ideas’ is implemented by the European Research Council (ERC), comprising an independent Scientific Council which establishes the ERC’s scientific strategy and monitors its implementation by the Agency that handles the operational management. The Agency became autonomous from the Directorate General for Research and Innovation on 15 July 2009. Tasks The tasks of the Agency are described in the Delegation Act (See Commission Decision C(2008) 5694), namely in Articles 5-7 thereof. Among these tasks, the Agency has been entrusted with tasks covering: — all aspects of administrative implementation and programme execution and in particular, the evaluation procedures, peer review and selection process according to the principles established by the Scientific Council; — the financial and scientific management of the grants.

Governance (Commission decisions C(2008) 5132 and C(2011) 4877) (Commission decisions 2007/134/EC and 2011/12/EU) (Council decision 2006/972/EC) (Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003) Steering Committee The Steering Committee is the body that supervises the operations of the Agency and is appointed by the Commission (See Commission Decision C(2008) 5132). It adopts the Agency’s annual work programme (after approval by the Commission), administrative budget and annual reports. It is composed of five members and one observer. Scientific Council of the ERC The Scientific Council of the ERC is entrusted by virtue of Commission Decision 2007/134/EC with establishing a scientific strategy for the Ideas Specific Programme, deciding on the type of research to be funded in accordance with Article 5(3) of Council Decision 2006/972/EC and acting as a guarantor of the quality of the activity from a scientific perspective. Its tasks cover, in particular, the establishment of the annual work programme for the Ideas Specific Programme, and of the peer review process, as well as the monitoring and quality control of the implementation of the Specific Programme ‘Ideas’, without prejudice to the responsibility of the Commission. It is composed of 22 members appointed by the Commission. Director of the Agency Appointed by the European Commission for four years. External audit European Court of Auditors. Discharge authority European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council.

Resources made available to the Agency in 2012 (2011) Budget 37,8 (35,6) million euro Staff at 31 December 2012 The 2012 operating budget provides for an establishment plan of 100 (100) temporary Staff (TS) and a budget for 289 (260) contract Staff (CS) and seconded national experts (SNE), i.e. a total of 389 (360) staff. Of these posts, 380 (350) were occupied at year-end 2012: — 96 (97) temporary staff, out of which 11 (13) TS seconded and 85 (84) TS external; — 275 (245) contract staff; — 9 (8) SNEs. Allocated to: — operational activities (Scientific and Grant Management departments): 71 % (68 %) — administrative activities (other departments): 29 % (32 %)

Products and services in 2012 (2011) 1. Monitor the grant agreements awarded under the Ideas Work Programme, calls for Starting Grants, Advanced Grants, Synergy Grants and Proof-of-Concept Grants. The Ideas work programme is implemented via the publication of the annual calls for proposals, which is followed by an evaluation (by external experts), the preparation and signing of grant agreements and finally the monitoring of project implementation. Each call for proposals results in a series of Grant Agreements, with an expected project cycle of about five years. 2. Execution of the 2012 Calls for proposals for the Ideas work programme. (Starting Grants, Advanced Grants, Synergy Grants and Proof-of-Concept Grants): 7 899 proposal applications were submitted in 2012, out of which 4 741 were for Starting Grants, 2 304 for Advanced Grants, 710 for Synergy Grants and 144 for Proof-of-Concept Grants. Of these a total of 7 740 were eligible and thus evaluated by the review panels. A total of 960 proposals were selected for the granting process (883 on the main lists, 77 on the reserve lists). 3. Generation and dissemination of information on the Ideas Specific Programme and the Agency’s activities in 2012. 4. The Scientific Council held regular meetings in 2012 across Europe, usually at the invitation of national authorities. Meeting in different countries which are either EU Member States or associated countries is a way of making the ERC more visible. The meetings are also considered important events both by the national authorities as well as the local scientific and research community. Five Scientific Council plenary sessions were organised during the period between 1 January and 31 December 2012: in February, June and December in Brussels (Belgium), in April in Sofia (Bulgaria) and in October in Limassol (Cyprus). Following the recommendations of the panel on the review of the ERC’s structures and mechanisms in 2009, the Scientific Council established two standing committees: the first providing guidance on conflicts of interest, scientific misconduct and ethical issues and the second dealing with the selection of evaluation panellists. The executive agency supported the operational activities of the two committees, which met once and twice respectively in 2012. The members of the Scientific Council also meet in WGs addressing specific issues. In 2012, various meetings of the ERC working groups on innovation and relations with industry, open access, internationalisation and gender balance were organised by the executive agency. The WGs carry out analyses and contribute to the ERC’s scientific strategy through proposals to be adopted by the Scientific Council in plenary in the areas covered by their mandates: to examine the ERC’s relationship with the industrial/business sector and the impact of ERC-funded research on innovation; to develop an ERC position on open access; to explore suitable mechanisms to boost the participation of non-European researchers, particularly Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries), in the ERC schemes; and to ensure that the ERC is at the forefront of best practice with regard to the gender balance in research. A series of working documents containing analyses and key messages on the specific issues dealt with by the WGs and by the standing committees were prepared by the executive agency, in collaboration with members of the groups.