European Research Council - Founding Principles: Frontier Research Based On Peer-reviewed Excellence

Founding Principles: Frontier Research Based On Peer-reviewed Excellence

The first founding principle of the ERC is that research grant applications should be judged using the sole criterion of peer-reviewed excellence, independent of political, geographic or economic considerations. All ERC calls for funding are open to nationals of any country in the world, as long as they are committed to work primarily in Europe. The quality and originality of the research project and the qualifications of the applicant, as shown, for example, by their publication record, are the only evaluation criteria. This means that there will be no juste retour, in other words there are no guarantees that the individual countries contributing to the programme will receive any part of the funding.

The second founding principle of the ERC is to target frontier research by encouraging high-risk, high-reward proposals that may revolutionize science and potentially lead to innovation if successful. The ScC does not pre-select the frontiers, but challenges applicants to identify and pursue them. It then entrusts the evaluation panels to select the best, most promising proposals. Funding is provided for individual projects initiated in an investigator-driven, ‘bottom‑up’ process. Although collaborations within a project are welcome, there is no formal demand to collaborate.

The ERC asks researchers to think big, and provides generous support for ambitious projects. It does not want its carefully selected grantees to waste their time by taking on numerous peripheral projects, or constantly having to seek additional money to fund their research. The grants are flexible, so that all costs for a specific project can be covered, making rebudgeting of the grant money possible during the duration of the grant. In addition, the grants are portable, meaning that if scientists move to another university or institute, the grant moves with them.