Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the European Research Council's operations and realisation of the objectives set out in the Specific Programme "Ideas" in 2008
Date: 2009-09-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU programme, activity report, operation of the Institutions, research programme, scientific research

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 22.9.2009 
COM(2009) 488 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the European Research Council's operations and realisation of the objectives set out 
in the Specific Programme "Ideas" in 2008 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the European Research Council's operations and realisation of the objectives set out 
in the Specific Programme "Ideas" in 2008 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

The  European  Research  Council  (ERC)  was  created  in  February  2007  by  a  Commission 
Decision1 as an ambitious new component of the EU's research policy under the provisions of 
the  Seventh  Framework  Programme.  It  is  the  means  for  implementing  the  Specific 
Programme  “Ideas”  whose  budget  stands  at  € 7.51  billion  over  the  period  2007-2013.  The 
ERC  comprises  of  an 
independent  Scientific  Council  supported  by  a  dedicated 
implementation  structure  (DIS)  and  operates  according  to  the  principles  of  scientific 
excellence, autonomy, efficiency, transparency and accountability.  

This  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission  for  2008,  drawn  up  in  co-operation  with  the  ERC 
Scientific  Council,  presents  the  Commission's  assessment  of  the  ERC's  operations  and  the 
achievement of its objectives in its second year of existence. 

The ERC's activities for this year can be grouped under two main headings. The first is the 
continued implementation of the programme, in particular, the implementation of the first call 
for ERC Advanced Grants and the publication of the second calls for the ERC Starting and 
Advanced  Grants.  Related  activities  include  the  operational  refinements  to  the  call 
management and peer review systems, measures intended to ensure the integrity of procedures 
and processes, provision of strategic and administrative support to the Scientific Council and 
communication with the scientific community. 

The second area of activities concerns the creation of the ERC Executive Agency which will 
eventually  take  on  the  role  of  the  DIS,  currently  being  performed  by  the  Commission. 
Activities in this area included adoption of a Delegation Act, selection and recruitment of new 
staff for the Agency and appointment of a Steering Committee. In addition, the Commission 
prepared the methodology for a review held in 2009 on the mechanisms and structures used to 
implement the programme. 

2. 

LEGAL BASE 

Article 4.4 of the Decision on the Specific Programme "Ideas"2 states that: 

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2007/134/EC:  Commission  Decision  of  2  February  2007  establishing  the  European  Research  Council 
(OJ L 57, 24.02.2007, p.14). 
2006/972/EC:  Council  Decision  of  19  December  2006  concerning  the  specific  programme:  Ideas 
implementing  the  Seventh  Framework  Programme  of  the  European  Community  for  research, 
technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) (OJ L 400, 30.12.2006, p. 242). 

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The  Commission  shall  act  as  the  guarantor  of  the  European  Research  Council's 
autonomy and integrity, ensure the proper execution of the tasks entrusted to it and 
provide the European Parliament and the Council with an annual report on the ERC's 
operations and realisation of objectives set out in the specific programme.  

Annex 1 of the same Decision states that the annual report will be drawn up in co-operation 
with the Scientific Council. 

3. 

STRATEGIC MATTERS 

The  Scientific  Council  has  the  responsibility  for  setting  the  ERC’s  scientific  strategy, 
including  establishing  the  annual  "Ideas"  Work  Programme.  In  2008  there  were  no 
fundamental changes to ERC strategy. Adjustments and refinements were, however, made in 
view of the fact that, for the first time, the increase in the ERC's funding resources allowed 
calls for both Starting and Advanced Grants to be issued under the same annual budget. 

The  ERC's  peer  review  system  was  also  fine-tuned,  in  particular  as  regards  the  handling  of 
interdisciplinary proposals, the ERC's communication strategy with respect to the publication 
of evaluation results and the strategy for the avoidance of situations of conflict of interest. 

3.1. 

Grants 

The Scientific Council has developed two "core" funding schemes under the "Ideas" Specific 
Programme designed to promote research excellence in all fields of knowledge. Researchers 
based  in  or  moving  to  an  EU  Member  States  or  an  FP7  associated  country  are  eligible, 
irrespective  of  nationality.  In  this  way  human  capital  is  also  secured:  top  talent  is  both 
retained in and attracted to Europe. 

