european research council

Annual Report on the ERC activities and achievements in 2021

Prepared under the authority of the ERC Scientific Council

RESEARCH & INNOVATION POLICY

Commissioner’s message

This report tells us fascinating stories of how the ERC boosts Europe’s excellent science. The entire spectrum of human knowledge is explored, and through research, new understanding is generated. This is possibly one of the most rewarding ways to invest in our future.

A strong research and innovation system has proven to be a key asset in understanding and mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic on our health, our economies, and our societies.

The European Union has shown dedication and responsibility with the launch of the new European Research and Innovation Programme Horizon Europe. With a budget 30% higher than Horizon 2020, reaching 95.5 billion euros for the next seven years, Europe has sent a clear political message of commitment to investing in science, technology and innovation. The ERC took the lead by adopting in February 2021 the first work programme, paving the way for launching calls that, this year again, supported top researchers at different stages of their careers and their teams to pursue frontier research.

The ERC has been doing this for more than 14 years, and has become a real powerhouse of science, recognised as the best in the world in supporting fundamental research. This has enabled thousands of top researchers to pursue ground-breaking ideas in all fields of science.

In May, I had the honour to announce the name of the 10,000th scientist who was awarded an ERC grant. That was a special day for Europe, for the entire European research community and of course for the ERC. Let me thank all the 10,000 ERC grantees and the more than 80,000 post-docs, PhD students and other team members that put together their vision, passion and experience to generate the new knowledge that humanity badly needs.

I extend my appreciation to the whole ERC structure, its Scientific Council and staff for ensuring a fruitful investment for the next generations. A special thank goes to the former President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon for his dedication and a warm welcome to Maria Leptin who took over the presidency in November. I count on her experience, backed by an internationally renowned scientific career and proven record of innovation and leadership, as much as she can count on me.

This Annual Report highlights activities and achievements of the ERC in 2021, and some of the wonderful results of the science it funds and the successes of the researchers it supports. We say that the ERC is a factory of Nobel prize winners, because of the several ERC grantees who are Nobel laureates. Two more were added this year and I warmly congratulate both of them on winning one of the highest accolades in the world of science. ERC grantee Giorgio Parisi shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics, “for ground-breaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems”; and ERC grantee Benjamin List shared the one in Chemistry “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.” The ERC has trusted these researchers and has empowered them to pursue their ideas to push the boundaries of knowledge further. Their success proves that this pays off and that we must continue to invest in frontier research and give the best brains a free hand in going where their curiosity takes them.

Other parts of this report tell us more fascinating stories of how the ERC boosts Europe’s excellent science.

From innovating green catalytic processes or protecting biodiversity, to studying the influence of colours on art, literature, printing and fashion. From the creation of in vitro organoids mimicking their corresponding in vivo organs, to questioning the notion that the ancient hunter-gatherer diet consisted mainly of meat and fish. From investigating the role of remote areas in the world, to improving treatment for childhood leukemia or solutions for people with autism. The entire spectrum of human knowledge is explored, and through research, new understanding is generated. This is possibly one of the most rewarding ways to invest in our future.

Let’s make sure to continue, the thirst for knowledge is never quenched.

Mariya Gabriel

European Commissioner for Innovation,

Research, Culture, Education and Youth

Personal message from the Presidents and Vice-Presidents

We look back at 2021, another special year for the ERC, and would like to report some highlights and some challenges.

The pandemic has reminded us of the importance of investing in long-term fundamental research and of giving our brightest minds free reign to push the scientific frontiers. This approach is the best way to be prepared for the next crisis: it is an investment into an unpredictable future. That has been and will remain the backbone of the European Research Council’s action.

Although the constraints induced by the pandemic continued to take a toll on the staff of the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA) and the members of the ERC evaluation panels, the gradual availability of vaccines gave much hope for a return to a more normal way of life.

There was also time for the ERC to celebrate, such as the new milestone of having funded 10,000 grantees across Europe. We witnessed on this occasion the strong support it enjoys also from many leaders, such as the late David Sassoli, European Parliament President, and Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President.

The award of the 2021 Nobel Prizes in Physics to Giorgio Parisi and in Chemistry to Benjamin List provided more good news. Both had been funded by the ERC for ten years. They joined the ranks of seven other ERC grantees who won the Nobel Prize since 2007, bringing the number up to nine. Many other grantees who took home other awards or made remarkable breakthroughs are presented in this report.

2021 also saw a changing of the guards at the ERC. After the extension of the interim President’s term until the end of August, the three Vice- Presidents covered September and October until the new President took office in November. Furthermore, we take the opportunity here to thank Waldemar Kütt, who retired as ERCEA Director in December. His involvement with the ERC goes back to his days in the Cabinet of Commissioner Geoghean Quinn, much before his time at ERCEA. His commitment to the ERC values, as well as his forward-looking attitude concerning the working of the Agency have been highly appreciated.

The year was the first of the new Framework Programme Horizon Europe for 2021-2027, after the budget negotiations were finally concluded in December 2020, with around €16 billion for the ERC. Transitioning into a new programme is always a particular moment, but at last all Member States and the European Parliament reached a political agreement and approved Horizon Europe. The ERC 2021 work programme, the first to be published under Horizon Europe, prepared the ground for a new set of ERC grant calls, giving the chance to more top researchers to pursue their scientific curiosity.

In this transition, the ERC took pains to keep the focus on the science with as little bureaucracy as possible. This settled, the evaluation schedule could eventually be kept, also thanks to support from Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and other key people from the European Commission. Similarly, after some effort, the next ERC Work Programme for 2022 was published by mid-July, allowing for the prompt opening of the Synergy Grant call and the revised Proof of Concept call.

The ERCEA, like all other EU executive agencies, faced demands for improved productivity for the Horizon Europe period, which had to be balanced against the reality of the workload, especially in view of the increased ERC budget. The case was made to the European Commission regarding the possible negative impact on the functioning of the ERC.

Another issue of great importance for the ERC were the negotiations to associate some countries to Horizon Europe. After the good news that the UK association was part of the Brexit deal at the end of 2020, the final signature was blocked by political difficulties that remain unsolved. Despite this, researchers based in the UK could apply to ERC calls. The association talks with Switzerland came to a close, and researchers based in the country could no longer apply to ERC calls.

Last year was another occasion to speak up for frontier science and ask the question ‘what is the future of Europe without science?’ It is an ongoing duty for us and the scientific community as a whole to make our voices heard, convincing more people of the power of frontier research.

Lastly, in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe, launched in Spring 2021 and due to be concluded in 2022, last year was another occasion to speak up for frontier science and ask the question “what is the future of Europe without science?” It is an ongoing duty for us and the scientific community as a whole to make our voices heard, convincing more people of the power of frontier research.

The ERC President ad interim until 31st August 2021

Prof. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon

The ERC President as of 1st November 2021

Prof. Maria LEPTIN

The ERC Vice-Presidents for the year 2021

Prof. Eveline CRONE

Prof. Andrzej JAJSZCZYK

Prof. Nektarios TAVERNARAKIS

Strategy and Governance

ERC Mission

Pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge

Reinforcing the excellence, dynamism and creativity of European research.

Research funded by the ERC is expected to lead to advances at the frontier of knowledge and to set a clear and inspirational target for frontier research across Europe.

ERC Strategy

Providing attractive long-term funding awarded on the sole criterion of excellence, to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue ground-breaking, high-gain/high-risk research.

The ERC operates on a ‘bottom-up’ basis without predetermined priorities and its grants are open to individual researchers of any age, gender, and from any country in the world, working in Europe. Particular priority is given to assisting the best starting researchers with excellent ideas to make the transition to independence by providing adequate support at the critical stage when they are setting up or consolidating their own research team or programme.

The ERC aims to foster healthy competition across Europe based on robust, transparent and impartial evaluation procedures which address, in particular, potential gender bias.

ERC Scientific Council

The Scientific Council has the responsibility to establish the ERC’s overall scientific strategy, the Work Programme and, from a scientific perspective, positions on the implementation and management of calls for proposals, evaluation criteria, peer-review processes and proposal evaluation.

The Scientific Council is made up of members of the scientific community at the highest level, knowledgeable about the European scene, acting in their personal capacity and independently of political or other interests.

Its composition allows it to be independent, combining wisdom and experience with vision and imagination and reflecting the broad disciplinary scope of research.

The 22 individual members are selected, based on their undisputed reputation as leaders and for their independence and commitment to research, following a transparent procedure by an independent committee of seven highly respected personalities in European research.

They are appointed by the European Commission for a term of office limited to four years, renewable once, on the basis of a rotating system which shall ensure the continuity of the work of the Scientific Council.

ERC President

The role of the President is to chair the Scientific Council and ensure its leadership, to work closely with the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA) and to act as an ambassador for the ERC in the world of science.

The President, an internationally renowned and respected scientist or scholar, is expected to be a prominent advocate of frontier research and an ambassador of European science within and beyond Europe. The appointment is done by the European Commission following a transparent recruitment process based on the recommendations of an independent, dedicated search committee and with the approval of the Scientific Council.

The presidency of the ERC in 2021 was held ( ad interim ) by Jean-Pierre Bourguignon until the end of August and by Maria Leptin , who took office on 1 st November.

Maria Leptin is a developmental biologist and immunologist who was the Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) since 2010. She is the fifth ERC President since the launch of the organisation.

The founding President was Fotis Kafatos (until 2010), succeeded by Helga Nowotny until the end of 2013. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon was President of the ERC from 1 st January 2014 until the end of 2019. Following the resignation of his successor Mauro Ferrari at the request of the ERC Scientific Council, he was then re-appointed in July 2020 on an interim basis.

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee of the ERCEA is the body that oversees the operations of the Agency and adopts the decisions necessary for its functioning. These encompass among others the annual work programme of the Agency, its annual activity report, its organisational structure, its administrative budget and its annual accounts, as well as decisions related to the staff regulations.

The Steering Committee is made up of three high-level members of the DG for Research and Innovation, the parent DG of the ERCEA, two members of the ERC Scientific Council and one observer from the Central Services of the Commission. The ERCEA Steering Committee in office in 2021 was chaired by the Director-General of DG for Research and Innovation, Jean-Eric Paquet. The other members and the observer of the Committee were Patrick Child (Vice-Chairperson of the Steering Committee) Deputy Director-General of DG Research and Innovation until 1st October 2021 when he moved to DG Environment and was replaced by Joanna Drake; Matthias Will, Director of the Common Implementation Centre of DG Research and Innovation; Margaret Buckingham and Kurt Mehlhorn, members of the ERC Scientific Council; and Henk Post, Acting Director for Talent Management and Diversity - Executive Staff in DG for Human Resources. The ERC President was also invited to attend the meetings as observer.

ERC Executive Agency

ERCEA management team

First row: Anisoara Ulceluse-Pirvan, Claire Levacher, Jose Labastida, Niki Atzoulatou, Carole Micmacher;

Second row: Nikola Car, Laurence Moreau, Waldemar Kütt, Anita Kucharska, Eleni Zika;

Third row: Angela Liberatore, Monique Smaihi, Alejandro Martin Hobdey, Gian Franco Casula, Anthony Lockett;

Fourth row: Philippe Cupers, Ben Tubbing, Athanasia Papathanasiou, Mila Bas Sanchez, Gwennael Joliff-Botrel;

Absent: Soudaina Wala, Alice Rajewsky, Dirk Costens (retired).

Michel Vanbiervliet, Martin Penny and Bruno Wastin left the ERCEA during 2021.

Waldemar Kütt, who has been the Director of the ERCEA since August 2019, retired at the end of 2021.

Performance

ERC in figures

EUR 16 billion

ERC budget in Horizon Europe

of the entire Horizon Europe budget

EUR 1.9 billion

ERC 2021 budget, fully committed

EUR 1.7 billion

payment credits fully executed in 2021 (EUR 17 million for FP7 and EUR 1,702 million for Horizon 2020 and EUR 7 million for Horizon Europe)

projects of all types funded by ERC since 2007

nationalities (ERC grantees)

EU and Associated Countries hosting ERC projects

publications reported by ERC projects

patents and other IPR applications reported by ERC projects

researchers and other professionals hired in ERC teams

A brief summary of ERC calls in Horizon 2020

* withdrawn and ineligible proposals not taken into account

** percentage of funded proposals in relation to evaluated proposals

Data as of December 2021

ERC grants attract applicants of all ages. The median age of a Starting Grant applicant at the time of application was 35 years, whereas the median age of Consolidator and Advanced Grant applicants was 40 and 53 years, respectively.

