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 2010
Date: 2011-08-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, activity report, operation of the Institutions, research programme, scientific research

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.8.2011 
COM(2011) 497 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 2010 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION AND LEGAL BASE 

The European Research Council (ERC), established by Commission Decision 2007/134/EC1, 
has  as  its  essential  task  the  implementation  of  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas",  with  an 
overall budget of € 7.51 billion. 

The  ERC  consists  of  an  independent  Scientific  Council  supported  by  a  dedicated 
implementation  structure,  which  took  the  form  of  the  ERC  Executive  Agency  (ERCEA)2 
created under the general regime of executive agencies. Responsibility for implementing the 
"Ideas" programme and supporting the Scientific Council was delegated to the Agency by the 
Commission in 2008 and autonomy was granted to the Agency in July 2009.  

In  conformity  with  Article  4.4  and  Annex  I  of  the  Council  Decision  on  the  Specific 
Programme  "Ideas",  this  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission,  drawn  up  in  co-operation  with 
the  ERC  Scientific  Council  and  the  ERC  Executive  Agency,  presents  the  Commission's 
assessment of the ERC's operations and the achievement of its objectives in 2010. This report 
is complemented by a report from the Scientific Council on the scientific implementation and 
achievements of the programme during the year 2010. 

2. 

STRATEGY MATTERS 

The  Scientific  Council  is  responsible  for  setting  the  ERC's  scientific  strategy,  including 
establishing  the  ERC's  most  important  strategy  document,  the  annual  "Ideas"  Work 
Programme. 

2.1. 

Funding schemes 

In the "Ideas" Work Programme the Scientific Council has aimed to define a clear and stable 
vision for the research activities of the ERC. It should be recalled that the Scientific Council's 
strategy in this regards involves two grant schemes across all fields of research: 

–  The  ERC  Starting  Independent  Researcher  Grants  (ERC  Starting  Grants):  designed  to 
assist researchers who have recently obtained their Ph.D. to establish their independence 

–  The  ERC  Advanced  Investigator  Grants  (ERC  Advanced  Grants):  for  the  very  best 

research carried out by senior researchers working in Europe. 

2.2. 

2010 Work Programme for the Specific Programme "Ideas" 

The  2010  Work  Programme  for  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas"  (2010  Work  Programme)3 
was  established  by  the  Scientific  Council  on  2 April 2009  and  subsequently  adopted  by  the 
Commission on 29 July 2009. 

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OJ L 57, 24.02.2007, p.14. 
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). 
C(2009)5928 of 29.07.09, not published.  

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No fundamental change in strategy was introduced via the 2010 Work Programme, but only a 
refinement  of  grant  schemes  on  the  basis  of  experience  gained.  To  further  ensure  a  more 
appropriate  assessment  of  both  sub-groups  that  compete  for  the  ERC  Starting  Grant  (i.e. 
principal  investigators  in  the  early  stage  of  transition  to  research  independence  and 
researchers  in  the  consolidation  phase  of  their  research  activity  or  team),  the  Scientific 
Council  extended  the  eligibility  window  for  applicants  to  2-10  years  following  their  being 
awarded a Ph.D. This was possible also as a result of the considerably strengthened budget for 
2010. 

Within  this  window  of  eligibility,  applicant  Principal  Investigators  are  sub-divided  during 
evaluation into two main streams, with applicants being awarded their Ph.D. at least 2 and no 
more  than  6  years  (broadly  described  as  "starters")  or  over  6  but  no  more  than  10  years 
(broadly  described  as  "consolidators")  prior  to  the  call  publication.  To  assure  comparable 
success  rate  between  "starters"  and  "consolidators"  the  indicative  budget  of  each  panel  was 
divided  in  proportion  to  the  budgetary  demand  of  the  proposals  submitted  by  the  two 
categories of applicants.  