These schemes are: 

The ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grants (“ERC Starting Grants”): supporting 
the  independent  careers  of  excellent  researchers  who  are  at  the  stage  of  starting  or 
consolidating  their  own  independent  research  team  or,  depending  on  the  field,  establishing 
their independent research programme.  

The  ERC  Advanced  Investigator  Grants  (“ERC  Advanced  Grants”):  supporting 
excellent,  innovative  investigator-initiated  research  projects  directed  by  leading  advanced 
investigators of whatever age, who have already established themselves as being independent 
research leaders in their own right. 

3.2.  Work programme 

The  2008  "Ideas"  Work  Programme3  was  established  by  the  Scientific  Council  and 
transmitted  to  the  Commission  in  early  2008  and,  subsequently,  adopted.  Adjustments  had 
become  necessary  following  the  exceedingly  large  numbers  of  applications  received  in 
connection to the 2007 call for Starting Grants. In that year the number of proposals was three 
times more than had been anticipated and, apart from putting considerable strain on the DIS' 

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C(2007)5746 of 29.11.07, not published. 

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resources  (administrative  and  IT  infrastructure)  and  its  evaluation  panels,  it  resulted  in  an 
overall success rate of only 3%. 

A  number  of  adjustments  were  therefore  introduced  in  2008  for  future  calls  so  as  to  ensure 
that  the  number  of  proposals  would  be  limited  without  compromising  the  quality  of 
applications. Benchmarking of the scientific track record of applicants and a restriction on re-
submission  of  proposals  were  introduced  to  act  as  a  disincentive  against  non-competitive 
proposals. 

As  regards  Starting  Grants,  a  symmetric  narrowing  of  the  eligibility  window,  from  2  to  9 
years in 2007 to 3 to 8 years in 2008, was introduced. In the case of Advanced Grants it had 
been decided that the budget for the first two calls (2008 and 2009) should be linked so as to 
make  available  to  applicants  a  cumulative  budget  of  about  € 1 billion  over  these  two 
consecutive  years.  In  order  to  ensure  equal  treatment  of  all  applicants,  the  eligibility 
conditions and the application and peer review procedures of Advanced Grant sections were 
not, therefore, materially revised with respect to the previous work programme. 

3.3. 

Peer review methodology 

Since the quality of the ERC’s peer review evaluation process and the confidence it engenders 
within the research community will be vital to the achievement of the ERC’s objectives, the 
Scientific  Council  has  given  careful  attention  to  the  ERC’s  peer  review  methodology.  It 
adopted  a  structure  of  high-level  peer  review  panels,  covering  the  entire  range  of  research 
disciplines  and  organised  in  a  framework  of  three  main  research  domains:  physical  and 
engineering  sciences,  life  sciences,  and  social  sciences  and  the  humanities.  Panel  members 
proposed  by  the  Scientific  Council  include  scientists,  engineers  and  scholars  of  the  highest 
international reputation from both within the EU and beyond.  

Each panel covers a broad range of topics so as to ensure that proper consideration is given to 
high quality, interdisciplinary proposals and is headed by a Panel Chair who gives visibility 
and  credibility  to  the  whole  peer  review  process.  Based  on  the  experience  gained  from  the 
previous call, the number of panels was increased to 25 for the first ERC Advanced Grant call 
in 2008, in order to spread demand better  across all panels and ensure representation of the 
various  disciplines.  Two  sets  of  panels  have  been  put  in  place,  operating  in  alternate  years. 
This  moderates  the  workload  on  individual  reviewers  and  means  that  they  are  not  excluded 
from applying to the ERC themselves. 

The  number  of  Starting  Grant  panels  was  also  increased  to  25  such  that  the  panels  operate 
consistently across the two grant schemes. 

4. 

PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION 

In  the  implementation  of  the  programme,  commitments  of  € 523.90  million  (global 
commitment) and payments of € 227.20 million were fully executed. These sums amount to 
99.988% and 100% respectively of the operational credits of the "Ideas" Specific Programme. 

4.1. 