There has been a positive upward trend in the share of female applicants in Horizon 2020, with the highest share being in the Starting and Consolidator Grant call cohorts. However, the Advanced Grant calls have shown the highest increase (8 percentage points) in the share of female applicants throughout Horizon 2020. Moreover, since 2017, the overall share of female grantees across calls has exceeded the share of female applicants.

Female applicants outperformed male applicants in a large number of panels, across different calls and years, as demonstrated by the ratio of their success rate to that of their male counterparts.

Researchers from UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Israel have consistently performed well across most evaluation panels. Eleven countries host currently at least one grant from each panel.

Almost nine in ten grantees were residents in the country of their Host Institution at the time of application, and almost 3% of grantees came from overseas.

Around 15% of all ERC main grants in Horizon 2020 have been awarded one or more Proof of Concept grants. Out of a total of 1,125 Proof of Concept grants, around 58% were in the domain of Physical Sciences and Engineering, 35% in the Life Sciences and 7% in Social Sciences and Humanities.

Over 760 Host Institutions were awarded at least one Starting, Consolidator or Advanced grant in Horizon 2020. The table shows the success rates of the Host Institutions awarded at least 30 grants in the ERC main calls 2014-2020.

Top organisations hosting ERC Principal Investigators

The compilation is done based on the total number of main grants (StG, CoG, AdG). The Synergy PIs from all SyG calls are presented in the last column. The grants distribution is according to the Participant Identification Code (PIC) of the current Host Institution, as appears in CORDA, the European Commission’s database of projects. Prior to the compilation of the table, the Helmholtz Association had requested the grouping of the PICs that corresponded to its research centres, providing the appropriate information to the ERC. The ERC Scientific Council is discussing a new policy for presenting data at institutional level in the ERC Annual Report during Horizon Europe. Depending on the outcome of these discussions, there might be new adjustments in the list.

Closing the gap between research and innovation

Promoting strong collaboration between the ERC and the EIC

A joint plenary meeting between the ERC Scientific Council and the (pilot) Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC) took place via videoconference on 17 May 2021. After brief introductions from Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, Mark Ferguson (Chair of the EIC Board) and Kurt Mehlhorn (Chair of the ERC Working Group on innovation), the participants were divided into six virtual breakout rooms. They openly discussed the best ways to stimulate interaction between researchers and entrepreneurs and considered the joint actions that the two entities can envisage in full compliance with the respective mandates.

The meeting ended with the publication of a joint statement promoting strong collaboration between the two institutions.

The ERC Scientific Council and the (pilot) EIC Board recognised in their statement that curiosity- driven research and technology-driven innovation always involve a certain degree of risk-taking, and not all projects succeed in their ambition to answer difficult questions or apply knowledge to deliver new products or services. Yet, the societal benefits of successful research and innovation are so high that public investment in these areas remains essential for the future of the society.

The ERC Scientific Council and the (pilot) EIC Board were united in promoting strong collaboration between the institutions that they respectively govern and advise, and acknowledged several common achievements in 2021.

Recognising that major innovations could not exist without the body of knowledge acquired over years of curiosity-driven research, they underlined how important it is for Europe’s future that the EIC and the ERC serve the needs and specificities of the worlds of research and innovation, while bringing them together as a community in full compliance with the respective institutional mandates. Fully committed to ensure that the ERC and the EIC support the best European talent, the two boards look forward to harvesting the benefits of further cooperation that will reinforce this shared community.

Revision of the Proof of Concept funding scheme

The Proof of Concept funding scheme (PoC) did not appear in ERC Work Programme 2021 because it undertook a thorough revision, initiated by the three following reasons:

• The introduction into the Horizon Europe (HE) legislation of a provision that included the PoC in the definition of “frontier research”, with the consequence that it would be awarded on the sole evaluation criterion of excellence, as opposed to the three criteria of excellence of the innovation potential, socio-economic impact and quality and efficiency of the implementation used since 2011.
• The introduction by the EIC of the Transition funding scheme, supporting the maturation and validation of novel technologies beyond proof of concept and the development of a business case and model towards the future commercialisation. The scheme is open to proposals stemming from PoC projects.
• A reflection of the Scientific Council on the assessment of the PoC funding scheme conducted during Horizon 2020. The PoC was created in 2011 with the ambition to bridge the valley of death between the idea generation in the lab and the innovations on the market and in society. After 10 years of experience and a thorough assessment of the PoC scheme, the results of PoC-funded projects, with some exceptions, remain closer to the idea generation phase than to the innovation.

The Scientific Council looked at these as an opportunity to re-think the PoC funding scheme. By shifting the focus away from the socio-economic impact, the PoC was re-designed as a process that looks into ideas generated in ERC-funded projects and selects among them the most competitive to be further developed towards an innovation and/or an entrepreneurial venture.

The revised PoC was then re-introduced in Work Programme 2022, which was published in July 2021.

As a result of this revision, the objectives of the PoC have moved from the “generation of unexpected or new opportunities for commercial or societal applications” to the “generation of radically new ideas that drive innovation and business inventiveness and tackle societal challenges”.

The aim of the PoC is not any more to “maximise the value of ERC-funded research by funding further work to verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects”, but rather to “facilitate the exploration of the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC funded research”.

While the focus of a PoC proposal was to provide a clear description “of how the proof of concept activities will lead to a commercial or social innovation”, it is now to provide a clear description “of how the idea will eventually lead to an innovation”.

Finally, while a PoC proposal needed to “outline the economic and/or societal impact expected from the project”, in the revised version the applicant has to describe “how the project will make progress on the path from ground-breaking research towards innovation”.

For PoC proposals, excellence is now the sole criterion of evaluation. It is applied in conjunction to the evaluation of both: the breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology of the project, and the strategic lead of the Principal Investigator.

2021 in Review

ERC and EIC workshop on Cell and Gene therapy

In the framework of the collaboration between the ERC and the EIC on potential synergies and complementarities between the two organisations and opportunities for joint activities, a portfolio analysis exercise was started to identify trends in ERC-funded research in areas considered as top priorities in industry.

A first pilot was conducted in the area of cell and gene therapy that brought to the organisation, on 29 June, of an on-line workshop bringing together ERC grantees working in this area of research with EIC grant holders, representatives from industry, venture capitalists, and innovation leaders.

After the welcome and introduction from Jean-Pierre Bourguignon and Mark Ferguson, Chair of the (pilot) EIC Board, the event started with a keynote speech from ERC grantee Luigi Naldini, who shared with the audience his highly recognised expertise in gene and cell therapy as well as his entrepreneurial experience as scientific co-founder of several companies. Iordanis Arzimanoglou (Programme Manager EIC) gave then his views on the current global landscape and trends in cell and gene therapy.

The workshop continued with four parallel thematic sessions. The first was on Cell therapy (including stem cell therapy) and was moderated by ERC Scientific Council member Margaret Buckingham. A second one, on Disease modelling including 3D-bioprinted organs/organoids and other Regenerative Medicine novel approaches, was moderated by Geneviève Almouzni (ERC Scientific Council member). The third session was on New vectors (viral and non-viral) for gene therapy, moderated by Marja Makarow (member of EIC Board). Finally, a last one, moderated by Nektarios Tavernarakis (ERC Scientific Council member), was on Novel gene therapy approaches including RNA-based technologies.

A roundtable discussion moderated by Brady Huggett (Senior Editor of Nature Biotechnology) and focused on the transition from research to innovation in cell and gene therapy concluded the event.

In each of the sections, about 60% of the speakers were from the ERC portfolio and 40% from the EIC, industry and the investment world. Around 170 participants attended the workshop, 68% of them from academia and public research organisations and 19% from the private sector.

The contribution of ERC Scientific Council members in identifying scientific thematic areas and speakers has been crucial to the success of this extremely informative and exciting event. Presentations displayed a range of excellent scientific results within the four thematic sessions that were selected because they represent very dynamic areas in medicine today, with expected developments of innovative successful treatments that will benefit the life of many patients. The workshop was an excellent opportunity to listen to ERC-funded researchers working at the frontier of knowledge in these areas and hear from them about the scientific breakthroughs that can make these innovations possible.

EIC-funded projects and entrepreneurs provided inspiring examples of application and commercialisation in this cutting-edge field, but also underlined serious challenges in translating scientific results into potential cures. This came out clearly during the final panel discussion on the way forward to accelerate the entry of cell and gene therapy-based solutions to the clinic and to scale up investment in the field.

Building on the success of this first event, the ERC and EIC are exploring the possibility to organise further joint thematic workshops to discuss fast moving fields of science and their potential for innovations benefitting society.

Roundtable on work and workplace of the future

On 5 July, four top-level scientists, whose work has been funded by the ERC, shared their insights and reflections during a two-hour roundtable organised by the ERCEA on how the changes that the world has gone through since 2020 due to COVID-19 are accelerating and shaping work trends and their evolution.

The round table discussion touched upon different aspects related to how COVID-19 has disrupted the way in which people work and has accelerated already existing trends. The impacts on the labour market, work-life balance, workspace and working conditions are undeniable and will continue to unravel in the years and decades to come. Many jobs have been pushed outside of the office into private homes. As a result, the boundaries between private and working life have become more porous, bringing a new (to be found) work-life balance. However, remote working is not the only trend to consider. There is also an emergence of innovative work practices, particularly in relation to digital technologies, and a rise of open office spaces, hot- desking and co-working where architectural models and computational tools play a key role in the design of the new workspace.

Tanja van der Lippe, recipient of two ERC grants (SustainableWorkforce and Work-STeP), highlighted some of the positive aspects of working from home such as a bigger focus on tasks, greater autonomy, willingness to put in more effort. She also shared some reflections on the aspects that require careful consideration. These include less social interaction (especially important for newcomers), less inspiration and innovation, new inequalities related to gender and to digital skills, and the important question of who is responsible for the good, safe and fair work.

Darja Reuschke (PI of the project WORKANDHOME) addressed how the pandemic has changed previous patterns of working from home and the implications for the future of work, in particular: (1) potential for homeworking for several of sectors, e.g. public sector, administration, (2) multi-locational working and its effects on lives; (3) combining different workplaces.

She was followed by Alessandro Gandini (ERC project CRAFTWORK), who explored the meaning of “work” by addressing questions such as: is the society based on work still sustainable, is this the beginning of a “post-employment society” – with a full transition to a digital economy? Is “platformisation” undermining the meaning of work?

Davide Schaumann, (senior team member in the ERC projects NextGenBim and USE), then brought the discussion to the interface between architectural design, artificial intelligence, and human behaviour science. He looked at the implications of occupancy volatility on the design and operations of the physical workplace and at how work environments can be designed to cater for the new and dynamic needs of the occupiers.

Scientific seminar “In AI We Trust. Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms”

On 13 December, the Scientific Seminars organised by ERCEA’s staff hosted former President of the ERC Helga Nowotny, Professor Emerita of Science and Technology Studies at ETH Zurich.

In a videoconference, Prof Nowotny spoke about her most recent book, published in September 2021, entitled “In AI We Trust. Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms”. She explained how one of the most persistent concerns about the future is whether it will be dominated by predictive algorithms of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and, if so, what this entails for social behaviour, for institutions and for what it means to be human. She pointed at the paradox that lies at the heart of humans’ trust in AI: we leverage AI to increase our control over the future and uncertainty, while at the same time the performativity of AI, the power it has to make us act in the ways it predicts, reduces our agency over the future. The main conclusion in the book and in the presentation was that while science and technology have enabled us to embark on an open-ended co-evolutionary path with the machines created by us, we are well-advised to have wisdom on our side and to remain critical and reflective about the impact of AI in our lives.

Helga Nowotny is currently member of the Board of Trustees of the Falling Walls Foundation, Berlin, Vice-President of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, a member of the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development and Visiting Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She has received multiple honorary doctorates including from the University of Oxford and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s meeting “Davos Agenda”, a mobilisation of global leaders to shape the principles, policies and partnerships needed in the challenging new context of the pandemic. The event took place virtually from 25 to 29 January and was dedicated to helping leaders choose innovative and bold solutions to halt the pandemic and drive a robust recovery.

President Bourguignon notably spoke in a live-streamed issue briefing on “Improving Science Literacy” on 28 January, moderated by Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General at CERN. The discussion focussed on how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital role of science in society and revealed the need to improve public understanding of evaluating evidence, risk and uncertainty.

© www.weforum.org/

On 3 February, ERC President Bourguignon addressed the EU Informal Competitiveness Council organised by the Portuguese Presidency with a speech on “Promoting attractive research careers across Europe”. He addressed EU research ministers on the importance of taking a long-term approach to investing in research. The extraordinary achievement of having highly effective vaccines for COVID-19 available in less than a year was only made possible by work carried out in previous decades. This proved that the slow accumulation of knowledge can deliver huge results. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon argued that boosting the attractiveness of research careers and increasing research investments to the level of leading world nations would be the critical foundations for Europe’s future success.

