European Research Council Grants in H2020

Research Operations Office

8th May 2014

Research OperationsPresenter: Bethan JonesEmail: bethan.jones@admin.cam.ac.uk

Research Operations

The ERC ‘Ideology’

‘The ERC encourages in particular proposals that cross disciplinary boundaries, pioneering ideas that address new and emerging fields and applications that introduce unconventional, innovative approaches’.

Think:

Ground-breaking nature

Potential impact

Intellectual excellence

Scientific Excellence shall be the sole criterion on which ERC grants are awarded

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Horizon 2020: Three priorities

1.Excellent Science (ERC)

2.Competitive Industries

3.Better Society

1.People

2.Ideas (ERC)

3.Cooperation

4.Capacities

FP7 Horizon 2020

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ERC Indicative budgets

Starting Grant

Consolidator Grant

Advanced Grant

Proof of Concept

2014 Budget in €m €485m €713m €450m €15m

Estimated number of grants 370 400 200 100

2015 Budget in €m * €411m €603m €640m €15m

Estimated number of grants * 315 340 285 100

* estimated

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ERC Call Deadlines

Starting Grant

Consolidator Grant

Advanced Grant

Proof of Concept

Publication date 11th Dec 13 11th Dec 2013 17th June 2014

11th Dec 2013

Deadlines 25 March 2014

20 May 2014 21 October 2014

1 Apr/1 Oct 2014

Planned dates to inform applicants Step 1

21 July 2014

31 Oct 2014 10 March 2015

31 July 2014/13 January 2015

Planned dates to inform applicants Step 2

21 Nov 2014

15 Jan 2015 28 April 2015

_

Indicative date for GA signature 21 March 2015

15 May 2015 28 August 2015

31 Nov 2014/13 May 2015

* Indicative 2015 calls information also available.

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ERC Schemes

Starting Consolidator Advanced

Financial Limit (*) €1 500 000 + € 500 000

€2 000 000+ € 750 000

€2 500 000+ € 1 000 000

Duration 5 years 5 years 5 years

Purpose Enable PIs to start own independent research team.

Help PIs to consolidate own independent research team.

Support established PIs to deliver excellent, ground-breaking research.

PI profile Potential for research independence.

5 ‘representative publications’ - at least one important publication without PhD Supervisor.

Experience of research independence.

10 ‘representative publications’ – several without PhD Supervisor.

Significant research achievements in past 10 years.

Major publications / patents / presentations etc in past 10 years

PI time commitment

≥50% ≥50% ≥30%

(*) Pro-rata for shorter grants

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ERC Schemes

Proof of Concept

Financial Limit €150 000 + € 500 000

Duration 18 months

Purpose To verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC funded projects

Profile Open to current ERC grant holders.

Ideas must draw substantially on the ERC-reported research, but can’t be an extension of original research.

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Eligibility Criteria – Which grant shall I apply?

Starting Grant Consolidator Grant

Advanced Grant

Eligibility Criteria

PI’s PhD would have been awarded between ≥2 and ≤ 7 years*

PI’s PhD would have been awarded between ≥ 7 and ≤ 12 years*

None

*Prior to the date of the call for proposals of the ERC Starting/Consolidator Grant

Be realistic! Am I ready to apply?

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ERC Re-application restrictions

More restrictions on resubmissions at application stage in H2020:-

Score A at step 1 = able to resubmit to a 2015 ERC call

Score B at step 1 = not able to resubmit to a 2015 ERC call Score C at step 1 = not able to resubmit to a 2015 or 2016 ERC call

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Structure of the Applications

Part A – Administrative and Summary Forms (completed directly onto system) A1 Proposal & PI information & HI Legal Representative (including abstract) A2 Host Institution(s) information & PIC (one A2 form per institution) A3 Budget (summary financial information)

Part B1 – Proposal Details (template from Participant Portal, submitted as .pdf) Cover page & proposal summary Extended Synopsis (5 pages) Curriculum Vitae including Funding ID (2 pages) Track Record (2 pages)

Part B2 – Research Proposal (template from PPSS, submitted as .pdf)Section 2 - Research Proposal (15 pages, excluding ethical issues table and annex)a) State-of-the-art and objectivesb) Methodologyc) Resources (including project costs)d) Ethical and security sensitive issues (including ethics table)

AnnexesCommitment of the Host Institution (template from PPSS, submitted as .pdf) PhD Certificate, and (if applicable) evidence of extensions (as .pdf)

Ethical Issues Annex (if applicable) (template on PPSS, 2 pages, excl. copies of authorisations)

Same

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The Application Process

STEP 1 - Evaluation

Eligibility Check

Independent, remote reviews by panel (part

B1 only)

Panel meetings and ranking

Proposal retained for stage 2 (or not)

STEP 2 - Evaluation

Independent, remote reviews by panel members of full

proposal (parts B1 and B2)