Grants 

Grants are awarded through a formal grant agreement once legal and financial procedures are 
completed and the formal award decision has been taken. The grant preparation process does 

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not  involve  negotiation  of  the  proposal's  scientific  or  technical  substance  and  a  grant  is 
offered  on  the  basis  of  the  proposal  submitted  and  the  funding  recommended  by  the  peer 
review evaluation. 

Should sufficient budget become available (e.g. through selected proposals being withdrawn 
or  third  party  receipts),  preparation  for  a  grant  agreement  begins  with  the  highest-ranked 
proposal on the reserve list and continues on the other proposals in descending order of the 
final ranking. 

4.1.1.  The 2007 Starting Grant 

The granting process of the first ERC Starting Grants was concluded during the first half of 
2008.  The  Scientific  Council  followed  the  process  closely.  The  original  budget  of 
€ 292.2 million foreseen in the revised 2007 Work Programme grew to € 338 million thanks 
to contributions from the non-EU countries which participate in FP7. This increase in budget 
allowed the ERC to fund more grants than the roughly 250 originally anticipated. 

In fact, of the proposals submitted, 299 applications were eventually funded according to the 
order of merit determined by the peer review evaluation. 

4.1.2.  The 2008 Advanced Grant 

The first ERC Advanced Grant call was published on 30 November 2007 with three different 
deadlines in Spring 2008 depending on the domain (Physical and Engineering sciences, Life 
sciences  and  Social  sciences  and  Humanities).  The  call  involved  a  one-stage  application 
process  (applicants  being  required  to  submit  their  full  proposal,  along  with  a  synopsis  and 
evidence of their track record in scientific leadership, at the submission deadline) and a two-
step evaluation. It had an indicative budget of € 516.95 million. 

The DIS implemented  the  ERC peer  review system, including the appointment  of the panel 
members, as defined by the Scientific Council. A total of 2,167 proposals were received (997 
in the physical sciences, 766 in the life sciences and 404 in social sciences and humanities) of 
which  2,034  were  peer  reviewed  following  an  eligibility  check.  This  was  considerably  less 
than  the  number  of  proposals  submitted  for  the  2007  Starting  Grant,  indicating  that  the 
counter-measures taken to reduce numbers while maintaining quality of applications had been 
successful4.  By  the  end  of  2008,  275  proposals  submitted  under  this  call  were  selected  for 
funding: 114 in physical sciences, 84 in the life sciences, 48 in social sciences and humanities 
and  29  were  considered  under  the  new  inter-disciplinary  category.  Depending  on  the 
availability  of  third  country  receipts,  funding  could  be  made  possible  in  2009  for  more 
proposals submitted under this call. 

4.1.3.  The 2009 Starting Grant 

The second call for the ERC Starting Grant was published in July 2008 with three different 
deadlines  in  Autumn  2008  depending  on  the  domain.  A  total  of  2,503  proposals  were 
submitted: 1,112 in the physical sciences, 927 in the life sciences and 464 in social sciences 
and humanities. As the process is still underway, no final data are available on the number of 
selected proposals. 

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See also section 3.1. 

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4.1.4.  The 2009 Advanced Grant 

The  second  call  for  the  ERC  Advanced  Grant  was  published  in  November  2008  with  three 
different deadlines in Spring 2009 depending on the domain. As the process is still underway 
no final data is available on the number of proposals. 

4.2. 

Programme Committee 

Meetings  of  the  “Ideas”  Programme  Committee  were  held  on  31  January,  12  June  and  20 
November  2008.  In  addition  to  the  formal  business  of  the  Programme  Committee  (which 
normally operates in advisory mode) these meetings were structured to keep the Committee 
fully informed of progress in the implementation of the “Ideas” programme and the ERC and 
to allow for an open exchange of information on strategy and operational matters between the 
Committee, the Scientific Council, the ERC Secretary General and the DIS.  

4.3. 

Ethical review 

Of the 299 projects selected for funding under the 2007 Starting Grants call, 95 were screened 
by an external ethics panel of which 40 were subjected to a full ethical review. One project 
involves  the  use  of  human  embryonic  stem  cells  and  was  submitted  in  October  2008  for 
opinion of the "Ideas" regulatory Programme Committee. 