Abel Prize 2021 to László Lovász - The Abel Prize recognises pioneering scientific achievements in mathematics. In 2021 László Lovász, together with Avi Wigderson, was one of the laureates “for their foundational contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, and their leading role in shaping them into central fields of modern mathematics”. László Lovász from the Rényi Institute of Mathematics (Hungary) has devised powerful algorithms with wide-ranging applications, from number theory to mobile computing.

In 2018 together with two other scientists, Lovász was awarded an ERC Synergy Grant to develop a mathematically sound theory of dynamical networks.

DYNASNET, funded with a EUR 9.3 million grant for six years, with Jaroslav Nesetril, Charles University in Prague (Czechia) and Albert Laszlo Barabasi from Central European University in Budapest (Hungary).

This year the ERC reached a special milestone: its 10,000th grantee. The successful applicant was Inga Berre, an applied mathematician. Berre researches unconventional geothermal resources, specifically the interaction between thermal, hydrological, mechanical and chemical processes in the subsurfaces that occur when drilling and extraction take place. Her ERC grant is helping understand systems of equations describing geothermal dynamics with computers and simulation technology.

Over 1,000 participants tuned in to watch the live ceremony with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Parliament President David Sassoli on 6 May. Over 15,000 watched the recording, with grantees and Host Institutions sharing their stories on social media around the world.

The ceremony also highlighted the work of some ERC grantees who have contributed to transforming the European research landscape with their breakthrough science in different ways.

© Eivind Senneset

The ERC took part again in the annual European Research and Innovation Days , the European Commission’s flagship event, bringing together policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and citizens to debate and shape the future of research and innovation in Europe and beyond. The ERC organised and participated in different sessions of this virtual event on 23-24 June. President Bourguignon and Vice-President Eveline Crone engaged in a conversation with the public at the session “In Conversation with the ERC’s Scientific Council”, moderated by Tony Lockett, Head of Unit for Communications at the ERCEA. A session on “Scientific breakthroughs as opportunities to address societal emergencies” moderated by Sir Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief Springer Nature, featured ERC grantees Nuria Montserrat Pulido, Gabriella Conti and László Lovász with Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. Finally, in a session co-organised with the EIC on “Disruptive innovators - from frontier research to conquering new markets” moderated by Jean-David Malo (Director European Innovation Council and SME Executive Agency), ERC grantee Martin Vechev, co-founder of the company LatticeFlow, discussed with Ana Maiques (CEO Neuroelectrics), Christian Eheler (Member of the European Parliament) and Špela Stres (Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer, Jožef Stefan Institute) in the presence of Commissioner Gabriel.

In addition, short video calls were organised over the two-day event with a few of the ERCEA’s Scientific Officers to learn more about ERC grants, discuss the evaluation process and criteria, proposals and panels as well as get personal assistance with technical and administrative matters.

On 19 July, ERC President Bourguignon addressed the EU Informal Competitiveness Council organised by the Slovenian Presidency with a speech on “ European Research Area: Translation of shared European objectives to action on national levels ”. He reminded EU research ministers of the reasons for trying to build a European Research Area together. Europe has to act in a coordinated way and gather the adequate resources to find the talent to lead the world in Research and Innovation. Making the most of EU talents and resources is ultimately the goal of maintaining a European Research Area. This is why it has to provide the best possible foundation for heading into an increasingly unpredictable future, and with the scientific communities on board.

In July, the ERC announced its formal endorsement of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) , in line with its long-standing adherence to the highest standards of research assessment. Since its inception, the ERC’s peer-review evaluation process has been carefully designed to identify scientific excellence irrespective of the gender, age, nationality or institution of the Principal Investigator and other criteria that could potentially introduce bias, and to take career breaks, as well as unconventional research career paths, into account. The evaluations are monitored to guarantee transparency, fairness and impartiality in the treatment of proposals.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the publication of the ERC Work Programme 2022, which introduced several changes to the way applicants are expected to describe their scientific track record.

These changes strengthen even further the ERC’s alignment with research assessment principles that recognise the intrinsic quality of researchers’ work and the value and impact of all research outputs. The ERC is convinced that the broad implementation of research assessment procedures that integrate the DORA principles is the key to an equitable transition to Open Science.

Between 25 August and 2 September, ERC President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon took part in several sessions at the European Forum Alpbach 2021 as part of the Symposium focused on health. ERC grantees Antje Boetius, Hélène Rey and Johan Rockström were also amongst the speakers at this international forum. The European Forum Alpbach is a platform that drives ideas for an empowered and democratic Europe. It brings together young people, leading scholars, thinkers, scientists, policy makers, business people and civil society actors from Europe and from all over the world to engage and contribute to its mission of shaping a stronger Europe.

Just few days after taking office, the new ERC President Maria Leptin, represented the organisation at the Berlin Science Summit and the Falling Walls Conference on 6-8 November. She spoke in a session on “Translating Science into Medical Application”. Thirteen ERC grantees brought their perspectives to the discussions on the latest research. In addition, four Falling Walls 2021 finalists had been funded by the ERC. The finalists qualify for the title of Science Breakthrough of the Year, which is awarded in ten categories, from Life Sciences to Science Engagement.

In the context of this event, the Berlin Science Week also took place, where President Leptin participated in a joint session of the Berlin University Alliance and the ERC on “The Transformative Effect of Science”. Four ERC grantees explained the transformative effect of their projects in this session. In one of her first speeches as ERC President, Maria Leptin made the case for why society should support science. She put forward the view that it is by understanding the world, that we can change the world.

Researchers therefore need freedom to explore the world as it is, in all its complexity. For this reason, she argued that investing in long-term curiosity-driven research is what allows science to have its maximum impact for the benefit of society.

On 17 November, Maria Leptin made her first public appearance in Brussels as President of the ERC at the 2021 edition of the European Business Summit (EBS) that focused on “Beyond recovery: Towards a sustainable and innovative Europe” and gathered a range of personalities from the world of business, politics and beyond, including Sir David Attenborough.

Participants discussed the role of science in tackling the COVID pandemic, as well as how to meet challenges such as climate change and ways to best prepare for future crises. The questions of how to keep Europe on the map with growing global competition and citizens’ trust in science was also addressed.

In a dialogue with Financial Times correspondent Javier Espinoza, Maria Leptin discussed “Surviving the Pandemic: What Role did Science Play?”

Maria Leptin participated in the European Innovation Council first Summit, which took place on 24-25 November. This hybrid event was put together to celebrate the launch of the EIC and to offer the opportunity to European start-ups and innovators, in particular SMEs, researchers, corporates as well as potential investors and venture capitalists to connect and network. The event was opened by Jean- David Malo, Director of the EIC Executive Agency (EISMEA) with introductory speeches from the Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager and Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. This was followed by a panel discussion on “Diversity in innovation” moderated by Jean-Eric Paquet, Director General of DG Research and Innovation with Mark Ferguson, Ana Barjasic (both members of the newly appointed EIC Board), Yousef Yousef (former member of the EIC Board) and Maria Leptin as panellists.

Prof. Giorgio Parisi, Sapienza University of Rome (Italy)

2021 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS

The other half of the prize is shared by Syukuro Manabe and Klaus Hasselmann.

Giorgio Parisi’s research has been funded by the ERC since 2009 with two consecutive Advanced Grants. His ERC funded research focussed first on large-scale phenomena in classical and quantum disordered systems, and more recently, on large-scale properties of the free energy landscape of glasses at low temperature.

“The ERC is extremely important in the whole of Europe: it supports basic research that is the basis of future applications. In my case, most of the support in the last ten years came from the ERC.” -Giorgio Parisi

ERC projects:

Critical Phenomena in Random Systems (CriPheRaSy) funded with a EUR 2.1 million grant for five years, AdG 2009 Low Temperature Glassy Systems (LoTGlasSy) funded with a EUR 1.8 million grant for five years, AdG 2015

2021 Nobel Prize

Prof. Benjamin List, Max Planck Institute of Coal Research (Germany)

2021 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

2Benjamin List shared the award with David W.C. MacMillan. They received the prize for “the development of asymmetric organocatalysis”.

2Benjamin List’s research has been funded by the ERC since 2010 with two consecutive Advanced Grants. With his ERC funding, he has developed some of the most efficient organocatalysts that chemistry knows, including organic Lewis acids and other enantioselective organocatalysts.

2“To gain momentum, every good idea in science needs freedom and confidence. With its trust in my research and its generous funding, the ERC has been an incredible help to ignite the spark of Asymmetric Organocatalysis.” - Benjamin List

2ERC projects:

2High Performance Lewis Acid Organocatalysis (HIPOCAT) funded with a EUR 2.5 million grant for five years, AdG 2010

2C-H Acids for Organic Synthesis (CHAOS) funded with a EUR 2 million grant for five years, AdG 2015

Scientific Council statement on the Conference on the Future of Europe

The Conference on the Future of Europe, taking place from March 2021 to June 2022, is billed as a unique opportunity for European citizens to debate Europe’s challenges and priorities and to think about the future they want for the European Union. Given the critical importance of research and innovation (R&I) to helping Europe achieve its ambitions such as making the green and digital transitions, the scientific community around Europe were highly concerned to see that R&I were not identified as priority topics for discussion by the organisers of the Conference. In July, the Scientific Council of the ERC therefore released a statement urging Europe’s scientists and all those who believe in the positive power of science to make their voices heard and to share their ideas on how to improve science. This call was answered by a Manifesto signed by many of the biggest industry and research groups across Europe, calling on the Conference to place R&I at the core of the debate on the EU’s future challenges and priorities.

Scientific Council statement on the Pact for Research and Innovation

The ERC Scientific Council fully supports efforts to develop further the European Research Area. Improving the excellence and efficiency of Europe’s research and innovation system can only result from an enhanced collaboration between the national and European levels. In July, the Council released a statement setting out its position on the way forward ahead of a November meeting of the Competitiveness Council to agree a new Pact for Research and Innovation. The statement reiterated the need to raise Europe’s level of investment in R&D in order to meet its ambitions in areas such as climate change, digitalisation and health. This requires keeping up with the level of investments made by Europe’s global competitors. The Council also expressed the need to take a long term perspective, to allow sufficient room for bottom-up frontier research and to ensure that research remains an attractive career for Europe’s brightest talents.

New survey: 11% of ERC grantees wish their research to have an impact beyond science

In November 2020, the ERCEA conducted a survey among the 9,270 Principal Investigators (PIs) who had received one or more ERC grants since its creation in 2007. The survey ‘s results help assessing how the ERC fulfils the expectation that its funding will also contribute to driving innovation and business inventiveness.

The survey consisted of two questions: 1) whether the results of the ERC-funded research directly contributed to the creation of a new company and 2) whether the results of the ERC- funded research had been transferred to a pre-existing company.

It closed on 4 December 2020 with 4,875 responses received (52.6%. response rate). Around 10% of the PIs who responded to the survey also had an ERC Proof of Concept grant (PoC), a percentage that reflects the share of PIs with a PoC in the total population of ERC grantees. ERC grant-holders who apply for a PoC express in a bottom-up way their intent to undertake activities aimed at exploiting academic research opportunities to introduce innovations. Their final goal is the generation of value for themselves and socio-economic benefits to potential users.

Figure 1 – Summary of survey responses

More than 560 ERC PIs (over 11% of respondents) declared that they had either created companies or transferred the results of their research to pre-existing companies (41 did both).

However, as shown in Figure 1, the ERC PIs who also managed to obtain a PoC have a much higher tendency towards academic entrepreneurship. More than half of the PIs with a PoC have either created companies or transferred the results of their research to pre-existing companies, compared to only 7% among the PIs who do not have a PoC. Among the non-PoC “academic entrepreneurs”, the preference goes towards knowledge transfer to pre-existing companies rather than company creation, while the opposite applies to PoC grantees.

According to the results of the survey, the PoC scheme seems to meet successfully the objective to facilitate the work of those ERC grant holders who seek to investigate the commercial and societal potential of their research. It represents the initial step to help the transfer of new ideas from the lab to where they can be applied, further developed, and possibly used and commercialised.

The survey results and further desk-research provide valuable data on and indicators of the creation of start-up companies, their industry of operation, their geographical location, the role of the PI, as well as data on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)/licence transfer, R&D contracts and consulting agreements with pre-existing companies. Further analysis on these knowledge transfers as well as on the created companies - their type, their size, year of foundation, further funding, patenting activities etc. is in progress – and will provide additional valuable information on the impact beyond science of the ERC-funded frontier research in comparison with similar non ERC-related ventures.