Interviews of PIs (StG &CoG only)

Panel meetings and ranking

Proposal selected! 1- Applicant submits full

proposal in PPSS(Chooses Primary Panel (and Secondary if needed)

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What are the reviewers asked to review? 1

PI’s Excellence (intellectual capacity), Creativity and Commitment are central

Intellectual Capacity and Creativity• The PI demonstrates the ability to propose and conduct ground-breaking

research.• The PI provides evidence of creative independent thinking.• The PI’s achievements have typically gone beyond the state-of-the-art.• The PI demonstrates sound leadership in the training and advancement of young

scientists (Advanced Grants)

Commitment• The PI demonstrates the necessary level of commitment to the project’s

execution and willingness to devote a significant amount of time to the project: ≥50% PI time for Starters/Consolidators, ≥30% PI time for Advanced Grants.

• PI will work for minimum of 50% time in EU Member State or Associated Country

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What are the reviewers asked to review? 2

Ensure to clearly address every criteria!

Reviewers are asked to choose : Fully agree / Agree partially / Disagree partially/ Strongly disagree

The ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of the project are central

Potential impact of the project• The proposed project addresses important challenges and is high risk/high gain.• The objectives are ambitious and beyond state of the art (e.g. novel concepts and

approaches or development across disciplines).

Scientific approach• The outlined scientific approach is feasible and the methodology is appropriate to

achieve the goals of the project.• The proposal involves the development of novel methodology• The proposed timescales and resources are necessary and properly justified.

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Proposal Abstract – Part B1 cover & Part A1

What to consider?

Be enthusiastic, ambitious and demonstrate a clear vision (and language)

Abstract will be reviewed by generalist and specialists – make it readable to all

Start with the basics details (so that generalists can understand) …. Go in to more depth

Might consider writing the full description of the proposal (Part B2 Section 2) first!

If possible and appropriate, mention the contribution of the planned research to EU policy objectives!

Be positive

Think of a catchy acronym!!

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Abstract – Hints and Tips

My great idea

Be ambitious

(but feasible)

Ground breaking research

‘State of the art’

Novelty

Risky and path breaking

Multi disciplinary

element

Novel methodology

‘Readable’ by

generalists

Look at past examples!

Ask colleagues from different

fields to review it.

Make sure to use ‘key’ words

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Abstract– some examples

Hereditary cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality and over the last 20 years the majority of highly penetrant risk alleles such as xxxx in breast cancer and xxx in colon cancer have been identified. However, there are many men and women who have a strong family history of cancer for whom we cannot provide answers because no mutation is found in known genes

To overcome these challenges, we will focus on hereditary breast cancer (HBC) and apply an innovative genome-wide approach which combines exome sequencing technology (EST) with a highly sensitive platform that measures allele specific expression (ASE).

The current project takes a novel approach, arguing that the economic newsroom should be studied as a knowledge site.

Paleomagnetism has played a pivotal role in developing our modern understanding of the Earth, and remains one of the primary tools used to study the structure and dynamics of the Earth and other planets…… Adopting cutting-edge techniques from physics and materials science …

Some of the most interesting and controversial periods of Earth’s history occur far beyond the current limits of our confidence in the paleomagnetic signals used to study them. xxx will solve this problem by

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CV – The format – Part B1.b

The formatCV : Maximum of 2 pages

Remember: career breaks or unconventional gaps need to be clearly justified!

Academic record Research record Fellowship and awards Supervision of graduate students

Details of current research grants and topics Also include ongoing applications for work relating to the ERC

proposal

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Presenting yourself / CV

What to consider?

Remember to address the full requirement of the track record and highlight your best achievements

Include a wide range of research highlights, including extra activities (outreach work and research symposia)

Explain national prizes and well-renowned fellowships…

Explain anything that is unique to your country

Highlight achievements which shows international standing and wider impact of research

Website, scientific blog or podcasts? Add a link to it …. But remember to keep it UP TO DATE

SELL YOURSELF!

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Presenting yourself / CV

Avoid ‘British’ understatement – I am an excellent researcher! **

Remember it needs to be ground breaking research, so why YOU and why NOW?

Provide evidence of international cooperation and activities, if applicable

Can you lead a team?

Refer explicitly to the criteria used in the Grant Call documents

Have it reviewed by a colleague!

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Strengthening your CV – with evidence

Research • Your Key outcomes• New Knowledge you’ve

generated• A creative approach you’ve

taken• Technical difficulties you’ve

overcome• Collaborations you’ve set

up/initiatedTeaching • Have you supervised

students/what types?• Have you designed any

projects?

Be very specific about your outcomes!!

Be creative (and daring)

but

be concise(you only have 2

pages!)Use it to demonstrate your leadership

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CV – some examples

My most important scientific contributions have been my work on the hereditary breast cancer gene xxxx conducted while I was a tenured Assistant Professor at McGill University where I led a research group comprising a research assistant, a research genetic counsellor and a variable number of students.

