125 Oct 2010 1

WRITING A COMPETITIVE ERC PROPOSAL - PART 1ROLF VERMEIJ R.J.VERMEIJ@UTWENTE.NL

Rolf Vermeij

Liaison Officer

THE EU-OFFICE AT THE UT

www.utwente.nl/subsidies

EU-Office@utwente.nl Twitter UT_EU_Office

Melanie ten Asbroek & Telma Esteves

Grant Advisors

FP7 PROFILES

University of Twente

DCU

FP7 database of National Contact Point Bricks database for complete info

UT PERFORMANCE IN FP7

NMP; 8,67

HISTORY OF BUDGET

OVERALL BUDGET

Science with and for Society

Spreading Excellence and

Widening Participation

EUROPEAN POLICIES

CitizenRegion

EU Sector EU Science

Int-national

Societal challenges

Smart specialis'n

Industrial leadership

Excellent science

EU research @ global level

SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF RTD FUNDING

Art. 179/180 European Research Area

Art. 182 Multi-annual

Art. 184 Inter-gov

Art. 185 OMC

Art. 186 Third Country

Art. 187 Joint Undt

Horizon 2020 EIT EIB

EIRO EUREKA

COST ESciFnd

ERAnet ERAplus

AAL BONUS EMRP

EUROSTARS EDTCP

ICPC SICA Artemis Clean Sky

ENIAC GMES HFP IMI

THE STRUCTURE

Why?:

• World class science is the foundation of tomorrow’s technologies, jobs and wellbeing

• Europe needs to develop, attract and retain research talent

• Researchers need access to the best infrastructures

EXCELLENT SCIENCE

• ERC

• Future and Emerging Technologies

• Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Actions

• Access to research infrastructures

EXCELLENT SCIENCE

13 094

2 696

6 162

2 488

€ Million

Why?:

• Strategic investments in key technologies (e.g. advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics) underpin innovation across existing and emerging sectors

• Europe needs to attract more private investment in research and innovation

• Europe needs more innovative SMEs to create growth and jobs

INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP

INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP

European Technology

Platform: Setting Agenda

INFLUENCING THE WORK PROGRAMMES

Why?:

• Concerns of citizens and society/EU policy

objectives (climate, environment, energy, transport etc) cannot be achieved without innovation

• Breakthrough solutions come from multi-disciplinary

collaborations, including social sciences & humanities

• Promising solutions need to be tested,

demonstrated and scaled up

SOCIETAL CHALLENGES

€ Million

1. Health, demographic change and wellbeing 7 472

2. Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research & the bio-economy 3 851

3. Secure, clean and efficient energy 5 931

4. Smart, green and integrated transport 6 336

5. Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials 3 081

6. Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies 7. Secure societies

1 309

1 695

SOCIETAL CHALLENGES

INFLUENCING THE WORK PROGRAMMES

European Innovation Partnerships:

Research to Market

Joint Programming: European collaboration

STEPPING STONES FOR INDIVIDUALS

Apply at ITN

Apply for your own MC

grant

Apply for ERC grant

Set up your first network

or ITN

Apply for ERC

Consolidator

Set up your first

cooperation

Apply for ERC

advanced

Apply for JD

Have several EU projects

in place

Build your career: work in excellent groups, publish or perish, publish in top journals, apply for prestigious (national) grants

PhD Post-doc Independent PI

Senior PI

Professor

• Frontier research • Basic and applied research • Any field of science, engineering or scholarship • Independence, consolidation or established • Any nationality • Any age • Host institution in EU Member state or Associated Country • Grants are portable

ERC - SHORT VERSION

Starting 2-7 yrs past PhD

1.5 M€ 0.5 M€ extra

Consolidator 7-12 yrs past PhD

2.0 M€ 0.75 M€ extra

Advanced 10+ yrs past PhD

2.5 M€ 1.0 M€ extra

• Frontier research • Scientist, engineer, scholar • Independent • PhD equivalent degree • PhD date - national rules • PhD window • Host institution • Portability