Figure 2 - Role of the PI in the newly created company (as a % of the respondents who declared that they had created a company – multiple answers possible)

Figure 3 – Transfer of results to pre-existing companies

Figure 4 - Type of industry and location of the companies receiving the knowledge transfer (number of companies)

Research Highlights

Showcase of ERC-funded research

Are predators keeping our world green?

The “green world hypothesis” explains how insectivorous predator’s control over herbivore communities allows plants to flourish. Through her large intercontinental project, Katerina Sam is the first researcher to use several of the few existing canopy cranes across the globe to study the relations between insectivorous predators, herbivores and plants.

To do so, Sam’s team protects treetops at different moments of the day. They observe the effects of individual predators during the day (like birds) and at night (like bats) in order to get an idea of which insects are not eaten when predators cannot reach the trees. This will allow for a deeper understanding of the different eco-services predators provide to the forest.

The findings have direct implications for protecting biodiversity: changes in predator communities immediately translate into changes in the activity and diversity of the herbivore community, affecting the whole food web.

BABE, Katerina Sam, Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Czechia

How colour influences the arts and literature

Far from being simply a matter of taste, colour is a central aspect of culture, whether past or present. The invention of the first synthetic colours in England during the industrial revolution in the mid-19th century gave rise to new attitudes towards colour production and perception. ERC grantee Charlotte Ribeyrol studies how these innovations influenced arts, literature, printing and fashion all over Europe. Thanks to modern chemistry, her interdisciplinary team analyses the pigments and dyes used at that time. The results of this project will conclude with a public exhibition in 2023 on this remarkable period for the arts. The exhibition will display around 150 objects from major art collections at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK.

CHROMOTOPE, Charlotte Ribeyrol, Sorbonne University, France

Intestinal organoids: a solution for gut diseases?

Digestive diseases and disorders are very common and have enormous societal and economic costs. The development of in vitro human intestinal models that faithfully replicate in vivo behaviour might lead to a better understanding of these diseases and to the design of new therapies. ERC grantee Elena Martinez has contributed to this field by succeeding to create in her lab artificial intestinal tissues from intestinal organoids - which are 3D self-assembling structures - from adult stem cells. Her team have successfully implemented a simple and cost-effective method to fabricate the tissues that mimic the physiological characteristics of human intestinal tissue. Patients will ultimately gain from this project as this approach can be used not only for drug testing and tissue regeneration but also for personalised medicine strategies. Martinez has also obtained a PoC grant to explore the commercial feasibility of her organoid models, which could be attractive for the biomedical research community and the pharma industry. A similar approach could be used to grow other organs tissue such as kidney, lung or skin.

COMIET, Elena Martínez, Foundation Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain

The importance of plant foods in early prehistoric times

ERC grantee Emanuela Cristiani and her team investigated the use of plants in the diets of ancient foragers. They looked at the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods in Italy and the Balkans. The project, which analysed evidence of plant foods preserved in archaeological stone tools, human teeth, and sediments, questioned the perception that ancient hunter-gatherer diets were mainly based on hunting and fishing.

The researchers also looked at DNA entrapped in archaeological forms of mineralised dental plaque. This enabled them to demonstrate that the genome of oral bacteria diversified geographically, a testament to the spread of farming practices in the region. The team showed that the transition to agriculture did not significantly alter ancient humans’ oral microbiome. Instead, significant changes - including the development of peculiar antibiotic resistance pathways - occurred much later in history.

HIDDEN FOODS, Emanuela Cristiani, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

What’s the role of remote areas in the world?

Remote areas in Asia’s highlands, between the Pamirs and the eastern Himalayas, are of great geopolitical concern. These mountain regions at the margins of China and India are considered backward or unruly because they are far away from urban centres and state control. However, recent research shows that connectivity with the outside world is a key aspect of livelihood strategies in remote areas. In the last few years, these hotspots of tension and insecurity have increasingly become areas of trade and exchange: old trade routes have reopened and the quest for natural resources and new markets have attracted new actors. More than 50 months of fieldwork has allowed ERC grantee Martin Saxer to better understand these dynamics. His insights have triggered new debates in the study of borderlands and mobility and contributed to developing a radical new approach to seemingly remote areas in the world. These results were also made accessible to a wider audience with an exhibition in Munich and the documentary “Murghab”, screened at festivals around the world.

Highland Connections, Martin Saxer, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich, Germany

One step closer to a treatment for childhood leukemia

Pablo Menéndez Buján hopes to cure childhood leukaemia, or alternatively to make it a chronic disease rather than a fatal one. His research tackles B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (or B-ALL), one of the most common types of childhood cancer. He aims to provide new therapeutic options by identifying molecular alterations in children with acute leukaemia.

As therapeutic strategy he focuses on an emerging approach, the use of T-cells expressing receptors that recognise particular antigens (known as CART). His research team has identified several key antigens (NG2, CD22 and more recently, CD1a) as promising immunotherapeutic targets against B-ALL.

The therapeutic product has been patented and now requires further clinical validation. Menéndez Buján received two ERC Proof of Concept grants to bring these results closer to human clinical trials.

INFANTLEUKEMIA, Pablo Menéndez Buján, Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Spain

Quantum Computer Lab

In the worldwide race towards the quantum computer, SyG project QC-LAB stands out for its great advancements in quantum technologies and the support it received from the largest companies in computation, US giants Intel and Microsoft. Building a quantum computer is no small feat due to the fragile quantum bits. In this ERC-funded project, a synergetic effort was applied to meet this scientific challenge by combining the best of quantum theory, electrical engineering, materials science, applied physics and computer science. The overall goal being to demonstrate a 13-qubit circuit that incorporates fault-tolerance through implementation of a surface code. Big leaps were made to demonstrate the importance of other areas of research to make the most of quantum computing - quantum programing, networks and the internet and Microsoft opened labs on the PI’s “Quantum Campus”. In their effort to push the quantum computer to the tipping point from science to engineering, this project demonstrates how the next generation of quantum solutions is already shaping the world of tomorrow.

QC-LAB, Leo Kouwenhoven, Lieven Vandersypen, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, Carlo Beenakker, Leiden University, The Netherlands

An early detection of autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) affect about one in 60 children. ASD is an umbrella term for diverse conditions characterised by difficulties with social interaction, communication, or atypical patterns of activities and behaviour. Gaia Novarino and her research team are committed to improving diagnosis and treatment for people with ASD.

They succeeded in shedding light on some of the genetic causes of this condition and discovered how a high-risk gene for ASD may affect brain development. This process takes place in the early stages of brain development, around halfway through pregnancy. Determining these changes in brain development is vital to detect ASD early on and to enable researchers to fine-tune patients’ treatment. As such, inhibiting these changes in brain development could eventually alleviate some of the symptoms patients have. Her team is now working on the indication of paths to employ amino acids for the treatment of ASD core symptoms. They are also studying windows and reversibility strategies to drive designing of novel clinical trials.

REVERSEAUTISM, Gaia Novarino, Institute of Science and Technology, Austria

Safer and faster algorithms for internet communications

Routers are the backbone of the Internet and they run programs that processes traffic en-route to its destination. Until recently such programs were fixed in hardware, but today novel programming languages such as P4 allow easy programming of router functionality. They enable immense flexibility, but can introduce errors that are difficult to catch by programmers and can cripple networks.

Costin Raiciu was awarded a Starting Grant to work on improving the robustness of communication networks. He and his team developed a verification tool capable of finding bugs and automatically fixing P4 programs running in routers without human intervention. With a PoC grant, the team conducted a market study and identified potential customers for their verification tool, which promises to reduce bugs and significantly increase network safety.

CORNET (StG) and SafeNet (PoC), Costin Raiciu, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, Romania

A greener, cleaner world

Despite developments, the field of organometallic complexes remains open to exploration and non- conventional investigation. The ERC-funded project SUSCAT is innovating green catalytic processes with the use of earth-abundant metals like Manganese, Iron, Ruthenium and Cobalt.

The project is looking at two types of reactions being catalyzed by these environmentally harmless metals and with the key-support of an original pioneering metal-ligand cooperation at the catalytic point: transformations, which either produce or consume hydrogen and degradations of harmful gas such as CO2 and N2O. The PI and his team have also succeeded in designing, preparing and testing a revolutionary Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier prototype”.

These are major contributions to organometallic chemistry, which have already been recognized by the European Academy of Science, American Academy of Science and EuChem Society. SUSCAT is a project with high impact in the field of sustainable catalytic reactions for green chemical synthesis and in the development of efficient, safe storage of hydrogen – going a long way towards making key industries more environmentally friendly.

SUSCAT, David Milstein, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

ERC-funded research: Outstanding publications

According to Science magazine, Artificial Intelligence (AI) predicting protein structures is the scientific breakthrough of 2021. AI disentangling protein folding was already 2020’s runners-up in Science, but 2021 has seen an even larger boost of AI research, now revealing which proteins bind to one another and how. Two recent publications involving ERC grantees are part of this quickly advancing field:

In a publication last November, double grantee Dana Branzei (Project: REPSUMODDT) was part of an international team that used the now publicly available AI programs together with evolutionary analysis to characterize 912 new protein complexes in eukaryotic cells. In another publication last November, a team of German researchers including double grantee Martin Beck (Project: ComplexAssembly) used an AI based dynamic model to reveal how the nuclear pore complex, an assembly of 30 different proteins, controls access to the cell nucleus. Understanding how these protein complexes interact may open the door to the development of new medications for a wide range of health disorders.

2021 has been a year with major breakthroughs for evolutionary research. In two publications , scientists supported by a grant from double Advanced grantee Svante Pääbo (Project: 100 Archaic Genomes) showed for the first time that cave dirt can offer incredible insights to our past. The team used nuclear DNA from cave dirt in Spain and Russia to do extensive evolutionary analyses and identify ancient DNA. Traditionally, DNA has been extracted from fossils or bones, but now as techniques for extracting and sequencing of archaeological sediments are improving, researchers hope to answer even more questions about the rise and fall of ancient species. Similarly, another publication by ERC Starting grantee Pontus Skoglund (Project: AGRICON) showed that sediment genome sequencing can be used to reveal human, wolf, and bison DNA comparable to that from skeletal remains.

Another major scientific breakthrough of 2021 was achieved in the field of embryonic stem cell biology. Last March, a publication by Israeli scientists around triple ERC grantee Jacob Hanna (Project: CELLNAIVETY) showed for the first time that mouse embryos could grow in an artificial setting in the lab for several days. The embryos underwent a key stage of cellular reorganization and grew organs, which allows scientists to understand the developmental processes that lead to the formation of tissues and organs.

The interior of a planet holds important clues to its origin and evolution. Until this year, scientists have had access only to Earth and, briefly during the Apollo missions, the Moon. In 2021, for the first time, scientists are uncovering Mars’ planetary core using instruments aboard NASA’s InSight lander. In one of their publications , a large group of scientists, among them ERC Consolidator grantee Daniele Antonangeli (Project: PICKLE), analysed the planet’s seismic waves and concluded that its core must be liquid, like Earth’s, but its mantle consists of only one rocky layer, rather than two, as for Earth. Much more data will be coming and scientists will be puzzling many years to come about Mars’ history.

One of the two winners of Physics World 2021 Breakthrough of the Year is ERC triple grantee Mika Sillanpää’s publication (Project: CAVITYQPD) on quantum entanglement of two mechanical resonators, showing a strong connection between them that cannot be explained by classical physics. To date, entanglement has only been observed for pairs of single ions, atoms, photons, and so on, but now entanglement has been reported on this larger scale, generating many new questions in both applications and fundamental physics.

Several other ERC-funded projects made it into the list of Physics World 2021 Breakthroughs of the Year. One study by Advanced grantee Jeffrey Scott Hangst (Project: hbar12) and another one by Starting grantee Christian Smorra (Project: STEP) and Advanced grantee Klaus Baum (Project: Funl) investigated innovative particle cooling techniques. Triple ERC grantee Mordechay Segev (Project: Topo Ins Laser) and his team published a study in which they forced many tiny lasers to act as one powerful lights source. A team around ERC Consolidator grantee Thomas Pfeifer (Project: X-Music) published a study in which they used X-ray light to achieve coherent quantum control of nuclei. Following their 2019 breakthrough, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and, among many others, triple grantee Heino Falcke (Project: BlackHoleCam), published two letters last year in which they report a black hole’s magnetic field.