For  the  2008  Advanced  Grants  call,  126  proposals  were  flagged  for  ethical  screening.  The 
screening revealed 57 proposals needing full ethical review, 2 of which proposed to make use 
of  human  embryonic  stem  cells.  Copies  of  national  approvals  were  requested  in  61  cases 
where  a  full  ethical  review  was  not  required.  Eight  proposals  were  ready  to  start  the  grant 
agreement procedure with no request for documents or new reviews. The full ethical review 
was held during November 2008. In two cases, a new ethical review was requested. This was 
performed  in  January  2009  and  the  two  proposals  were  approved  on  condition  that  the 
applicants present further documentation. 

4.4. 

Redress 

The  "Ideas"  configuration  of  the  redress  committee5  considered  276  requests  for  redress  in 
connection  with  proposals  submitted  under  the  2007  Starting  Grant  call  and  174  requests 
relating  to  the  proposals  submitted  under  the  2008  Advanced  Grant  call.  These  figures 
respectively represent approximately 3% and 8% of the proposals submitted for each call. 

The  redress  committee  concluded  that  15  requests  on  applications  made  under  the  2007 
Starting  Grant  calls  and  14  requests  under  the  2008  Advanced  Grant  call  merited  an 
evaluation  or  a  re-evaluation.  With  the  exception  of  two  cases  all  evaluations  and  re-
evaluations  have  now  been  concluded.  In  none  of  the  cases  examined  by  the  redress 
committee was the earlier decision reversed. 

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OJ  L  391  and  OJ  L 400  of  30.12.2006  (EC  and  Euratom  rules  respectively)  and  corrigendum  in 
Euratom OJ L 54 of 22. 02.2007, p. 4. 

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4.5. 

Communication  

A significant effort was made during 2008 to communicate the ERC’s activities effectively to 
the  scientific  community  and  raise  awareness  with  the  wider  public.  A  number  of  key 
communication  tools,  products  and  channels  were  developed  during  2008  to  disseminate 
information on the ERC.  

A highly successful ERC conference took place on 7 October 2008 in Paris under the French 
Presidency. The conference, The European Research Council for a policy of excellence: the 
first  award  winners  pave  the  way,  served  as  an  assessment  of  the  first  year  of  the  ERC 
funding operations and allowed the experience of a number of holders of ERC Starting Grants 
to be shared. The ERC also participated in science fairs and conventions with an international 
reach as part of its communication strategy with an initial focus on the US scene. 

4.6.  Monitoring,  Assessment  and  Evaluation  (MAE)  of  the  "Ideas"  Specific 

Programme 

During  2008,  measures  were  taken  to  ensure  that  the  ERC  is  efficient,  transparent  and 
accountable  in  its  operations  and  that  it  acts  as  a  true  “learning  organisation”,  assessing 
achievements  on  an  ongoing  basis  and  adjusting  and  improving  procedures  on  the  basis  of 
experience. 

Throughout  the  year  the  ERC  sought  to  further  develop  the  strategy  for  monitoring, 
assessment  and  evaluation  (MAE)  of  its  activities  and  impacts  from  the  scientific  point  of 
view. A framework was created to incorporate the ERC's strategic requirements, the Scientific 
Council's  responsibilities  and  the  Commission's  obligations  to  monitor  and  evaluate  the 
implementation of the programme. It takes into account different categories of possible effects 
and impacts and a broad and integrated understanding of the ERC's performance. 

4.6.1. 

Support Actions 

The commitment to issue a call for Co-ordinated Support Actions (CSA) was first included in 
the 2008 work programme. The first CSA call was launched in July 2008 with a deadline on 
November  2008,  with  the  aim  of  generating  a  portfolio  of  projects,  studies  and  associated 
initiatives which will contribute to the monitoring, assessment and evaluation of the impact of 
the ERC and the "Ideas" Programme. The Work Programme also included support actions for 
the  activities  of  specific  legal  entities  (named  beneficiaries)  to  provide  support  to  the 
Scientific Council Chair and vice-Chairs at their places of work6. 