• Career breaks • Research team • Resubmission

DEFINITIONS

• Total breaks max. 4.5 years

• Parental leave •First event <7 years past PhD date for starting grant •Maternity: 1.5 years for each birth certificate •Paternity: actual amount of time taken

• Other breaks: sick leave >90 days, clinical training, national services •After PhD date

CAREER BREAKS

Advisory Board

RESEARCH TEAM

PI

Staff

Post-doc

PhD

• Resubmission (next slides)

• 30% / 50% time commitment

• Minimum time in EU 50%

• Only 1 ERC grant per PI active

• Only 1 proposal may be submitted per Work programme year

• Not a panel member for the same type of call in recent past

• ERC laureates: check cut-off date of current project before resubmission

SUBMISSION RESTRICTIONS

RESUBMISSION

2014 2015 2016 2017 20182013 A +2013 B +2013 C -2014 A +2014 B - +2014 C - - +2015 A +2015 B - +2015 C - - +

NUMBERS OF APPLICATIONS

BUDGETS

S 8.0% C 8.9% A 13.2%

S 9.1% C 9.1% A 8.1%

S 6.4% C 6.4% A 10.5%

• Deadline always 17:00

• 3 Domains (PE 44%, LS 39%, SH 17%) •25 Panels

• Keywords (1-4 in A-Form, online) •8-21 per panel

DEADLINES, BUDGET

Starting Consolidator AdvancedPublication 11 December 2013 11 December 2013 17 June 2014

Deadline 2014 25 March 20 May 21 October

# Projects 2014 370 400 200

Deadline 2015 21 March 15 May 28 August

# Projects 2015 315 340 285

• Horizon 2020 participant portal

• ECAS user account

• PIC of host institution

• Abstract, title, acronym (can be changed)

• Panel choice

REGISTER YOUR PROPOSAL

• General Information • ERC primary and secondary panel • Keywords • Abstract • Declarations

• Administrative data of participating organisations

• Contact person

• Budget

• Ethics

• Call specific questions • Exclusion of evaluators

ONLINE FORMS

ONLINE FORMS

• Select based on main keywords (ERC Work Programme 2014)

• Keywords from online forms

• Check previous evaluators

• Check laureates

• Where is your main impact?

• Which panel is likely to appreciate your objectives?

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PANEL

EVALUATION PROCEDURE

A-Forms (online)

B1: Extended Synopsis 5p CV 2p Track Record 2p FundingID annex B2: Full Proposal 15p Additional: Letter of Support PhD Certificate Ethical issues annex Birth Certificates Career break

Eligibility, administrative

Step 1 + Step 2

Step 2

Eligibility, funding

• Step 1 based on B1 only • Individual assessment & marking by panel members • Panel meetings • Ranking • Pass or fail

• Step 2 based on B1 and B2

• Same as Step 1, but external reviewers possibly added

• Numerical scores up to 8

• Final score A-C with ranking range

EVALUATION PROCESS

• Step 1 • Proceed to step 2 ("A") • Not selected, B or C

• Step 2

• Selected for funding • Not selected, A or B

• Current situation (appr): • C 35% • B 40% • A 10% • Funded 10%

EVALUATION OUTCOME

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Idea

Opportunity

Consortium

Write & submit

Negotiate

Project

Evaluate

Evaluation criteria

• Part B1:

• Cover page with summary and panel justification

• 1a - Extended Synopsis • 1b - CV • 1c - Track Record

• Funding ID

PART B1 - PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

1 page 5 pages 2 pages 2 pages No limit

ERC - PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR

Intellectual capacity, creativity and commitment To what extent has the PI demonstrated the ability to propose and conduct ground-breaking research? To what extent does the PI provide evidence of creative independent thinking? To what extent have the achievements of the PI typically gone beyond the state-of-the-art? To what extent has the PI demonstrated sound leadership in the training and advancement of young scientists? (Advanced only) Commitment 50% or 30%

PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR

A-Forms (online)

B1: Extended Synopsis 5p CV 2p Track Record 2p FundingID annex B2: Full Proposal 15p Additional: Letter of Support PhD Certificate Ethical issues annex Birth Certificates Career break