Advancing Frontier Research

ERC calls 2021

Starting Grant 2021 - Submitted proposals

Starting Grant 2021 - Funded projects

Consolidator Grant 2021 - Submitted proposals

Advanced Grant 2021 - Submitted proposals

proposals submitted in 2021 to ERC core schemes (StG, CoG, AdG)

proposals submitted in 2021 to the first call PoC1 2022

more proposals submitted to StG 2021 compared to 2020

projects selected for funding in call PoC1 2022

less proposals submitted to AdG 2021 compared to 2020 *

EUR 25 million

awarded in call PoC1 2022

of StG 2021 proposals submitted by female applicants

panel members in 2021 calls

of CoG 2021 proposals submitted by female applicants

female panel members in 2021 calls

more female StG and CoG applicants compared to 2020

European and non-European countries hosting ERC panel members of 2021 calls

* An exceptionally high number of applications were submitted to Advanced Grant 2020

Geographical distribution of grantees for each call

* Following the termination of the exploratory talks, Switzerland was considered a non-associated third country and host institutions established in Switzerland were not eligible for funding in StG 2021.

Data as of January 2022

Chairs of ERC evaluation panels 2021

Strategy Support

For the ERC President

presentations

briefings and data analyses

For members of the Scientific Council

briefings data analyses

Documents and in-depth analysis for:

Scientific Council Standing Committees Working Groups

Support to the Scientific Council

Strategy support consists of activities undertaken by the ERCEA to support the Scientific Council with the task of setting the scientific strategy, of establishing positions on scientific management, monitoring and quality control and of undertaking communication and dissemination efforts. These activities cover:

> policy analysis and advice

> programme design and review

> management of Standing Committees and Working Groups

> programme monitoring and evaluation

> communication and dissemination.

All ERCEA staff contribute to a greater or lesser extent to the development of the Scientific Council’s strategy for the ERC, but two units in particular are dedicated to providing strategic support to the Scientific Council:

• Support to the Scientific Council: The unit supports the Scientific Council to establish the overall research funding and management strategy of the ERC, including the ERC annual work programme and leads on the assessment, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and statistical analysis of the ERC’s activities. In response to requests by the Scientific Council the unit continuously advises them in their activities by providing analysis and intellectual input through the drafting of various documents that reflect the Scientific Council’s main orientations. Due to the specific governance model, the Scientific Council’s plenary meetings are also prepared with the organisational and administrative support of this unit.
• Communication Unit: The unit assists the Scientific Council and the ERCEA in their communication strategy towards the scientific community, public authorities, mediaandthepublicatlarge. Italsoadvises and assists the President in terms of communication activities, including media interviews.

The Scientific Council (ScC) held regular plenary meetings in 2021, all as virtual meetings. In addition, in 2021 members of the Scientific Council participated in other meetings and events representing the ERC, including scientific conferences.

• 25-29: World Economic Forum “Davos Agenda” (virtual event)

• 3: Informal meeting of EU competitiveness ministers – research (virtual meeting from Lisbon)

• 3: ERC Information Workshop in the Baltic Countries (virtual event)

• 23-26: 21st International Union of Materials Research Societies - International Conference in Asia (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

• 4-5: ScC Plenary (virtual meeting)

• 11: Virtual event of the IGLO ERC and Implementation Working Groups

• 17: Euroaxess Event for Latin America

• 24: ENRIO Network Meeting (virtual)

• 24: EURAXESS / NUS Event for Singapore

• 31: SISSA Opening Ceremony 2020-21 (virtual event)

• 31: WIRED Health 2021 (virtual event)

• 14: European Academy of Sciences 2021 Annual Symposium (virtual event)

• 14: Science Business virtual event “Horizon Europe: New frontiers for the ERC?”

• 14-16: Gender Summit 2021 Europe (virtual event from Munich)

• 22: FORTH Scientific Workshop to honour the memory of Theodore Papazoglou (virtual event)

• 22-23: EUA Annual Conference “Universities 2030: From vision to reality” (virtual event)

• 29-30: ScC Plenary (virtual meeting)

• 6: Celebrating 10 000 ERC grantees (virtual event)

• 19: Research Summit / Forschungsgipfel 2021 (virtual event)

• 12: German U15 and Konrad Adenauer Foundation high-level symposium 2021 (virtual event)

• 16: Advanced Materials Conference 2021 (virtual event)

• 22-23: ScC Plenary (virtual meeting)

• 23-24: European Research and Innovation Days 2021 (virtual event)

• 28-30: Ciência 2021 “The Science that creates the Future and transforms the Economy” (Lisbon)

• 12: German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) Strategy Talk (virtual event)

• 19: Informal meeting of EU competitiveness ministers - research (Brdo Kranj)

• 24-3/9: European Forum Alpbach 2021

• 28-29: EU LIFE ERC Master Class (virtual event)

• 28-1/10: 15th Berlin Open Access Conference (virtual event)

• 3-5: UEG Week Virtual 2021

• 6: ERC Information Day in Greece (virtual event)

• 8: ERC Webinar for Researchers in Russia (virtual event)

• 21-22: ScC Plenary (virtual meeting)

• 27: Virtual event of the IGLO ERC Working Group

• 6-9: Falling Walls Conference 2021 and Berlin Science Week (Berlin)

• 8: Young Academy Leiden symposium on interdisciplinary research (Leiden)

• 17-18: European Business Summit 2021

• 24: High-Level Science Europe Workshop on ERA 2021 (virtual event from Brussels)

• 24-25: EIC Summit (Brussels)

• 28: EU-LIFE Policy Webinar “Moving forward in research assessment” (virtual event)

• 2: Forum Horizon Europe 2021 (Paris)

• 8: “Towards a European Agreement on Reforming

Research Assessment” (virtual event)

• 9-10: ScC Plenary (virtual meeting)

Standing Committees

The Standing Committee on Panels deals with the selection of evaluation panellists.

The Committee met three times in 2021.

The Standing Committee on Conflict of Interest, Scientific Misconduct and Ethical Issues (CoIME) provides guidance on conflict of interest, scientific misconduct and ethical issues.

In 2021, the CoIME gave its advice on 25 cases of alleged scientific misconduct. An anonymised reporting of these cases can be found on the ERC website.

The Committee met once in 2021, besides the consultations of members on specific cases.

The Standing Committee for Programme Impact Monitoring and Evaluation (PRIME) provides guidance regarding ERC tasks to monitor the quality of operations, evaluate programme implementation and achievements and make recommendations for future actions.

The Committee met twice in 2021.

Working Groups

The members of the Scientific Council also meet in Working Groups (WGs) that carry out analyses and contribute to the ERC’s scientific strategy through proposals to be adopted by the Scientific Council in plenary in areas addressing specific issues.

There are currently five Working Groups dedicated to the following topics, which are of particular interest to the ERC:

Innovation, to examine the impact of ERC funded research on innovation and ERC’s relationship with the industrial/business sector.

The WG met three times in 2021.

Gender issues, to ensure that the ERC is at the forefront of best practices with regard to gender balance in research.

Widening European participation, to encourage low performing countries and, in particular, Central and Eastern European countries to better nurture their scientific talent and invest more in research.

The WG met twice in 2021.

Open Science, to develop an ERC position on issues related to open access to publications, research data management and sharing and open science more broadly.

Science behind the projects, to perform an ex-ante content analysis of the ERC funded projects, using expert judgment that will enable ERC to systematically report on the research areas, topics and fields that it funds, including on funding trends.

Communication

The ERC has a mandate to communicate to the scientific community, key stakeholders, the media and the public at large. All actions performed during the year were guided by the three main objectives set by the ERC Scientific Council in its annual communication strategy – attracting excellent applications for ERC grants, making the case for frontier research and celebrating science. The ongoing restrictions linked to the pandemic further accelerated the transition to a digital-first approach, in order to make the best possible use of online tools to reach the ERC’s different target audiences.

Attracting the best ideas and the brightest minds

The ERC held different online events to widely promote its grant competitions among the research community across Europe and worldwide. In particular, it carried out activities targeting researchers in European countries that have been less successful in terms of applications to grants in past calls, as well as from outside the European Research Area. With the support of the ERC National Contact Points, national authorities, host institutions, EU delegations and the Euraxess Worldwide network, the ERC organised various webinars for potential applicants from Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Greece and Poland, as well as from various countries and regions around the world: North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Russia. To increase awareness of these events, the ERC launched targeted social media campaigns promoting informational material such as testimonials, articles and videos on best practices. Overall, more than 20,000 participants, mostly researchers, attended these webinars.

Making the case for frontier research

In 2021, the ERC reached an important milestone: its 10,000th grantee. The ERC marked this with an online ceremony and a social media campaign mobilising stakeholders and the research community. These celebrations were an opportunity not only to recognise all current and former grantees, but also to stress the importance of funding frontier research.

The ERC President and members of the Scientific Council took part in numerous high-level events to show policy-makers, the business community and media how support for frontier research helps to address challenges, both in the short and long term. The ERC notably participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos, the EU Research and Innovation Days, the European Forum Alpbach, the Berlin Science Summit and Falling Walls Conference and the European Business Summit (EBS) in Brussels.

Sharing the passion for science

During the year, the ERC published articles and videos about projects which highlight how frontier research contributes to the EU’s political priorities like the green and digital transitions, as well as the research missions under the new framework programme Horizon Europe. Some articles also demonstrated how ERC grantees are contributing to research on COVID-19 and the current pandemic. In addition, as part of the communication actions to mark the celebrations for the 10,000 grantees, the ERC produced a multimedia series of 15 stories showing diverse ways in which the ERC has contributed to scientific research and to the European research landscape over the years. Finally, the ERC launched its second competition for the “Public Engagement with Research Awards,” recognising grantees who distinguish themselves for their efforts to reach out to wider audiences

Some communication figures

press announcements released by the ERC

> 13,400

media mentions of the ERC

online events (organised by the ERC and jointly with partners)

> 250,000

followers on social media

354 million

potential reach on Twitter

ERC Magazine and news update subscribers

website unique visitors

“The European Research Council has, in a short time, achieved world-class status as a funding body for excellent curiosity-driven frontier research. With its special emphasis on allowing top young talent to thrive, the ERC Scientific Council is committed to keeping to this course. The ERC will continue to help make Europe a power house for science and a place where innovation is fuelled by a new generation.”

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon ERC President ad interim and Chair of its Scientific Council

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The European Research Council — a new opportunity for European science

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The long-awaited European Research Council (ERC), which receives money from the research budget of the European Union and will finance fundamental science for Europe's scientists, has finally been established. With a focus on excellence, calls for both young and experienced scientists and an average budget of €1 billion per year, the ERC will have the opportunity to give basic research in Europe a significant boost.

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Four ‘outstanding research leaders’ at Oxford awarded major European Research Council grants

Four University of Oxford researchers have been awarded  European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants  of up to €2.5 million each to explore their most innovative and ambitious ideas. These grants recognise leading researchers who have a proven track record of significant achievements.

The ERC is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research, and the ERC Advanced Grants are amongst the most prestigious and competitive EU funding schemes. These provide leading senior researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious, curiosity-driven projects that could lead to major scientific breakthroughs. The new grants, worth in total nearly €652 million, are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.

This latest call for proposals attracted over 1,800 applications, of which around 14% were selected for funding. The successful projects will carry out cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physical sciences to social sciences and humanities.

Iliana Ivanova, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, said: ‘To all the new ERC grantees, my heartfelt congratulations! These grants will not only support leading researchers in pushing the boundaries of knowledge, but also create some 2500 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students and other research staff across Europe. This investment nurtures the next generation of brilliant minds. I look forward to seeing the resulting breakthroughs and fresh advancements in the years ahead.’

About the Oxford recipients:

Professor Shadreck Chirikure , School of Archaeology

Migration is a powerful driver of historical change and one of the most sensitive socio-political challenges of our time. The New Bantu project will generate new knowledge that could inform solutions to effectively tackle contemporary challenges with migration in Africa and globally. Professor Shadreck Chirikure , School of Archaeology

Professor Chirikure will combine interdisciplinary scientific techniques with innovative applications of worldviews to transform our understanding of how human migration and networks shaped development in Southern Africa between 300 BCE - 1500 CE. His focus will be the Bantu people, who today represent a large ethnolinguistic group spread over a broad area of Africa. Current theory holds that, between 5,000-1,000 years ago, farming caused a population expansion, prompting a rapid north-to-south settlement of a third of Africa by Bantu farmers. However, the exact nature of this mass movement is poorly understood.