Two proposals were selected; one analysing the programme's impact on researchers, research 
organisations, funding institutions and policy structures, the other on career development, host 
institutions,  research  structures  and  research  output.  The  results  were  analysed  against  the 
framework described above and a second CSA call was published in November 2008 focusing 
on the "gaps" in topics and areas of interest where no proposals were selected for funding in 
the  previous  call.  Information  was  disseminated  to  the  evaluation  community  and  an 
Information Day was organised in Brussels on 16 September. 

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These  support actions  followed  SSAs  established  with  a  similar  purpose  as  preparatory  actions  under 
the Sixth Framework Programme. 

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4.6.2.  Review of Structures and Mechanisms 

Apart  from  ongoing  assessments,  Annex  I  of  the  Decision  establishing  the  "Ideas"  Specific 
Programme requires that: 

an  independent  review  will  also  be  carried  out  of  the  ERC's  structures  and 
mechanisms,  against  the  criteria  of  scientific  excellence,  autonomy,  efficiency  and 
transparency  and  with  the  full  involvement  of  the  Scientific  Council.  This  will 
include  the  process  and  criteria  for  the  selection  of  the  members  of  the  Scientific 
Council.  The  review  will  explicitly  look  at  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  a 
structure based on an Executive Agency, and a structure based on Article 171 of the 
Treaty.  On  the  basis  of  this  review,  these  structures  and  mechanisms  should  be 
modified  as  appropriate.  The  Commission  will  ensure  that  all  the  necessary 
preparatory work, including any legislative proposals which it considers necessary, is 
undertaken and presented to the European Parliament and the Council, as required by 
the Treaty, with a view to a transition to any modified structure required, as soon as 
possible. 

During 2008 the Commission presented a communication to the European Parliament and the 
Council on the Methodology and Terms of Reference to be used for the Review to be carried 
out  by  independent  experts  concerning  the  European  Research  Council  structures  and 
mechanisms7. The review took place in 2009. 

5. 

ORGANISATION OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL 

5.1. 

The Scientific Council 

Three members of the Scientific Council resigned in the course of 2008 for personal reasons8. 
An "Identification Committee"9 was set up by the Commission in order to identify three new 
members of the Scientific Council. This committee was also asked to make recommendations 
on a method for future replacements of members10. 

During 2008, the Scientific Council met five times in plenary session. The ERC Board, set up 
by the Scientific Council to plan the Scientific Council meetings and liaise with the DIS, met 
seven  times  during  the  year.  The  Scientific  Council  also  held  an  informal  "strategy  retreat" 
which  discussed  the  experience  gained  in  the  first  three  years  of  the  Scientific  Council's 
activities and discussed future strategic orientations.  

5.2. 

Establishing the ERC Executive Agency as the DIS 

The  Decision  establishing  the  ERC  requires  the  DIS  to  be  an  external  structure,  being 
responsible  for  all  aspects  of  administrative  implementation  and  programme  execution  as 
provided  for  in  the  work  programme.  The  DIS,  in  particular,  implements  the  evaluation 

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COM (2008) 526. 
These were Professor Paul J. Crutzen, Professor Lord May of Oxford and Professor Manuel Castells. 
The members of this committee were Professor Eero Vuorio (Chancellor of the University of Turku) as 
Chairman  of  the  committee  and  Professor  Hélène  Ahrweiler  (Honorary  Rector  and  Chancellor  of  the 
Academy  of  Paris),  Professor  Zita  Aušrelė  Kučinskienė  (Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine,  Vilnius 
University) and Professor Arnold Schmidt (Professor at Vienna University of Technology) as members. 
News  Alerts  on  EU  Research:  Set  up  of  the  ERC  Identification  Committee.  Brussels,  23  September 
2008 (http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=newsalert&lg=en&year=2008&na=na-230908) 

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procedures, peer review and selection process according to the principles established by the 
Scientific Council and ensures financial and scientific management of the grants. 