FACTUAL INFORMATION IN CV

Curriculum Vitae

Standard academic record

Research record

Research career gaps

Track Record

Publications

Patents

Prizes & Awards

Proof of professional experience, scientific leadership potential, international scientific recognition

Funding ID in separate annex

• Standard academic record • Name, affiliation, hyperlink • Education (incl PhD) • Affiliations • Academic services

• Research record

• Description of research (field mobility), skills, methods, responsibilities • Major outcomes and impact • Supervision (MSc, PhD, post-doc, staff) • International collaborations

• Research career gaps, unconventional paths • Added value of ERC grant

CV - 1

• Membership professional associations: why were you nominated?

• Editorial activities • Editor, member of editorial board, etc • Name of journal • Frequency

• Reviewer

• For which journals, frequency • For which funding agencies, frequency

• Collaborations with internationally well-known groups/researchers, proof (i.e.

Joint publications, projects)

• Organising conferences • Committee member, type, year, chair of sessions, initiator, etc.

CV - 2

• Publications:

• Start with a summary in opening paragraph •Statistics: total number, total citations, H/G- index (source!), cover pages, highlights, authorship #s, publication/citation growth, impact factor, top-papers •Explain publication culture

• Per publication: •Highlight authorship •Papers without PhD supervisor •Papers under your supervision •Citations (excl selfcit), IF, ABC, Faculty of 1000 list •Mention (for selected) your contribution, recognition, content •Proof of independence

(EARLY ACHIEVEMENT) TRACK RECORD - 1

• Conferences • International conferences • Part of a recurring event or not

• Presentations

• Keynote lectures, plenary lectures, parallel session, etc • Basis for invitation

• Other types of presentations • Advanced schools • Workshops

• Advanced: norm ref 10 invited presentations in well-established

internationally organized conferences and advanced schools

(EARLY ACHIEVEMENT) TRACK RECORD - 2

• Patents • Indicate their use • Open source: downloads

• Prizes & Awards

• Expeditions, organisation of conferences & workshops, contribution to early careers, innovation leadership.

(EARLY ACHIEVEMENT) TRACK RECORD - 3

BIBLIOMETRICS ERC Adv CALL 1 Zyczkowski, 10-year track record

Physical Sciences & Engineering Papers Cit -auto H-indexPE1 mathematical foundations 29 281 141 9PE2 fundamental constituents of matter 106 4192 2148 30PE3 condensed matter physics 109 2357 1253 23PE4 physical & analytical chemical sciences 137 4051 2248 33PE5 materials & synthesis 254 5782 3735 38PE6 computer science & informatics 55 564 262 10PE7 systems & communication engineering 51 949 384 15PE8 products & process engineering 55 503 242 12PE9 universe science 125 4039 2162 33PE10 earth system science 92 1514 910 21

BIBLIOMETRICS ERC Adv CALL 1 Zyczkowski, 10-year track record

Life sciences Papers Cit -auto H-indexLS1 molecular & struct. Biol & biochemistry 121 4604 2521 29LS2 genetics, genomics, bioinformatics 112 5906 2388 39LS3 cellular and developmental biology 61 2414 1573 25LS4 physiology, pathophys & edocrinology 176 4825 3587 41LS5 neurosciences & neural disorders 70 2469 1461 24LS6 immunity & infection 83 3157 2224 28LS7 diagnostic tools, therapy & public health 81 2909 1555 28LS8 evolutionary, population & environ biol 68 2415 1310 22LS9 applied life sciences & biotechnology 79 1677 721 23

BIBLIOMETRICS ERC Adv CALL 1 Zyczkowski, 10-year track record

Social sciences & humanities Papers Cit -auto H-index

SH1 individuals, institutions & markets 4 11 5 1

SH2 institutions, values, beliefs & behavior 1 0 0 0

SH3 environment & society 11 62 46 3

SH4 the human mind and its complexity 29 268 217 7

SH5 cultures & cultural production 1 0 0 0

SH6 the study of the human past 1 0 0 0

ERC EXPERIENCE WITH EXCELLENCE

Independence Maturity Scientific leadership Publications with high visibility Mobility experience: short & long Referee Speaker Conference organization Obtained funding Scientific management capacity Supervision experience