Professor Chirikure said: ‘We will conduct fieldwork in eight countries – Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe - to expand existing data sets, then apply high-resolution scientific analyses to well-dated collections (including metals, pottery, seeds, and bones) to arrive at a critical understanding of the spread of Bantu speakers and their lifeways across Southern Africa. The outcomes of the project will throw new light on Southern Africa’s development, and can serve as a model for other large-scale movements of people across the globe, such as the Yamnaya culture in Eastern Europe.’

Professor Véronique Gouverneur , Department of Chemistry

I am delighted to receive this award as it will enable my team to tackle some of the most pressing problems facing the fluorochemical sector. Our objective is to develop new chemistry to produce critically-needed fluorochemicals in a safe and clean manner directly from readily-available natural minerals and waste products. Professor Véronique Gouverneur , Department of Chemistry

Professor Véronique Gouverneur will use the ERC Advanced Grant to develop ground-breaking new methods for fluorine chemistry that will convert naturally occurring fluorspar into critically-needed fluorine-containing molecules. Her project will apply innovative techniques she has developed that are energy-efficient and which bypass the production of dangerous hydrogen fluoride gas .

In this new work, her team will focus on creative ways to release the fluorine content of fluorspar using solid-state chemistry techniques as well as solution-based methods. With circular fluorine chemistry in mind, her team will also investigate new methods to recover the fluorine content of waste and harmful fluorochemicals for upcycling. Professor Gouverneur said: ‘Ultimately, this work will benefit the wide range of industries that depend on fluorochemicals, including polymers, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars and smartphones.’

Professor Vili Lehdonvirta , Oxford Internet Institute and Department of Sociology

I am deeply grateful to the European Research Council for another opportunity to launch an investigation into a new frontier topic, and to the many colleagues who helped me shape this new research agenda. Professor Vili Lehdonvirta , Oxford Internet Institute and Department of Sociology

Professor Lehdonvirta’s research examines the politics and socio-economic implications of digital technologies. His new project will focus on the geopolitics of cloud computing, and the impacts of data being increasingly stored on “hyperscale” data centres operated by multinational cloud computing providers, rather than on users’ own devices. Whilst this concentration generates significant economies of scale and improves energy efficiency, it also creates new systemic risks and impacts international relations, as governments and economies become more reliant on infrastructures that are often situated in another country.

Professor Lehdonvirta said: ‘US and Chinese cloud providers are competing to expand their infrastructures globally, while countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere attempt to navigate this competition and retain “digital sovereignty.” For the first time, this project will map the changing geography of computation and examine how different states are attempting to shape it to their advantage. The goal is to understand how government policies interact with technology companies’ business strategies to shape global digital infrastructures—and through them global politics.’

Professor Jin-Chong Tan , Department of Engineering Science

I am pleased to receive the award and wish to thank my team members who performed the pilot studies underpinning the proposal. The findings from this project could transform the field of nanoenergy conversion, through precisely engineered resilient new materials ideal for real life applications. Professor Jin-Chong Tan , Department of Engineering Science

Professor Tan will use his ERC Advanced Grant to explore how to engineer resilient and durable triboelectric nanogenerators that can harvest energy from the environment and day-to-day activities, then convert this into useful electrical energy. By developing novel composite materials, the project aims to solve the long-standing problem of current nanogenerators only generating low-density power outputs; a major constraint toward practical applications. Ultimately, this work could improve the performance of various applications including lightweight energy harvesters, touch-sensitive sensors in soft robots, and portable devices that can power themselves without the use of batteries.

Professor Tan said: ‘This ERC Advanced Grant will enable me and my team to discover exciting new triboelectric materials targeting a wide range of disruptive technologies. I am excited by the prospect of uncovering the hidden mechanisms behind the functioning of triboelectric generators, by leveraging innovative techniques such as nearfield nanospectroscopy and broadband nanoimaging.’

Further information about the ERC Advanced Grants can be found  on the ERC website .

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Nine UCL researchers secure £560m in research funding from ERC

by Jen Brogan | 15th Apr 2024 | News

Nine researchers from University College London (UCL) have secured nearly £560m in funding from the European Research Council’s (ERC) Advanced Grants to advance researchers in fields including biochemistry, nanotechnologies and regenerative medicine.

Approximately 14% of the competition-submitted proposals were selected for funding, comprising 255 researchers, and could create over 2,000 new jobs.

Set up in 2007 by the EU, the ERC has been funding research via the Advanced Grant to universities and research centres across 19 EU member states and associated countries, including the UK, Germany and France.

The funding will be used for projects including the study of the roles of priority proteins in cellular quiescence and ageing, the thymus gland’s functions within the immune system and lung cancer.

UCL professor Charles Swanton from the UCL Cancer Institute, along with UCL professor Paola Bonfanti and senior group leader at the Francis Crick Institute, have been awarded over £2m each for their projects.

Bonfanti’s LOST IN ThyME project will explore what happens to the thymus, a small, irregular-shaped organ in the upper chest, to understand its role in the immune and endocrine systems throughout adult life.

Working with the University of Turin in Italy, the project could help to “better understand how the immune system stays active through adult life and how to tap into the thymus’ potential to protect against diseases like cancer, complement immune medications and, also, understand how our bodies respond to stress,” explained Bonfanti.

Swanton’s START project aims to investigate lung cancer in people who have never smoked and look for opportunities to prevent cancer by targeting inflammatory pathways such as air pollution.

“The more we understand about how cancer starts, the more chance we have of identifying opportunities to intervene with preventative therapies,” said Swanton. Iliana Ivanova, EU commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, commented: “These grants will… support leading researchers in pushing the boundaries of knowledge.

“I look forward to seeing the resulting breakthroughs and fresh advancements in the years ahead.”

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ERC Advanced Grant Awarded to Physicist Tobias Kampfrath for His Research into Orbitronics at Terahertz Frequencies

Researcher at freie universität berlin to receive 2.5 million euros in funding from the european research council.

№ 075/2024 from Apr 11, 2024

Professor Tobias Kampfrath from Freie Universität Berlin will receive 2.5 million euros in funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for a period of five years to support his research project “ORBITERA.” As part of this project, Kampfrath and a team of fellow experimental physicists will explore the fundamentals of novel concepts of magnetic data processing based on the orbital motion of electrons (“orbitronics”). To this end, they will develop new methods that rely on extremely short electromagnetic pulses in the terahertz frequency range. ERC Advanced Grants are awarded to well-established, prominent researchers who are looking to explore new fields of study.

Tobias Kampfrath Image Credit: Tobias Kampfrath

Orbitronics is a relatively young field of research that aims to make information processing faster and more efficient. Modern technologies store and process information in the form of bits, where one bit corresponds to the information content “yes” or “no” or, equivalently, 1 or 0. In electronic devices such as laptops or smartphones, each of the billions of bits is encoded by the presence or absence of an electrical charge. Spintronics takes electronics one step further by enabling electronic devices to perform operations based not only on the charge of electrons, but also their spin. Electrons are constantly rotating around their own axes, and this spin generates a magnetic moment. The ability to make use of both an electron’s charge and its spin simultaneously could be the key to creating faster and more powerful electronic devices. One important application of spintronics is as a type of nonvolatile memory, MRAM, which can be used as cache memory in central processing units. Orbitronics, on the other hand, is a very recent development in the field of electronics that focuses on the second type of rotation of which electrons are capable: orbital motion around an atom’s nucleus. This form of technology aims to make use of orbital currents as information carriers and has the potential to make spintronic operations more efficient – and maybe even replace them.

“In ORBITERA, we want to find out how the orbital angular momentum of electrons can be transported through metals and how we can utilize it to speed up how magnetic information recorded,” says Kampfrath. Because electrons collide with obstacles at such high speeds, the research group will be developing new methods to observe the flow of electrons and their orbits on the femtosecond time scale. To put this into perspective, within 100 femtoseconds, light – the fastest signal carrier – covers a distance equivalent to the width of a single human hair. In addition to gaining fundamental insights, Kampfrath expects the project to unearth new applications for orbitronics in the field of terahertz photonics. “For example, orbitronics could be used to generate ultrabroadband terahertz radiation, something that is becoming increasingly important for material characterization and quality control.”

A professor of experimental physics at Freie Universität Berlin since 2017, Tobias Kampfrath studied physics in Erlangen and Göttingen (obtaining his diploma in 2001), and completed his doctoral studies at Freie Universität Berlin in 2006. Following a research stay at the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) as a postdoctoral researcher, he became principal investigator of the “Terahertz Physics” working group at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin in 2010, where he established terahertz spintronics as a field of research. He has received the Carl Ramsauer Prize (2007), the Karl Scheel Prize (2014), and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2015) for his work. His current research interests lie in the behavior of spintronic nanostructures on the femtosecond time scale and at terahertz frequencies. He is cofounder of the start-up TeraSpinTec.

Further Information

• European Research Council grants: https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant
• Kampfrath working group at the Department of Physics, Freie Universität Berlin: https://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/en/einrichtungen/ag/ag-kampfrath/index.html

Prof. Dr. Tobias Kampfrath, Department of Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Email: [email protected]

Economists call for European Innovation Council reform to support more breakthrough research

The EIC should be more closely modelled on US advanced research project agencies say economists from France, Germany and Italy

Michiel Scheffer, president of the European Innovation Council, during day two of Web Summit 2023 at the Altice Arena in Lisbon, Portugal. Photo credits: Oliver Hardt / Flickr

European investment in research and innovation is “insufficient, in both quantity and quality”, and should focus more on high-tech industries, according to a report by economists from France, Germany and Italy.

They recommend reforming the European Innovation Council, launched in 2021 to develop and scale up breakthrough technologies, along the lines of the US advanced research project agencies (ARPAs). Perhaps the most famous of these, DARPA, funds defence research and has played a leading role in developing technologies such as the internet and global positioning systems.

ARPAs have a mission-oriented approach to innovation, and focus mainly on developing proof of concept, or projects up to technology readiness levels (TRLs) 3-4, whereas half of EIC funding is dedicated to its Accelerator programme, which supports projects at TRL 5 and above.

The economists suggest increasing funding for high-risk, high-return projects by diverting resources from “underperforming programmes of Horizon Europe and other parts of the EU innovation ecosystem”.

For instance, they propose the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) and the European Innovation Ecosystem (EIE) should be “scale[d] down progressively” saying “it is natural to question the EU value added of the EIT and ask whether its budget could be more efficiently allocated elsewhere.”

They also propose giving leading scientists a more central role on the EIC board and in selecting projects, and handing more decision-making power to independent project managers rather than the European Commission.

The report looks at how Europe can escape the “middle technology trap”, which refers to specialising in sectors that do not require the same R&D intensity as high-tech industries - or have the same potential for growth.

The report points out that many of the European companies which spend the most on R&D are in the automotive sector, and mostly take the latest advances and apply them to production.

“The EU’s comparative advantage in cars is worrisome, as despite its massive investment in R&D, the EU automotive industry now risks being leapfrogged by US producers and increasingly by Chinese ones,” the report says.

In the US software companies have overtaken car manufacturers as the biggest R&D spenders, and now account for 75% of the global total in the sector, compared to just 6% in Europe.

The creation of the EIC has been a “positive step” in boosting European competitiveness, but it focuses too much on helping SMEs to raise capital, and not enough on promoting innovation, the report says. Just 5% of overall Horizon Europe funding supports breakthrough innovation that is far from commercial application.

The EIC is also too dependent on the Commission and is overly bureaucratic, with excessive eligibility criteria and slow payment of funding, according to the report.

Overall, public funding on R&D in Europe has grown in the last two decades to reach a similar level to the US, at around 0.7% of GDP. However, private spending on R&D is currently 1.2% of EU GDP, half that of the US, at 2.3%. The authors point towards the dominance of high-tech companies in the US to explain this discrepancy.

“It is without question that the EU needs to catch up in the field of private R&D investment, reduce energy costs, make financing of scale-ups more attractive and mobilise more private capital into the financing of the economy,” said internal market commissioner Thierry Breton.

He proposes a new approach based on four pillars: promoting industrial technologies; a focus on economic security to protect industrial value chains; modernising the single market; and developing skills.

Competitiveness has emerged as a key concern for EU policymakers in the current fraught geopolitical context, with former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi due to submit a report on the topic in June.

Developing technologies for industrial competitiveness is likely to be high on the new Commission’s agenda following June’s European elections, and at the heart of discussions around Framework Programme 10, the successor to Horizon Europe from 2028.

Last week, ministers from France, Germany and Italy jointly called for the EU to develop a single industrial strategy , in response to American protectionism and Chinese subsidies.

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Online Elections in Russia

Ahead of the State Duma election on September 19, 2021, Russia just  tested  its remote electronic voting system. (1) While the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC) is preparing the report about the results of the test, election monitors say Russia's electronic voting system is a black box.