Other  adjustments  included  further  simplification  in  rules  on  re-submission  and  multiple 
applications and the introduction of measures to increase the attractiveness of the EU and the 
associated countries to researchers residing in third countries as well as to further encourage 
the  participation  of  women  scientists.  Additional  funding  is  to  be  made  available  to 
researchers from third countries to encourage and help them establish themselves in Europe 
and greater consideration will be given to previous career breaks and unconventional career 
paths which would be expected to encourage higher participation from women scientists. 

2.3. 

Peer review methodology 

The ERC employs a structure of high-level peer review panels whose members are selected 
by the Scientific Council and include scientists, engineers and scholars from both within the 
EU and beyond. These panels cover all research disciplines and are organised in a framework 
of three main research domains: Physical Sciences and Engineering, Life Sciences, and Social 
Sciences  and  Humanities.  Consistent  with  previous  calls,  the  number  of  panels  was  25  for 
both schemes. 

3. 

PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION 

In  the  implementation  of  the  programme,  commitments  of  more  than  € 1.1  billion  and 
payments  of  € 528  million  were  fully  execu ted,  representing  100%  of  the  operational 
appropriations of the "Ideas" Specific Programme for 2010. Around 2.58% of the operational 
budget was spent on administration. 

3.1. 

Grants 

Since the 2008 Work Programme, ERC calls involve a one-stage application process, where 
applicants are required to submit their full proposal, and a two-step evaluation. 

Grants are offered to the best proposals depending on the budget available. The offer is made 
on  the  basis  of  the  proposal  itself  and  the  funding  recommended  by  the  peer  review 
evaluation.  

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3.1.1.  ERC Starting Grants 

The  2010  ERC  Starting  Grant  call  was  published  in  July  2009  with  an  indicative  budget  of 
€528 million. In total 2,873 proposal s were received distributed by domain as follows: 1,205 
proposals  in  Physical  Sciences  and  Engineering,  1,230  in  Life  Sciences  and  638  in  Social 
Sciences and Humanities. A total of 436 proposals were funded with a budget of more than € 
537 million and an average award of around €1.2 million.  

The  2011  ERC  Starting  Grant  call  was  published  in  July  2010  with  an  indicative  budget  of 
€661  million.  A  total  of  4,080  proposals  were  submitted  in  response:  1,690  for  Physical 
Sciences  and  Engineering,  1,440  for  Life  Sciences  and  950  for  Social  Sciences  and 
Humanities, representing respectively 42%, 35% and 23%, a split similar to the 2010 Starting 
Grants call. 

3.1.2.  ERC Advanced Grants 

The 2010 ERC Advanced Grant call was published in October 2009 with an indicative budget 
of €590 million. A total of 2,009 proposals were r eceived distributed by domain as follows: 
902 proposals in Physical Sciences and Engineering (45%), 621 in Life Sciences (31%) and 
486  in  Social  Sciences  and  Humanities  (24%).  The  evaluation  process  resulted  in  a  total  of 
266  proposals  retained  for  funding  with  a  total of  more  than  €  588  million  awarded  and  an 
average award of around €2.2 million. 

The  2011  ERC  Advanced  Grant  call  was  published  in  November  2010  with  deadlines 
between February and April 2011 and an indicative budget of € 661 million. 

The  rise  in  proposals  in  both  granting  schemes  shows  an  unbroken  demand  for  funding  of 
excellent research at European level. 

3.2. 

Programme Committee 

The  Programme  Committee  of  the  Specific  Programme  "Ideas"  serves,  in  addition  to  its 
formal duties, as an important communication network between the Member States and FP7 
Associated  Countries,  the  Scientific  Council,  the  ERC  Secretary  General  and  the 
Commission. In 2010 meetings of this committee were held on 23 March and 22 October. 

3.3. 

Ethical review 

An external Ethics Panel of 40 experts was involved in the ethical review process. 

