European Research Council

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European Research Council

The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is part of the Horizon Europe program, which is the EU's framework program for research and innovation.

History[edit | edit source]

The ERC was established to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence. It was created to address the need for a pan-European funding body that could support high-risk, high-reward research projects.

Structure[edit | edit source]

The ERC is governed by an independent Scientific Council, which is composed of distinguished researchers from various fields. The Scientific Council is responsible for setting the ERC's scientific strategy and for ensuring that the ERC's operations are conducted in accordance with the highest standards of scientific excellence.

The ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA) is responsible for the implementation of the ERC's strategy, including the management of the grant application and evaluation process, and the administration of the grants.

Funding Schemes[edit | edit source]

The ERC offers several types of grants to support researchers at different stages of their careers:

Starting Grants – for early-career researchers with 2-7 years of experience since completion of their PhD.
Consolidator Grants – for researchers with 7-12 years of experience since completion of their PhD.
Advanced Grants – for established researchers with a significant track record of research achievements.
Synergy Grants – for groups of two to four principal investigators working together on a research project.
Proof of Concept Grants – for ERC grant holders to explore the commercial or societal potential of their research.

Achievements[edit | edit source]

Since its inception, the ERC has funded thousands of research projects across a wide range of disciplines, contributing to significant scientific breakthroughs and innovations. The ERC's emphasis on excellence has helped to raise the quality of research in Europe and has made the EU a more attractive destination for top researchers from around the world.