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An International Funding Program for Outstanding Researchers

By SRAI News posted 06-28-2018 12:00 AM

  

Robert_PorterAuthored by:
Robert Porter, PhD
Grant-Winners Seminars
Email: reporter@Grant-Winners.com


Exceptionally talented researchers of any nationality and at any stage of their careers should be aware of the European Research Council (ERC) grants awarded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission. This highly prestigious award is one of the few that confer international recognition for surpassing excellence in most fields of academic research, including social sciences and the humanities.

The ERC is particularly keen to encourage excellent proposals from principal investigators based outside Europe, though if awarded, the research must be conducted at a host institution in an EU country or in one of sixteen EU Associated Countries. To be successful, a ERC proposal must meet three critical criteria, in order of their importance:

1. Scientific excellence. Researchers can consider applying for one of three ERC funding mechanisms, depending on their career stage: a) starting grant; b) consolidator grant; or c) advanced grant. For each of these, the principal requirement for success is scientific excellence. To be competitive, applicants should rank near the top of their peer group and should have a track record of pursuing ground-breaking, high-risk/high-reward research. Reviewers will expect to see a publication record in the best journals, with papers that are widely cited in the literature. Note: While the ERC program announcement identifies several themes in the social sciences and humanities, it is not clear how the “scientific excellence” criterion applies to proposals submitted in those categories.

2. High level of innovation. A second requirement for obtaining an ERC grant is a distinctly high level of innovation in the proposed work, pushing creativity beyond current limits. ERC places a particular emphasis on emerging frontiers of knowledge and scholarship (i.e., research designs are expected to be broadly interdisciplinary in nature, crossing boundaries by using unconventional as well as innovative approaches).

3. Strong academic record. The applicant’s CV must reflect a strong record of scientific excellence in past or current research. For early stage researchers within two to seven years of receiving their PhD, it is important to show a willingness to relocate to a different research institute or country if this would prove beneficial to their research. Senior researchers should have a clear track record, having established their own innovative research record, which will serve as a platform for further ground-breaking discoveries. Other markers for independence and excellence can include the number of PhDs and/or postdocs that have been supervised, as well as citations of published papers as reflected in the applicant’s Hirsch-index or Elsevier’s Scopus data. International experience is a strong plus, as is the start of a new company by later stage researchers.

Assessing readiness to develop a competitive ERC proposal

The outline below lists key requirements for each of the three ERC Frontier Research Grants funding tracks:

I. ERC Starting Grant. Eligibility is restricted to promising early-career researchers within two to seven years of receiving their PhD. The publication record should list up to five papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed conference proceedings and/or monographs, highlighting those with the applicant as main author. Other listings should include invited presentations at international conferences or other professional meetings; prizes, awards, or Academy memberships; and patents awarded, if any.

II. ERC Consolidator Grant. Eligibility includes outstanding researchers with seven to twelve years of experience following their PhD. The publication record should list up to ten papers in leading international peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed conference proceedings and/or monographs, highlighting those with the applicant as main author. Other listings should include invited presentations at international conferences or other professional meetings; prizes, awards, or Academy memberships; and patents awarded, if any.

III. ERC Advanced Grant. Eligibility is restricted to established research leaders with a recognized track record of significant achievements. The publication record should include up to ten representative publications, from the last ten years, as main author (or in those fields where alphabetic order of authorship is the norm, joint author) in leading international peer-reviewed journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings in their respective fields; at least three major monographs; five or more awarded patents; ten or more invited presentations to international conferences or other professional meeting; organization of international conferences; prizes, awards, or Academy memberships; major contributions to the early careers of excellent researchers; and examples of leadership in industrial innovation or design.

ERC grant funding levels. Maximum project budgets can range from $ 1.77 million (Starting Grants) to $ 2.95 million (Advanced Grants) for periods up to five years. For successful applicants who will be moving from a third country to the EU or to an EU Associated Country to do their research, another $590,000-1.18 million can be added to cover eligible start-up costs such as the purchase of research equipment or access to institutional facilities. Grants can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the project plus an indirect rate of 25%.

Proposal success rates. For the last three years, ERC proposal success rates have ranged from 11-15%. A detailed listing of success rates for all funding mechanisms can be found at here (link is external).

PI time commitment. Principal investigators are expected to spend a minimum of 50% of their total working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country and a minimum of 50% of their total working time on the ERC project.

Likely candidates from the American research community. Given ERC’s strict eligibility standards and expectations for superior scholarship, who are the American researchers most likely to submit competitive proposals? At NSF, winners of Emerging Frontiers in Research Innovation (EFRI) and CAREER awards would make likely candidates, as would Outstanding Investigator winners at NIH and the Department of Defense’s Young Investigator winners. In the social sciences and humanities, winners of prestigious awards such as fellowships awarded by NEH or Guggenheim could compete at this level, as could Fulbright Scholars. Funding sources in the US with similar standards include DARPA and the Keck Foundation.

Accessing the program call. Further details about the ERC program can be found in the program call: “ERC Work Programme 2018."


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