On the basis of this work I set up an international group of around 20 researchers who study the xxx and I have arranged four meetings of this group since 2009 in the Netherlands, UK, USA and Canada.

As a clinician-scientist who is equally at home in the clinic and the laboratory, I feel that I am especially well positioned to lead research projects on patient-based problems and deliver translational benefits of research back to the clinic. I have both depth and breadth of expertise in the field of hereditary cancer and I have obtained over $600K in grants for hereditary breast cancer research over the last four years …, and I was the local lead investigator for a national trial ….breast and ovarian cancer (Gelmon et al., Lancet Oncology, 2011).

I completed my PhD in 2003 and have not taken any career breaks since then so I would categorise myself as a “consolidator” for this application.

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‘Early achievements track record’ – Part B1.c

1. Publications in major international peer-reviewed multi-disciplinary scientific journals and/or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed conferences proceedings and/or monographs of their respective research fields, highlighting five representative publications, those without the presence as co-author of their PhD supervisor, and the number of citations (excluding self-citations) they have attracted (if applicable).

2. Granted patent(s) (if applicable).

3. Invited presentations to peer-reviewed, internationally established conferences and/or international advanced schools (if applicable).

4. Prizes and Awards (if applicable).

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Track record – some ideas

• Try to make it interesting to read - think about including pictures of journals relating to your work or relate it to current issues!

• Find interesting angles on your achievements e.g. “I was the first UK national invited to be editor of XYZ journal…” – it might be happenstance but use it to your advantage!

• You have limited space (2 pages) so be creative – use graphs/images to convey information succinctly

Citations per year Publications per year

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Track Record – some examples

Publications

Total publications in peer-reviewed journals = 74 (first author =25, last author= 10); Research/Clinical articles =562 Reviews = 12 (including 1 invited commentary)

Book chapters = 3

h-index = 23 (ISI)

Cumulative citation index excluding self-citations (ISI) = 1,729

Average impact factor of first/corresponding publications (excluding reviews) = 7.51

Provide plenty of evidence… of your best achievements.

Your ‘Excellence’ needs to stand out, you are competing

against the best !

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EU Team

Renata Schaeffer Questions on: General queries, funding

opportunities and EU policyBethan Jones

Questions on: European Research Council (ERC)

Catherine Hill Questions on: Coordinator grants

Sarah Saemian Questions on: General queries, Participant

Portal and EPSS

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Structure of PoC Applications

Part A – Administrative and Summary Forms (completed directly onto system) A1 General information about the Proposal (including abstract) A2 Host Institution(s) information & PIC A3 Budget (summary financial information) A4 Ethics A5 Call Specific Questions (eligibility and data-related questions)

Part B – Proposal Details (template from Participant Portal, submitted as .pdf) B1 The Idea (1 page)

• Description of the idea to be taken to proof of concept• Demonstration of the relationship between the idea and the ERC-funded project

B2 Early-stage innovation strategy (2 pages)• Description of the innovation potential• Economic/societal benefits• Commercialisation process• Plans for competitive analysis, testing, IPR strategy, industry/sector contacts• Demonstration of the relationship between the idea and the ERC-funded project

B3 Proof of concept plan (2 pages) B4 Budget tables and justification (1 page + costing table)

AnnexesCommitment of the Host Institution (template from PPSS, submitted as .pdf)Ethical Issues Annex (if applicable) (template on PPSS, 2 pages, excl. copies of authorisations)

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What are the reviewers asked to review? 1

The innovation potential and impact of the project are central

Excellence – innovation potential• The proposal moves the output of ERC research towards a new or significantly improved

product, process, form of organisation or methodology, new principle, legislation or social innovation.

Impact• The idea is expected to generate economic and/or societal benefits.• Suitable process to generate economic and/or societal benefits outlined in proposal. • Sound plans for undertaking competitive analysis outlined in proposal.• Suitable plans for seeking confirmation of the technology/product/process identified.• Suitable plans to clarify the IPR position/strategy outlined in proposal• Suitable plans for industry sector contacts, ability to further the development of

technology/product/process.

Note: Activities aimed at attracting further funding from non-ERC sources may also be considered.

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What are the reviewers asked to review? 2

Ensure to clearly address every criteria!

Reviewers are asked to choose : Fully agree / Agree partially / Disagree partially/ Strongly disagree

The quality of the proof of concept plan is central

Quality and efficiency of implementation• Sound approach for establishing technical and commercial feasibility. • Reasonable and acceptable plan against clearly identified technical and commercial

objectives.• Sound project-management plan presented, including appropriate risk and contingency

planning.• Proposal demonstrates that activities will be conducted by persons well qualified for the

purpose.• Requested budget is necessary for the implementation and is properly justified.