Technological and legal embedding of controversial e-voting 

This year, remote e-voting will be used in  six  Russian regions, including Moscow, according to the CEC. The Commission will examine  nine  applications from regions (other than Moscow) that wish to participate in the pilot project. Nationwide e-voting might be introduced as soon as  2024,  when the next presidential election is supposed to take place. So, this year's online elections should be seen as a further step towards the digitalization of Russia's elections, which started two years ago.

Remote e-voting was tested for the first time in 2019 at the election of deputies to the Moscow City Council. The following year, during the all-Russia vote on constitutional amendments which took place from June 25 to July 1, 2020, residents of Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod region were able to cast their votes electronically. Thus, in September 2020, online voting was tested in the pre-election to the State Duma in the Kursk and Yaroslavl regions.

Legal entrenchment of electronic e-voting into Russia's election system took place just before last year's trial runs when President Vladimir Putin signed a law on remote voting in elections on May 23, 2020. With that, "remote electronic voting" was introduced at the federal level for the first time, and  defined  as "voting without voting using a paper, using special software." Another important innovation of this law is the ability to collect signatures for candidate nomination through Gosuslugi – the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation. With that, Russia has paved the way for a transformation of the election system into a process based on information and communication technologies (ICT) and the internet.

This is of course a very progressive step, in line with current global trends and part of an even stronger shift to the digitalization of more and more aspects of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the idea of remote electronic voting is highly  controversial  and many countries remain cautious about introducing it. On the one hand, there are obvious advantages – for instance, for voters abroad and for voters with disabilities; in general, e-voting provides citizens with a convenient way to cast their vote without visiting polling stations, which could counter declining turnout worldwide. So, an important benefit of digital technology in elections is cost  savings  from reduced costs of production and distribution of ballot papers, as well as reduced poll worker time.

On the other hand, several studies and assessments show that internet voting does not necessarily  attract  new voters but rather serves as a "convenient" tool for existing voters. Moreover, nationwide use of e-voting could lead to a digital divide, excluding voters without internet access and those less familiar with the internet. For many people, e-voting is a "black box" due to its complexity. This could lead to reluctance to participate in elections or to reduced trust in the system as a result of insufficient transparency.  So, the argument for e-voting due to reduced costs is contested: the expensiveness of internet voting becomes evident when the additional costs for both purchasing and maintaining e-voting systems, as well as for education campaigns for electoral authorities, observers, and voters are taken into account.

However, the probable main concern regarding e-voting stems from its technological nature, which poses various new security  risks , such as its high dependence on technology and its vendors,  possible malicious activities,  including phishing and social engineering. The risk of manipulation of e-voting is twofold: by hackers from outside, but also by insiders with privileged access to the system – election officials and system administrators have high level authorization to access information and equipment and may intentionally or accidentally compromise election results. Many analysts suggest careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks of introducing such digital technology in legally binding elections.

'Sovereign' blockchain for Russia's election

The blockchain technology which Russia is introducing and testing for its voting promises to shift power from the central electoral authorities to voters and to make elections more secure and transparent. A blockchain voting system is based on peer-to-peer technology and encryption which allows secure registration information and transmission of ballots over the internet and it provides a decentralized and anonymized system of voting and counting results. Developers of the Russian technology also  promise:  "The vote itself is anonymized and encrypted. The electronic ballot only exists on the user's screen until the vote is over. To preserve the secrecy of the vote, the ballot information is not saved in the user's browser or on the admin server."

However, the Kremlin's ever  tighter grip  over the internet and ICT, as well as the regime's increased power in managing elections and keeping control over ballot access, raise concerns that technology will be misused to achieve the desired results rather than properly serve voters. What's more, independent  IT experts warn  that using blockchain technology can change election results in ways that are "undetectable, or, even if detected, would be irreparable without running a whole new election"; the technology still has serious security vulnerabilities that could undermine the integrity of the election system. An  opaque expert group  that advises the CIK RF on the new technology and the lack of transparent monitoring procedures raises additional mistrust towards the new online voting.

In Russia, an electronic voting system has been developed by Kaspersky  Lab , the  notorious  anti-virus software vendor; it has turned to developing the election software based on blockchain after there was a serious drop in sales followed by allegations from the US and Europe of spying and close ties to the Kremlin. Another developer of a technical solution of e-voting is the state-backed major telecom provider  Rostelecom together with Waves Enterprise , a Russian developer of a blockchain platform for corporate and government use.

Despite the aforementioned promise of the developers, the use of technology developed by Moscow's Department of Information Technologies together with Kaspersky Lab in the elections to the Moscow City Council 2019 revealed several major problems. The private key for decoding the votes was easily  accessible  online and made it possible to track how people voted. Moreover, independent observers  noticed  significant differences between the offline results and those submitted electronically in favor of candidates supported by the ruling party; a very limited  possibility  of technical control by observers and cases of violation of voting secrecy and coercion to vote.

So, during the all-Russia vote in 2020, the blockchain system created by Kaspersky Lab revealed several weaknesses. The website for online voting went  offline  in the first minutes after the start of voting. The passport data of voters was not sufficiently protected and was available  online  which showed that some voters were recorded in the system twice while others were able to vote with invalid passports. Moreover, people were able to vote  twice , at polling stations and then through the online system.

However, despite these serious weaknesses of the system, Moscow will continue  its cooperation with Kaspersky Lab  which will again develop its own voting system for the city that will probably be used at the State Duma election in September. For other regions, Rostelecom will provide its blockchain-based voting system that it deployed for the pre-election in September 2020. Back then, IT specialists  reported  that the system was not tested enough and there were possibilities for the authorities to manipulate the results. So,  observers  said, the system was non-transparent and did not guarantee verification of the integrity of the vote count.

As for the recent testing on May 12–14, Grigory Melkonyants, head of the election monitoring association Golos  said  in comparison to the previous election, Russia's e-voting is getting even more opaque: now observers are not allowed to download blockchain transactions from the website for online voting and cannot see how the system works from the inside and therefore are not able to evaluate the integrity of the elections. Observers also reported that the new system was not  available  for accepting applications from voters for several hours. Some voters  were rejected  as the system could not verify their personal data or because they were "not selected for the test by a random sampling." Stanislav Andreichuk, Co-Chair of Golos,  confirms  that four months before the most important election in five years, the e-voting system is not ready.

In addition to these issues, the whole online voting system in Russia could hardly be seen as decentralized: voting takes place through state servers by registering accounts on the state portal such as Gosuslugi (or mos.ru in Moscow) and the blockchain network is controlled by the authorities or state-backed companies.

An additional threat for elections 

Russia's advanced track record of election result falsifications over the past decade has dramatically harmed its democracy, especially the institution of election. It's highly doubtful that remote electronic voting will help rebuild trust in elections. On the contrary: given the state-controlled technical infrastructure and expected results of the previous tests, e-voting will lead in fact to even more difficult access for independent election monitoring and further deny Russian citizens the free and fair elections they deserve.

(1) To take part in the test from May 12 to May 14, any citizen of the Russian Federation could submit an application on the  Gosuslugi.ru  – the Public Services Portal of the Russian Federation. This is a widely used centralized online infrastructure for any kind of state or municipal service. According to its own data from 2019, Gosuslugi has 103.2 million registered users, out of the country's population of about 145 million.

Bibliographic data

This text was first published by the Russian Election Monitor in May 2021 .

Themen & Regionen

• Russia & Central Asia
• International Order and Governance

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European Council adopts energy performance rules for buildings and cars

The European Council has adopted a revised directive on the energy performance of buildings, mandating all new buildings to be zero-emission buildings by 2030 and requiring that the European Union's entire building stock should be transformed into zero-emission building stock by 2050. The revised directive introduces minimum energy performance standards for non-residential buildings with maximum amounts of primary or final energy consumption per m2: in terms of energy performance, all non-residential buildings will be above the 16% worst performing buildings by 2030 and above the 26% worst performing buildings by 2033. Member States will ensure that the average primary energy use of residential buildings will be cut by 16% in 2030 and by 20-22% in 2035; at least 55% of the energy reduction will be achieved through renovation of the 43% worst performing residential buildings and financial support measures and technical assistance will be implemented, especially for vulnerable households. To improve the decarbonisation of the buildings, national renovation plans will have to include a roadmap to phase out fossil fuel boilers by 2040, and the revised directive will promote solar installations and electric vehicle recharging points in buildings. Member States will now have two years to transpose the directive into their national legislation and the directive will be reviewed by 2028.

In addition, the European Council has adopted the Euro 7 regulation, which sets up rules on emission limits for road vehicles (cars, vans and trucks) and battery durability. For cars and vans, the regulation maintains the existing Euro 6 exhaust emission limits but introduces stricter requirements for solid particles. For heavy-duty buses and trucks, it imposes more stringent limits for various pollutants, including some that had not been regulated until now (such as nitrous oxide). In addition, the Euro 7 regulation introduces stricter limits for particle emissions produced when braking, with specific limits for electric vehicles. The regulation will apply between 30 and 60 months, depending the type of vehicle concerned.

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EU-India join forces to promote start-up collaboration on E-Vehicles Batteries under Trade and Technology Council

The European Union (EU) and India today launched expressions of interest for start-ups working in Electric Vehicles (EVs) Battery Recycling to participate in a matchmaking event. This initiative takes place under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) announced by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and Ms Ursula von der Leyen President of the European Commission, at their meeting in New Delhi in April 2022. It aims to enhance the cooperation between European and Indian SMEs and start-ups in the clean and green technologies sector. The intended exchange of knowledge and expertise will be instrumental in advancing the circularity of rare materials and transitioning towards carbon-neutrality in both India and the EU.

Funded by the EU and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the proposed matchmaking initiative seeks to facilitate cooperation and partnerships between solution providers and adopters from both regions.

Open to start-up innovators from the European Union and from India, both calls for Expression of Interest close on 30 April. 

Twelve startups from Europe and India (six each) will be selected and get a pitching opportunity during a joint EU-India matchmaking event in June 2024. The online event will take place in the presence of Professor Ajay Kumar Sood, the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and Mr. Marc Lemaître, Director-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. Six finalists (3 from the EU and 3 from India) out of the twelve shortlisted candidates will be selected following their pitching presentations in the matchmaking events. The six EU and Indian selected start-ups will be awarded with a visit to India and the EU respectively, to explore market opportunities with their counterparts. 

This initiative is a direct outcome of the EU-India TTC, a collaboration platform to address key trade, trusted technology, and security challenges. Under the Green and clean energy technologies Working Group, recycling of batteries for e-vehicles and standards through pre-normative research is one of the key identified areas for enhanced cooperation.

Mr. Marc Lemaitre , emphasized the need for collaboration dedicated to the EV Battery Recycling industry:

"The matchmaking event is a step-ahead to unlock innovative possibilities leading to a green and circular economy. We encourage innovators from the EU to seize this opportunity and explore potential collaborations with their Indian counterparts."

Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood  said:

“The matchmaking event under India-EU TTC Working Group 2 offers Indian startups an exclusive platform to demonstrate their expertise in battery recycling technologies. It provides a chance for Indian innovators to establish strategic alliances with their counterparts in the EU, accelerating the development of advanced battery recycling techniques focused on waste minimization and resource sustainability. Our objective is to harmonize efforts with EU innovators to jointly develop battery recycling solutions that drive industry expansion. We are dedicated to fostering a collaborative environment where sustainability and innovation form the cornerstone of a flourishing circular economy.”

Mr. Hervé Delphin , Ambassador to the EU Delegation to India remarked:

"Cooperation on research and innovation is key to unlock new and sustainable technologies to the market.  The development of recycling battery technologies for E-Vehicles presents opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions and supply chains dependencies. This initiative under the Trade and Technology Council will mobilise EU and India vibrant start-ups ecosystems to identify and design innovative solutions. This collaboration is a concrete example of what the TTC can deliver for the benefit of EU and India.”

Mr. Saurabh Kumar , Ambassador of India to Belgium, Ambassador to Luxembourg and the European Union said:

“This matchmaking event provides an outstanding platform to dynamic start-ups on both sides to forge strategic partnerships and explore investment avenues in EV Battery Recycling Technologies. It reflects the shared and deep commitment of India and the EU to a sustainable and greener future. The event is part of a broader effort to promote innovation and forge stronger economic relations under the India-EU Trade and Technology Council. It is my belief that this initiative will be a foundation stone for many more collaborations between India and the EU.”

This initiative underscores the broader commitment of the European Union to fostering global partnerships for a greener future.

