Overview of ERC grant schemes Jen Whale 11th February 2015

Background “…to provide attractive, long-term funding to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue ground-breaking, high-gain/high-risk research” Funded research is expected to lead to advances at the frontiers of knowledge Operate on a 'bottom-up' basis – no predetermined priorities

Evaluation criteria Scientific excellence is the sole criterion Project: Ground-breaking and ambitious but feasible PI: Intellectual capacity, creativity and commitment Interdisciplinary Unconventional/innovative approaches Pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields

ERC funding schemes PhD Postdoc Academic Snr Research Fellow Postdoctoral Fellowship Early Career Fellowship years 2 7 12 Starting Consolidator Advanced Synergy Grants (small collaborations) Proof of Concept Grants (Commercialisation; ERC grant-holders only)

Eligibility For 2015 calls the eligibility time window is calculated from 1st Jan 2015 For the 2015 CoG: “the PI shall have been awarded his/her first PhD at least 7 and up to 12 years prior to 1st Jan 2015” (1st Jan 2003 to 1st Jan 2008) PhD award date = date on PhD certificate or date of viva (if proof available) Extensions for certain circumstances eg. maternity leave (18 months per child); paternity leave No extensions for part-time work or time out of research

Key information Starting grant Consolidator grant Advanced grant Eligibility 2-7 years since PhD 7-12 years since PhD N/A Funding ≤€1.5m over 5 years ≤€2m over 5 years ≤€2.5m over 5 years Additional funding* ≤€0.5m ≤€0.75m ≤€1m PI time ≥50% ≥40% ≥30% Competitive candidate Transition to independence Establishing independence Research leader potential for independence maturity ≥1 important publication without PhD supervisor independence and maturity several important publications without supervisor Significant achievements during last 10 years ≥10 senior author publications in major international journals keynote/plenary invitations, organised conferences, academy membership, launched career of researchers Track record of achievements appropriate to field and career stage: Publications, invited presentations, awards, prizes, patents, grants *Major equipment, access to facilities, relocation costs

Application form Part A – Administrative and summary forms A1 – PI and proposal info; legal representative A2 – Host institution info A3 – Budget Part B1 – Proposal details Cover page and proposal summary Extended synopsis (5 pages) CV and funding ID (2 pages) Track record (2 pages) Part B2 – Research proposal (15 pages) State-of-the-art and objectives Methodology Resources (inc. project costs) Ethical and security sensitive issues Annexes Host institution letter of commitment PhD certificate and evidence of extensions Ethical issues annex Proposal templates: Starting grant Consolidator grant Advanced grant

Submission Submit via European Commission Participant Portal Must have a European Commission Authentication Service (ECAS) account → user ID: Create a draft proposal University of Warwick Participant Identification Code (PIC) 999976784 Select primary (and secondary) Panel: 25 Panels across 3 research domains Physical Sciences & Engineering Life Sciences Social Sciences & Humanities

Evaluation: Stage 1 Eligibility check Independent remote review by Panel members (part B1 only) Panel meeting and ranking of proposals Category A Category B Category C Proposal is of sufficient quality to pass to stage 2 Proposal is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to stage 2 Proposal is not of sufficient quality to pass to stage 2 Stage 2 evaluation May not submit to the next ERC round May not submit to the next two ERC rounds

Evaluation: Stage 2 StG CoG AdG Independent remote review by Panel members and other referees (parts B1 & B2) AdG Interview StG CoG Panel meeting and ranking of proposals Category A Category B Proposal fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding if sufficient funds are available Proposal meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will not be funded May submit to the next ERC round if not funded May not submit to the next ERC round

Deadlines Starting Grant Consolidator Grant Advanced Grant Call opens 7th Oct 2014 13th Nov 2014 10th Feb 2015 Submission deadline 3rd Feb 2015 12th Mar 2015 2nd Jun 2015 Dates to inform applicants Stage 1 7th Jul 2015 6th Aug 2015 18th Nov 2015 Stage 2 12th Nov 2015 20th Jan 2016 16th Mar 2016

ERC Advanced Grants Information and Proposal Writing Events Newcastle University Monday 23 February 2015 (10:15 – 14:15) King's College London Thursday 26 February 2015 (13:00 – 16:00) Free of charge Online registration

Support RSDO (Jen Whale) and RIS (Jon Bull) ERC step-by-step guide Participant portal (call documents) Participant portal FAQ StG and CoG Info for applicants UKRO ERC National Contact Point

Tips (1) Read the guidelines Consider when to apply and start early Register as an expert for the EC Make full use of support available Get feedback from peers Choose an easily pronounceable acronym Easy to read – consider structure and layout Proof read

Tips (2) Accessible and convincing to specialists and non-specialists: What is the problem that needs to be solved? Why is it significant? What makes your approach ground-breaking? Sell yourself – what is your USP? Be specific Provide “irrefutable evidence” of excellence and impact Plan B to mitigate the risk Focus on part B1; then expand on this in part B2 Andreas Zeller blog