In 2007 the decision was taken to fulfil the DIS's external structure requirement through the 
creation  of  an  Executive  Agency,  formally  established  by  a  Commission  Decision  on  14 
December 200711 under the general regime for Executive Agencies12. A cost-benefit analysis 
had  also  shown  that  the  choice  of  Executive  Agency  could  reduce  estimated  administrative 
costs  from  the  5%  initially  foreseen  in  the  decision  establishing  the  "Ideas"  Specific 
Programme to 3.5% – a proportion which compares favourably with similar funding agencies. 

5.2.1.  Delegation Act 

A Delegation Act was adopted by the Commission in October 2008 delegating powers to the 
ERC Executive Agency to perform tasks required in the implementation of the programme as 
well  as  support  the  Scientific  Council13.  Other  specific  tasks  include  planning  and 
implementing  information,  communication  and  dissemination  activities  and  the  authority  to 
appoint experts for the evaluation of proposals and sign grant agreements. 

5.2.2.  Establishment of a Steering Committee 

The  creation  of  a  Steering  Committee  is  foreseen  in  the  case  of  all  executive  agencies14,  it 
being  responsible,  in  particular,  for  the  adoption  of  the  agency's  work  programme  and 
administrative  budget  every  year.  The  ERC  Executive  Agency's  Steering  Committee  was 
established in 2008 by a Commission Decision15 and its composition reflects the ERC specific 
features.  The  ERC  Executive  Agency's  Steering  Committee  is  made  up  of  three 
representatives of the Commission and two representatives of the scientific community, one 
of whom is a member of the Scientific Council, with the Secretary-General of the ERC having 
observer status. 

5.2.3.  Granting of administrative autonomy 

Until  administrative  autonomy  was  granted  to  the  Agency,  as  provided  for  in  the  ERC 
Decision,  the  functions  of  the  DIS  were  assured  by  a  dedicated  service  of  the  Commission: 
Directorate  S  of  DG  Research16.  Starting  in  2008,  considerable  progress  was  made  towards 
the formal establishment and commissioning of the Agency, both in establishing the legal and 

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2008/37/EC:  Commission  Decision  of  14  December  2007  setting  up  the  European  Research  Council 
Executive  Agency  for  the  management  of  the  specific  Community  programme  Ideas  in  the  field  of 
frontier research in application of Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 (OJ L9, 12.01.2008, p.15). 
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  58/2003  of  19  December  2002  laying  down  the  statute  for  executive 
agencies  to  be  entrusted  with  certain  tasks  in  the  management  of  Community  programmes  (OJ  L  11, 
16.1.2003, p. 1). 
Commission  Decision  of  8/X/2008  delegating  powers  to  the  European  Research  Council  Executive 
Agency with a view to performance of tasks linked to implementation of the specific programme Ideas 
in  the  field  of  research  comprising  in  particular  implementation  of  appropriations  entered  in  the 
Community budget. C(2008) 5694 (unpublished). 
Article  8  of  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  58/2003  of  19  December  2002  laying  down  the  statute  for 
executive  agencies  to  be  entrusted  with  certain  tasks  in  the  management  of  Community  programmes 
(OJ L 11, 16.1.2003, p. 1). 
Commission Decision appointing the five members and one observer of the Steering Committee of the 
European Research Council Executive Agency, C(2008) 5132 (unpublished). 
Administrative autonomy to the Agency was granted on 15 July 2009. 

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administrative  framework  of  the  Agency  and  transferring  the  tasks  of  Directorate  S  to  the 
Agency. 

5.3. 

Secondment and Engagement of Staff 

The  first  calls  for  expression  of  interest  and  vacancy  notices  were  published  in  2008  for 
engagement  or  secondment  to  profiles  and  posts  with  the  Agency.  In  this  way,  the  staff 
complement of the ERC Executive Agency was steadily built up and, by the end of the year, 
61  members  of  staff  had  already  taken  up  their  posts  where  they  performed  their  duties 
alongside staff from Directorate S of the DG Research. In addition, 11 scientific officers were 
loaned to the Agency by the same DG. Engagement and secondments have moved at such a 
rate that they more than made up for the reduction in staff numbers in Directorate S over the 
same period of time. 

In this way there was no disruption to the proper implementation of the programme while the 
Agency's administrative  capacity  was expanded  and strengthened in  view  of the granting of 
autonomy in 200917. 