The TTC is a key forum to deepen the strategic partnership on trade and technology between the two partners. Geostrategic challenges have reinforced the EU and India's common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development based on shared values. It will help increase EU-India bilateral trade, which is at historical highs, with €120 billion worth of goods traded in 2022. In 2022, €17 billion of digital products and services were traded.

The TTC consists of three Working Groups:

• Working Group 1 on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity
• Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies
• Working Group 3 on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains

The first ministerial meeting of the TTC took place in Brussels on 16 May 2023, co-chaired by Executive Vice-Presidents Margrethe Vestager and Valdis Dombrovskis on the EU side, and on the Indian side by Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs; Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry; and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology. They were joined by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, as well as Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton.

Working Groups are now jointly working to advance identified objectives and key actions. The matchmaking event launched today is one of the agreed short-term actions under Working Group 2 on Green and Clean Energy Technologies.

More information

Calls for expression of interest

International cooperation with India

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EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation

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Open Science

The mission of the ERC is to support excellent research in all fields of science and scholarship. The main outputs of this research are new knowledge, ideas and understanding, which the ERC expects its grantees to publish in peer-reviewed articles and monographs. The ERC considers that providing free online access to these materials is the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of the research it funds can be accessed, read, and used as the basis for further research.  

Key Concepts  

This glossary outlines the main concepts and terms related to open science in the context of the ERC programme. For further information, consult the Annotated Grant Agreements for  Horizon 2020 or for Horizon Europe .  

Step-by-step: How to comply with the open science requirements

Open science requirements are embedded in your ERC grant agreement and depend on the Framework Programme (and in some cases, the ERC call) under which you obtained funding. Read more about the requirements here, as well as practical steps related to the publication and sharing of your peer-reviewed manuscripts and research data:  

1. Scientific publications in H2020

The obligations of the grant agreement related to open access apply to all peer-reviewed scientific publications related to results from the project. This means in particular that they apply regardless whether the underlying research has been supported in whole or only in part by the ERC.

Before publishing results related to your Horizon 2020 ERC-funded project, take into account that you are required by your grant agreement to take the following steps:  

Acknowledge ERC funding

For all kinds of publications, use the official text included in your Grant Agreement. When feasible, add the ERC logo.

"This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement n° xxxx)."   This also applies to other outputs of your project (see ' Communicating your research ').  

Select a publishing venue taking into account your contractual obligations and submit your manuscript  

Keep in mind that open access to the publication (AAM or VoR) has to be provided via a repository at the latest within 6 months (for LS or PE) or 12 months (for SH) after publication. Check if the publisher’s embargo period is compatible with this requirement.   

Ensure that your publication is deposited in a suitable repository of your choice immediately upon publication  

Your project is completed and you would like to know what your obligations are    .

Horizon 2020 open access obligations for peer-reviewed scientific publications extends beyond the end of your ERC-funded project. That means that even after your project ends, all publications that are related to project results funded by the ERC, will need to acknowledge ERC funding, and peer-reviewed publications will need to be made available through open access.

The rules for post-grant publications allow for more flexibility considering that the ERC can only reimburse open access fees that are incurred and invoiced during the lifetime of your ERC project. While publications that appear during the ERC project need to be shared through open access within a maximum period of six or twelve months, there is no such maximum embargo period for post-grant publications. This means that publications that appear after the end of the project can be made available through open access after the embargo periods imposed by the given journal or publisher, which are typically longer. 

The  portal for reporting results  related to your project will remain open for some time even after the end of your project.  

2. Research data in H2020  

If you participate in the Horizon 2020 Open Research Data Pilot, you need to manage the digital research data generated in the project. You may decide not to provide open access to specific parts of your research data if the achievement of one of the action objectives, as described in Annex 1 of your grant agreement, would be jeopardised by making those specific parts of the research data openly accessible. In this case, the data management plan must contain the reasons for not giving access. You may opt out of the Open Research Data Pilot at any stage, both before signing the grant agreement and afterwards (through an amendment to your grant agreement).  

If you take part in the Open Research Data Pilot (ORDP): Submit a DMP  

Writing a DMP is directly linked to the methodology of your research. In other words, good research data management will make your work more efficient, contribute to safeguarding information and to increasing the impact and the value of the data among the beneficiaries and others, during and after the research.

The ERC proposes a DMP template . You are welcome to adapt it or use a different template, as long as you cover the FAIR principles and outline the allocation of resources as well as data security. Also elaborate whether and why you will not give access to specific parts of your research data. If necessary, the ERC Scientific Officer who follows the progress of your project may contact you concerning your Data Management Plan.

You may decide to opt out of the ORDP at any time after the start of your grant through an amendment.

If applicable, deposit your research data in a research data repository

Give open, free-of-charge access to the end-user to the digital research data generated during your project, as specified in your DMP  

3. Open access costs in H2020

You can allocate funds from your ERC grant to costs related to scientific publications and to storage and maintenance of research data generated by the ERC funded project.

When budgeting costs, make a first estimate of the fees you expect to incur for publications. It may be helpful to consider your target publication venues and the typical fees levied for the modality that would allow you to comply with the requirements of your grant agreement. You can flexibly adapt the budget for publications during your project, always within the granted overall budget.

Publishing costs such as fees for open access to scientific publications (including monographs and other books as well as book chapters) and for research data management are eligible if incurred during the lifetime of the project and provided that they are in line with the general cost eligibility criteria. The requirements of the grant agreement must also be respected. Notably, you must deposit the publication in a repository immediately upon publication and provide open access to it via the repository at the latest within the foreseen embargo period.

Since the ERC grant cannot be used to cover expenses related to open access after the grant, for post-grant publications there is some flexibility concerning the maximum acceptable embargo period. While the other Open Science requirements continue to apply, it is acceptable if you provide open access to the deposited versions of your publications after an embargo period that exceeds the 6/12 months stipulated in Article 29.2 of your grant agreement.

Note that the eligibility of costs for research data management does not depend on participation in the Open Research Data pilot.

1. Scientific publications in Horizon Europe

Before publishing results related to your Horizon Europe ERC-funded project, take into account that you are required by your grant agreement to take the following steps:  

Acknowledge ERC funding  

For all kinds of publications, acknowledge EU support through a funding statement, and where feasible, display the EU emblem.

Funding statement and disclaimer:

"Funded by the European Union (ERC, acronym, project number). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them."    This also applies to other outputs of your project (see ' Communicating your research ').

In addition, when you deposit your publications in a repository, make sure that you enter the required metadata, especially the funding programme (Horizon Europe), your ERC grant number and the grant acronym , so that your publications can be linked to your ERC project.  

Select the publishing venue of your choice, taking into account your contractual obligations, and submit your manuscript  

You must ensure that the authors (or the host institution) retain sufficient intellectual property rights, namely immediate deposition under a CC BY or equivalent license (for long-text publications the license can exclude commercial uses and/or derivative works).

To decide where to publish your journal article, you may find the SHERPA/RoMEO service useful for a first orientation. This community-maintained site provides a listing of publishers' copyright conditions as they relate to authors archiving their work online. However, as journal policies change over time, it is important that you also check the detailed information on the journal website. The Directory of Open Access Journals provides useful information specifically on fully open access journals.

For book publications, you may find the  list of compliant book publishers on the OAPEN website to be useful as well as the Open Access Toolkit .  

At publication time, immediately deposit the publication in open access in a trusted repository  

• When choosing the repository, you must keep in mind your contractual obligations, in particular the requirement to use a trusted repository, and concerning the provision of the information and metadata as required by the grant agreement.

Note that in any case, the deposited publication version of the publication must have a CC BY or equivalent (for long-text publications the license can exclude commercial uses and/or derivative works).

*Check whether your host institution is party to a Transformative Agreements with the publisher, which may help you to publish in hybrid journals without having to worry about how to pay the APC/BPC.  

Provide open metadata and information needed for the validation of the conclusions presented in the publication  

Immediately provide information, via the repository, about research outputs or other tools and instruments that third parties would need if they wanted to validate your conclusions.

Metadata of deposited publications must be open under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC 0) or equivalent, in line with  the FAIR principles  ( F indable,  A ccessible,  I nteroperable and  R e-usable), in particular machine-actionable.  Make sure that all the metadata required in the grant agreement are provided (in particular the funding programme (Horizon Europe), the ERC grant number and the grant acronym).  It is important that you check  before depositing  your publication that your chosen repository is technically capable of accepting the required metadata.

2. Research Data in Horizon Europe

Add a work package for research data management to your grant  .

ERC projects do not have scientific work packages or deliverables. However,  all Horizon Europe-funded ERC projects have a Research Data Management work package:

• Add a work package in your grant agreement called “Research Data Management”.  
• Associate one deliverable with the work package, called “DMP - Data Management Plan”. This deliverable has to be of the type “Data Management Plan”; the due date must be set to “6 months” (meaning you will have until the end of month 6 of project implementation to submit the DMP).  
• No further details or descriptions are needed.   
• You also have to decide about the dissemination level of your Data Management Plan: "sensitive" or "public". In the latter case, it will appear on the CORDIS page of your project (see  https://cordis.europa.eu/projects ) as soon as it has been accepted by the Agency.    

Submit a Data Management Plan (DMP) at the latest at the end of month 6 of project implementation  

Writing a DMP is directly linked to the methodology of your research. Good research data management will make your work more efficient, contribute to safeguarding information and to increasing the impact and the value of the data among the beneficiaries and others, during and after the research.

The ERC proposes a  DMP template .  You are welcome to adapt it or use a different template, as long as you cover the FAIR principles and in addition outline the allocation of resources as well as data security. Also explain whether and why you will not give access to specific parts of your research data. If necessary, the ERC Scientific Officer who follows the progress of your project may contact you concerning your Data Management Plan.  

Once your project has generated research data:  

• Deposit the research data (or other outputs) in a trusted repository.
• Ensure (open) access to the deposited research data, within the deadlines set out in your DMP.
• You must provide open access to research data under the principle 'as open as possible, as closed as necessary'. In general, you should deposit data generated or collected by the project as soon as possible after data production/generation or after adequate processing and quality control have taken place (for dynamic data, a snapshot of the data is enough). This should happen at the latest by the end of the project, and does not entail that data are immediately open, but rather that they have been deposited so that metadata information is available and hence information about the data is findable.    
• License the research data or dedicate them to the public domain. Make your data available under the latest available version of the Creative Commons Attribution International Licence (CC BY) or a licence with equivalent rights, or the latest version of the Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0) or equivalent, which waives any rights to the data.    
• Provide information via the repository about any research output or any other tools and instruments needed to re-use or validate the data.  
• Metadata of deposited research data must be open under a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication (CC0) or equivalent (to the extent legitimate interests or constraints are safeguarded), in line with  the FAIR principles  ( F indable,  A ccessible,  I nteroperable and  R e-usable), in particular machine-actionable.  Make sure that all the metadata required in the grant agreement are provided (in particular the funding programme (Horizon Europe), the ERC grant number and the grant acronym) . It is important that you check before depositing your research data that your chosen repository is technically capable of accepting the required metadata.  

3. Open access costs in Horizon Europe  

Costs for publishing in full open access venues (such as full open access journals, books, or platforms), including APCs, BPCs and other publishing fees (such as colour charges or page charges) are in principle eligible for reimbursement. The costs must be incurred during the lifetime of the grant, and you must also comply with the other conditions of your grant agreement.

Note that fees for publications in hybrid or subscription journals are not eligible for reimbursement from your ERC grant. This includes so-called ‘transformative journals’, for which no exception applies . On the other hand, so-called ‘mirror journals’ or ‘sister journals’ of subscription journals are considered to be full open access journals; publication fees in such journals are in principle eligible for reimbursement. Transformative Agreements may help you to publish in hybrid journals without having to worry about how to pay the related publishing costs.

Note that publication fees for books that are not fully open access (or for chapters in such books) are not eligible for reimbursement from your ERC grant. Publishing fees for open access books are in principle eligible to the extent that they cover the costs of the first open access digital edition. Printing fees for monographs and other books are NOT eligible.

Repositories  

Read more for an overview of repositories in which you can deposit your scientific publications and/or research data. In addition to specific examples of repositories you may find registries of repositories useful when considering where to deposit the outputs from your project.

Title Documents

• Information document:  Open Research Data and Data Management Plans   
• Template: Data Management Plan
• Grant Agreement: H2020   
• Annotations of Grant Agreement: H2020     
• Grant Agreement: Horizon Europe
• Annotations of Grant Agreement: Horizon Europe

Title Help & contact

If you have further questions, please consult the frequently asked questions on the Funding & Tender opportunities portal and look for 'open access' or 'open science'.    We are also happy to support you:  [email protected]