During  2010,  all  the  proposals  were  screened  from  the  ethical  point  of  view,  out  of  which 
only  3  were  flagged  as  dealing  with  Human  Embryonic  Stem  Cells.  However,  since  these 
proposals  were  in  the  reserve  list  at  the  end  of  2010,  they  will  be  transferred  to  the 
Commission for the finalisation of the process only when and if they become part of the main 
list; consequently there was no involvement in 2010 of the Ideas Programme Committee. 

3.4. 

Redress 

In 2010, a total of 225 redress complaints for both calls were introduced, representing 4.6 % 
of the total number of proposals. Although the percentage of redress cases introduced shows a 
slight  increase  compared  to  2009  (+0.7%),  the  number  of  re-evaluation  decreased  by  71% 
(from  14  to  10  re-evaluations)  based  on  the  outcome  of  the  ERCEA  Redress  Committee's 

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assessment  and  none  of  the  2010  redress  complaints  introduced  was  successful.  One  re-
evaluation is still pending. 

3.5. 

Communication  

During  the  course  of  2010,  the  ERC  continued  its  efforts  to  raise  awareness  of  its  funding 
opportunities  in  the  research  community  and  increase  the  visibility  of  the  ERC  and  its 
research projects among the general public and the media.  

In particular, the ERC Scientific Council decided to put further emphasis on awareness raising 
outside Europe in order to attract more top researchers from non-European countries to pursue 
their research in Europe. To this end, targeted visits and outreach campaigns in the US, China, 
Japan, India and Brazil were organised. The ERC was present in major international research 
conferences,  career  fairs  and  workshops:  the  “AAAS”  annual  meeting  in  San  Diego,  the 
“MIT-European  Career  Fair”  in  Boston  and  the  “Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society  for 
Neuroscience” in San Diego, the “ESOF” in Torino, the “Research Career Fair” in Paris and 
the “EMBO” in Barcelona; the “World Expo” in Shanghai and the “Indian Science Congress” 
in  Kerala.  ERC  delegations  also  visited  universities  in  the  US  (Berkeley,  Stanford  and  UC 
Davis) and in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as institutes and organisations in Beijing, Shanghai, 
and Tokyo. 

In  line  with  this  outreach  priority,  targeted  brochures  were  produced  and  translated  into 
Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, and promotional ERC banners were designed for the 
EU  Delegation  offices  in  the  US,  China,  Brazil  and  India.  An  immediate  result  of  these 
outreach activities was the increased number of hits on the ERC website from the countries 
visited. 

Press  activities  were  organised  in  Europe  and  overseas.  Over  the  year,  the  ERC  caught  the 
interest of the media not only as an organisation, but its funded research and its grantees were 
also  increasingly  in  the  limelight.  This  was,  for  example,  the  case  of  ERC  Starting  Grantee 
Konstantin  Novoselov,  2010  Nobel  Prize  laureate  in  Physics.  The  successful  completion  of 
ERC Advanced grantee Alberto Broggi’s 10,000 km intercontinental trip with solar powered 
autonomous cars from Italy to the “World Expo” in Shanghai received much media attention 
worldwide. 

Mindful  not  to  neglect  any  communication  channel,  the  ERC  also  produced  several  videos, 
including one tracing the historical developments of the ERC and presented at the celebration 
of the 1000th ERC grantee event and a first portrait of one of its successful grantees. 

The  ERC  continued  to  foster  relations  with  existing  networks  of  key  stakeholders  and 
collaborated closely with relevant departments of the European Commission, as well as with 
the EU Delegation offices around the world. The National Contact Points (NCPs), based all 
over Europe and serving as information multipliers to potential applicants, were continuously 
kept informed of the ERC developments and of its calls. 

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3.6.  Monitoring,  Assessment  and  Evaluation  (MAE)  of  the  Specific  Programme 

"Ideas" 

In  2010,  the  Commission,  the  ERCEA  and  the  Scientific  Council  took  action  on  the 
recommendations of the ERC Review of structures and mechanisms4.  