To-do Apply for national grants already at Master level Apply for small grants for publications, short stay visits, etc. Apply for (private) grants to organize conferences Prepare for research grants, Marie Curie individual Prepare for national grants Apply for PhDs, post-docs

DEMONSTRATION OF PERSONAL EXCELLENCE

I was the first to develop a technology to measure the size of nano particles by.... This technology is now widely used / standard ..... I validated the use of this technology for applications in complex systems.... This technology was shown indispensable for applications in ... Summarize the total number of publications, books, etc. Summarize citations, h-index, etc. Do not forget invited presentations, prizes, reviews, activities, editing Use of "lecturer" Statistics and relevance Added value of ERC

125 Oct 2010 1

WRITING A COMPETITIVE ERC PROPOSAL - PART 2ROLF VERMEIJ R.J.VERMEIJ@UTWENTE.NL

ERC - RESEARCH 1

Ground-breaking nature and potential impact of the research project To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges? To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of the art (e.g. novel concepts and approaches or development across disciplines)? To what extent is the proposed research high risk/high gain?

... at the frontiers of science

substantially

where in proposal?

ERC - RESEARCH 2

Scientific approach To what extent is the outlined scientific approach feasible (based on the Extended Synopsis)? To what extent is the proposed research methodology appropriate to achieve the goals of the project (based on the full Scientific Proposal)? To what extent does the proposal involve the development of novel methodology (based on the full Scientific Proposal)? To what extent are the proposed timescales and resources necessary and properly justified (based on the full Scientific Proposal)?

For step 1

Not too much, not too little

Required

Complete, integrated project

RESEARCH

A-Forms (online)

B1: Extended Synopsis 5p CV 2p Track Record 2p FundingID annex B2: Full Proposal 15p Additional: Letter of Support PhD Certificate Ethical issues annex Birth Certificates Career break

RESEARCH

• Template: • B2a State-of-the-art and objectives • B2b Methodology • B2c Resources (incl. project costs)

• Maximum 15 pages • Includes bibliography (often smaller font size)

• Budget in A-Forms and in B2c

• Level of detail

• Feasibility

• Justification of the methodology in relation to the State-of-the-Art

• Development of novel methodology

• Not matching expertise in B1

PART B2 - COMMENTS

• Start with background/introduction • Short (max 1/3rd of first page) • Big research question, (scientific) challenge, urgency • Importance to the field (and beyond) • Impact: new horizons and opportunities (for science)

• Objectives (SMART)

• Resources

• Bibliography

PART B2 - STRUCTURE

• State-of-the-art (world wide)

• Scientific approach, Work Packages

• Timescales, risk analysis

• Why now? • Urgency

• Why ERC? • Opening up new research horizons

• Why me? • Match with unique set of expertise

• Novelty: theory, insight, technology, method, equipment, etc

• Groundbreaking potential: new direction, idea, challenging theories, blind spots

FROM RESEARCH QUESTION TO CONCEPT

The researcher has the concept in mind but • is not able to express it in writing, or • simply has not written it down, or • has not fine-tuned the concept in mind for this project

• Visualize yourself and your project in relation to state-of-the-art • Axes • Gap • Significantly beyond state-of-the-art • Breakthrough

PART B2 - STATE-OF-THE-ART AND OBJECTIVES

Theo

retic

al

Experimental

• Formulate objectives SMART

• Do not formulate different ways in proposal

• When using sub-objectives, activities, etc, keep clear relationships • Not too many layers

PART B2 - OBJECTIVES

IMPACT

UtilityOther fields

Research Field

Your research

Your career

• State-of-the-art misses some aspects

• PI has not contributed significantly

• Objectives not clear

• Objectives not ambitious enough (or too ambitious)

PART B2 - COMMENTS

FEEDBACK FROM PANELS

Selected projects

Coherent project

Overarching aim/research question with objectives

Clear content

Hypothesis driven

Insight: mechanistic, structural, empirical

Rationale behind concept and approach

Rejected projects

No coherence

Only research questions

Explorative

Collecting stamps'