5.3.1.  Officials seconded in the interest of the service 

Jack Metthey, Director of Directorate S, was concurrently nominated Director ad interim of 
the ERC Executive Agency18 until a Director is appointed for the Agency. 

Apart  from  the  post  of  Director,  19  other  posts  in  the  Agency  are  planned  to  be  filled  by 
Commission  officials  seconded  in  the  interest  of  the  service:  16  at  management  level  and 
three non-management posts. Calls for all these posts were published during the course of the 
year and by the end of 2008 one managerial post had been filled. 

5.3.2.  Externally-hired Temporary Agents 

Externally-hired  temporary  agents  will  be  engaged  in  key  scientific,  operational  and 
administrative  posts.  All  80  temporary  agent  posts  were  published  in  2008  and  selection 
procedures for most of them were quite advanced by the end of the year. As the recruitment 
process  for  this  category  of  staff  is  quite  lengthy,  the  first  temporary  agents  took  up  duties 
with the Agency in early 2009. 

5.3.3.  Contract Agents 

Contract agents are engaged to perform duties in a wide range of tasks under the supervision 
of temporary agents. 

5.3.4. 

Seconded National Experts 

Seconded National Experts at Directorate S were offered the opportunity to be transferred to 
the Agency. By the end of 2008 eleven experts had taken up this offer. 

17 
18 

See section 5.2.3. 
Decision taken at the 1839th meeting of the Commission held on 16 July 2008. 

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5.4. 

Location 

Separate  premises  have  been  procured  for  the  ERC  in  Brussels,  at  the  "Covent  Garden" 
building close to the Gare du Nord and the city's botanical park and where the Commission's 
Research  Executive  Agency  (REA),  administering  other  specific  programmes  of  FP7,  will 
also  be  located.  These  premises  now  house  the  offices  of  the  agency's  staff  and  the 
Secretary-General of the ERC, as well as provide meeting space for the Scientific Council's 
peer review evaluations. 

All of ERC Executive Agency's staff is expected to have moved to the new offices by the end 
of 2009. 

6. 

CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2009 

The  main  legislative  and  operational  developments  with  regards  to  the  ERC  Executive 
Agency have progressed considerably during 2008 leading to the Agency's autonomy in 2009. 
Effective  collaboration  with  the  Scientific  Council  has  been  a  key  factor.  Engagement  and 
secondment of staff with the Agency has moved ahead and gained momentum, making up for 
a few initial delays due to the interest and the very large response generated by the first calls 
for applications. 

The ERC's grant schemes will be further developed in future to ensure that they continue to 
support excellence and that they are administered in an efficient way. Measures intended to 
increase the attractiveness of EU and associated countries to researchers from third countries 
are  being  considered.  Adjustments  and  campaigning  are  also  planned  to  improve  the 
participation  of  female  researchers.  The  Scientific  Council  has  agreed  to  further  strengthen 
work  programme  provisions  that  take  into  account  career  breaks  in  the  professional 
experience of women scientists. 

The ERC is also keen that funding is not confined only to the wealthier countries and regions 
of  Europe.  Within  the  framework  provided  by  the  ERC  Model  Grant  Agreement  and  other 
available  administrative  and  legal  possibilities,  host  institutions  are  expected  to  make 
appropriate efforts to attract and retain scientists and scholars of the calibre to be awarded an 
ERC grant. 

At  the  same  time  host  institutions  are  expected  to  attribute  the  resources  of  the  ERC  grant 
towards  the  achievement  of  the  goals  of  the  specific  research  project.  ERC  grants  should 
support research excellence across the whole of the European Union and associated countries, 
including  countries  and  regions  that  are  less  well  endowed  with  research  facilities  and 
infrastructure. By these means, ERC grants can complement the efforts of host institutions to 
build or reinforce excellence across Europe. 

Effectiveness  and  efficiency  will  be  improved  through  monitoring  and  evaluation  and,  in 
particular, through  the  review of ERC structures  and  mechanisms.  The  ERC  sees  itself  as  a 
"learning organisation" and the experience gained so far will serve to make the review, which 
should  be  completed  within  the  term  of  the  present  College  of  Commissioners,  a  valuable 
exercise. 

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