In a Decision amending the Decision establishing the ERC5, the Commission confirmed the 
arrangements for the local support to the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the Scientific Council at 
their  places  of  work  and  introduced  an  honorarium  for  attendance  at  the  Scientific  Council 
plenary meetings, in recognition of the personal commitment of the members of the Scientific 
Council  and  the  time  they  have  to  devote  to  ERC  tasks.  The  same  decision  introduced  the 
concept  of  a  Standing  Identification  Committee  for  the  identification  of  future  Scientific 
Council members. 

The Commission also amended the ERC Rules for the submission of proposals and the related 
evaluation,  selection  and  award  procedures6,  in  order  to  improve  the  ERC  administrative 
procedures and provide, in particular, for a systematic simplification of the appointment and 
reimbursement procedures for the independent experts involved in the evaluation process of 
the "Ideas" Programme. The extensive use of electronic tools and the establishment of single 
appointment letters thus introduced alleviate the workload of peer reviewers, on whom much 
of the ERC's success is credited. 

The  Scientific  Council,  for  its  part,  has  established  two  dedicated  committees,  one  for  peer 
review and one for conflicts of interest, scientific misconduct and ethical issues. The summary 
of the plenary meetings is published on the ERC website7. 

On  ERC  governance  and  in  close  contact  with  the  Scientific  Council,  the  Commission 
undertook  a  further  reflection  on  a sustainable  and  forward-looking  solution,  in  view  of  the 
forthcoming "Horizon 2020" - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. This 
reflection was entrusted to an ERC Task Force, set up in December 2010 and which included 
representatives  of  the  Scientific  Council,  the  ERC  Review  Panel  and  the  Commission8.  Its 
report will be transmitted to the Council and the European Parliament.  

The  report  of  the  expert  group  on  the  Interim  Evaluation  of  the  Seventh  Framework 
programme published on 12 November 20109 commends the success of the ERC, "which has 
rapidly gained recognition from the research community, as well as policy makers throughout 
Europe. Despite being a new, and thus untried, instrument, the European Research Council 

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to 

(23 

and 

Council’s 

Structures 

Mechanisms 

the  Council 

and  Parliament  C(2009)  552 

Review Panel Report: Towards a world class Frontier Research Organisation: Review of the European 
2009). 
Research 
http://erc.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&topicID=158  Response  of  the  Commission: 
Communication 
final  of  22.10.2009 
http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/other_reports_studies_and_documents/commission
_communication_on_the_erc_review_-_22_october_2009.pdf  
Decision 2011/12/EU of 12.1.2011, OJ L 9, 13.1.2011, p.5 
Decision 2010/767/EU of 9 December 2010, OJ L 327, 11.12.2010, p.51 
http://erc.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&topicID=60 
Press release IP/10/1759 
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/1759&format=HTML&aged=0&langua
ge=EN&guiLanguage=fr  
http://erc.europa.eu/pdf/ERC_Update_FP7_interim_report.pdf  

July 

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has  manifestly  succeeded  in  attracting  and  funding  world-class  research  and  is  playing  an 
important role in anchoring research talent". 

4. 

STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL 

4.1. 

The Scientific Council 

In  February  2010,  Prof.  Fotis  Kafatos  stepped  down  as  Chair  of  the  Scientific  Council  and 
ERC President and Prof. Helga Nowotny was elected to succeed him. 

The Scientific Council held regular meetings in 2010 across Europe, usually at the invitation 
of  national  authorities.  Five  Scientific  Council  plenary  sessions  were  organised  during  the 
period between 1 January and 31 December 2010: in March in Bucharest (Romania), in April 
and  December  in  Brussels  (Belgium),  in  June  in  Santiago  de  Compostela  (Spain)  and  in 
October in Luxembourg. 