No rationale of choices made

• Describe the proposed methodology in detail including, as appropriate key intermediate goals

• Explain and justify the methodology in relation to the state-of-the-art

• Including novel or unconventional aspects

• Highlight any intermediate stages where results may require adjustment to the project planning

• Justify the scientific added value of other host institutes

B2b SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

• Logical work plan: coherent activities/tasks/work packages

• Each part covers activities that are appropriate to achieve the objectives

• Provide detailed information: • Preliminary data (figures) • Methods already running in your group • Milestones linked to planning • Risk analysis (alternatives, high gain)

FEASIBILITY

ADVICE FOR FEASIBILITY

• Divide your work in activities, sub projects and/or tasks

• Plot and plan the work in time (Gantt chart) and identify interdependencies of subparts

• Describe intermediate goals (milestones) and important outcomes and interdependencies in wording.

• Link the personnel to the planned work

• Carry out an analysis indicating feasibility

WORK PACKAGESWork Package number WP3 Start date: month 12

Work package title: Analysis of existing technologies

Activity type: RTD WP leader: Twente

Participants Twente ChalmersWP objectives and description of work: The objectives of WP3 are to benchmark the existing technologies in 5 countries and report on their relative qualifications. This WP will serve as input for WP5 and WP6

Tasks and role of participants:T3.1 Collecting data on existing technologies T3.2 Collect data on test samples from actual users T3.3 Synthesize report on outcomes

Deliverables in work package:

D3.1 Report on existing technologies Due date: month 16

D3.2 Report on qualifications and comparison Due date: month 30

MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES

Milestone Is a point in time to measure

progress

Deliverable Tangible result to fulfill contractual obligations

Adoption of a technology as a basis for the next phase of the

project

Nature of a deliverable is a report, product, patent,

prototype, etc

GANTT CHART

Gantt chart Year 1 Year 3

Month: 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 36

WP1 Inventory techniques

Inventory

Test samples

Report

Milestone 1.1 *

WP2 Benchmarking

Standardization

Analysis

RISK ANALYSIS

• Identify the risky elements of your project proposal

• Quantify the risk and feasibility: low, medium, high

• Describe how you are going to adapt your research plan in case an element is not feasible

• In writing or in a table (with a proper legend)

RISK ANALYSIS FOR ERC

Challenge ImpactNovel &

unconventional aspects

Risks (Low, Medium, High) and

feasibility

A New knowledge New model Medium

Preliminary data

B Low Feasible

C High Backup plan

• Describe participating current and future team

• Describe all resources and their rationale: • Data • Material • Technology • Equipment, etc

• Choice of parameters, specifications, compare with other sources

• Explain amount of data, tools to be developed all realistic

• Are all objectives, periods covered?

RESOURCES

• Your salary

• Other persons on the project (increasing focus on post-docs)

• Equipment (or use of equipment)

• Consumables

• Travel

• Publications

• Subcontracting

• Budget cuts!

RESOURCES

• Ethical issues table online (mandatory) • Broad perception of ethical issues

• Describe ethical issues that may arise

• Used as guide for negotiation

• Indicate compliance • Legal • Codes of conduct • Ethical issues boards • Permissions

ETHICAL ISSUES ANNEX

ERC SCIENTIFIC PROPOSAL

Presentation & evaluation of principal investigator is

strongly correlated to the presented proposal

Principal investigator

Research record Academic record

Publications Prizes

Scientific proposal

State of the Art Objectives

Methodology Resources

• Concise presentation

• Not additional to B2

• No cross-references

• Feasibility on concept-level

• Groundbreaking nature

• State-of-the-art, including own work

PART B1

• Original, creative

• Focus on challenges

• Robust concept

• Novel approach with justification of rationale

• Preliminary data/prof of concept

• Impact

PART B1

• Choose a panel

• Check funded projects

• Benchmark your CV/track record

• Start with comprehensive CV

• Work on B2, check with peers

• Work on B1 last

• Finish a good version several weeks before deadline

HOMEWORK