In addition to plenary sessions and to the two standing committees (for peer review and for 
conflicts  of  interest,  scientific  misconduct  and  ethical  issues),  members  of  the  Scientific 
Council meet in Working Groups addressing specific issues. In 2010, various meetings of the 
ERC  Working  Groups  on  “Relations  with  Industry”,  “Open  Access”,  “Third  Countries 
participation” and “Gender Balance” were organised by the Executive Agency. The Working 
Groups carry out analysis and contribute to the ERC scientific strategy through proposals to 
be  adopted  by  the  Scientific  Council  in  plenary  in  the  areas  covered  by  their  mandates: 
examine  the  ERC’s  relationship  with  the  industrial/business  sector  and  the  impact  of  ERC-
funded  research  on  innovation;  develop  an  ERC  position  on  open  access;  explore  suitable 
mechanisms to boost the participation of non-European researchers, particularly from Brazil, 
Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) in the ERC schemes; ensure that the ERC is at 
the forefront of best practice regarding the gender balance of grantees.  

To  further  assure  its  liaison  with  the  European  Commission  and  the  Executive  Agency,  the 
Chair and vice Chairs of the Scientific Council, the ERC Secretary General and the Director 
of  the  Agency  meet  regularly  as  the  ERC  Board.  These  meetings  are  also  attended  by  the 
senior management of the Agency. The Board met in Brussels 9 times in 2010, in particular to 
prepare or to follow up the meetings of the Scientific Council. 

The  Scientific  Council's  plenary  meetings  and  the  meetings  of  its  members  with  ERC 
stakeholders are prepared with the organisational and administrative support of the Executive 
Agency. The Agency also provides advice and analysis to facilitate the Scientific Council to 
fulfil its tasks as described in Annex 1 of the Ideas Specific Programme, as well as support to 
the operational activities of its Working Groups and permanent committees. 

4.1.1.  Appointment of new members 

In  2010  an  "Identification  Committee"10  was  set  up  by  the  Commission  in  order  to  identify 
new members for the staged renewal of the Scientific Council. The committee presented its 

10 

The  members  of  this  committee  were  Prof.  Eero  Vuorio  (Director  of  Biocenter,  Finland),  Prof.  Ann 
Dowling  (Head  of  Department  of  Engineering,  University  of  Cambridge),  Prof.  Andreu  Mas-Colell 
(Department of Economics and Business, Pompeu Fabra University), Prof. Gretty Mirdal (Department 
of Psychology, University of Copenhagen), Prof. Arnold Schmidt (Professor Emeritus at the Photonics 

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proposals to the Commission in December 2010 and its report was transmitted to Council and 
Parliament. 

Based  on  these  proposals,  the  Commission  nominated  as  new  members  of  the  Scientific 
Council the following: Prof. Nicholas Canny (National University of Ireland, Galway), Prof. 
Tomasz  Dietl  (Polish  Academy  of  Sciences),  Prof.  Daniel  Dolev  (Hebrew  University  of 
Jerusalem),  Prof.  Sir  Timothy  Hunt  (London  Research  Institute),  Prof.  Mart  Saarma 
(University of Helsinki), Prof. Anna Tramontano (University of Rome La Sapienza) and Prof. 
Isabelle Vernos (Centre Regulació Genómica, Barcelona).  

4.2. 

The ERC Secretary General 

The ERC Secretary-General acts under the authority of the Scientific Council, is responsible 
for  the  effective  liaison  between  the  Scientific  Council,  the  Commission  and  the  ERC 
Executive  Agency,  and  monitors  the  effective  implementation,  by  the  ERC  Executive 
Agency, of the strategy and positions adopted by the Scientific Council. 

The  second  ERC  Secretary-General,  Prof.  Andreu  Mas-Colell,  Professor  of  Economics  at 
Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and Chairman of the Barcelona Graduate School of 
Economics, appointed to the post on 30 June 2009, stepped down on 1 September 2010. The 
Commission is in the process of appointing his successor. 

4.3. 

The ERC Executive Agency 

Since  July  2009  the  Agency  has  been  responsible  for  all  aspects  of  administrative 
implementation and programme execution as provided for in the Work Programme.  

The  operations  of  the  Agency  are  supervised  by  a  Steering  Committee,  appointed  by  the 
Commission  and  composed  of  three  Commission  officials  (the  Director-General  and  the 
Director  of  Resources  of  DG  Research  and  Innovation  and  the  Director  responsible  for  the 
Consultative  Committee  on  Appointments  in  DG  Human  Resources  and  Security),  one 
Scientific  Council  member  (Prof.  Mathias  Dewatripont)  and  an  independent  scientist  (Prof. 
Catherine  Cesarsky);  the  ERC  Secretary-General  is  an  observer.  In  2010,  the  Steering 
Committee  held  four  meetings  and  adopted  decisions  related  to  the  Agency's  Annual  Work 
Programme, budget and accounts. At each of its meetings, the Steering Committee received a 
detailed progress report from the Director of the Agency. 

4.3.1.  Agency Staff 

The 2010 operating budget provided for an establishment plan of 100 temporary agents and a 
budget for 215 contract staff and 15 Seconded National Experts, adding up to a total of 330 
agents. 

At  the  end  of  December  2010,  the  Agency  employed  a  total  of  316  agents:  94  temporary 
agents, 218 contract agents and 4 Seconded National Experts. As regards the management of 
the Agency, all posts are now filled. 

Institute  of  the  TU  Wien)  and  Prof.  Maciej  Zylicz  (Head  of  the  Department  of  Molecular  Biology, 
International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw). 

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Statistics of December 2010 show that the Agency employs approximately 35% men and 65% 
women.  As  regards  gender  balance  of  highly  specialised  staff  (Temporary  Agents  and 
Contract Agents Function Group IV), 59% of the posts are occupied by women. At the end of 
2010 the ERC Executive Agency employed nationals from 21 Member states. 

Apart from selection and recruitment, during 2010 the Agency saw to the consolidation and 
development of its human resources. Implementing rules related to staff management and in 
particular staff assessment and career development, were adopted by the Steering Committee. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK FOR 2011 

The ERC funding schemes have captured the interest of the European Research community. 
The first six calls have yielded more than 20,000 applications.  

While in 2009 about 400 journal articles acknowledging the ERC were recorded, their number 
tripled  in  2010.  This  is  a  combination  of  rising  number  of  projects  and  maturing  projects 
producing more results. For 2009, the articles are from 182 projects and for 2010 from 453 
projects i.e. on average two and three articles per project for 2009 and 2010 respectively. 

In  response  to  the  Commission's  call  to  strengthen  the  role  of  the  ERC  in  the  innovation 
chain11, the Scientific Council developed a new granting opportunity which from 2011 will be 
offered to ERC grant holders to establish the innovation potential of ideas arising from their 
ERC-funded  projects.  The  scheme  aims  to  cover  a  funding  gap  in  the  earliest  stage  of  an 
innovation. ERC grant-holders will have the opportunity to establish "proof of concept" of an 
ERC-funded  idea,  i.e.  make  its  innovation  potential  evident  to  the  market,  securing  thereof 
prospective commercialisation opportunities. 

The  Scientific  Council  is  also  discussing  how  to  diversify  and  broaden  its  programmes, 
always  on  the  basis  of  the  principles  which  have  made  the  first  two  schemes  successful: 
investigator-driven proposals, rigorous peer review based on scientific excellence. 

In 2011, the ERC Task Force will deliver its report on the legal and organisational structure of 
the  ERC,  in  time  for  the  Commission's  proposals  for  the  "Horizon  2020"  Programme, 
expected before the end of the year.  

11 

Communication on the Innovation Union COM(2010) 546 final, 6.10.2010 

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