ERC Starting Researcher Grant


By Ms. Elke DALL on Jun 30, 2007
Status: Public

The evaluation proceedures for the ERC Starting Grant have started, selected first-stage proposals will be informed during July in order to prepare their second-stage proposals for the deadline of September 17, 2007.

The peer review evaluation of the ERC StG proposals is acutally carried out, with the following timetable:

  • Remote evaluation: May-June
  • Panel meetings in Brussels: June-July
  • Invitation letter to the successful applicants: July
  • Letter of rejection with feedback of the peer reviewers to the unsuccessfull applicants: August

In order to handle the peer review evaluation of the 9,167 applications, the European Research Council (ERC) has drafted in extra help. Initially, it was thought that the first ERC call would generate around 3,000 applications. But response to the call has been overwhelming, far exceeding all expectations, says the ERC Scientific Council.
A total of 600 additional panel evaluators, who were in reserve, were invited to assist the 244 members of the 20 ERC panels in the peer review evaluation process. And national research funding organisations have seconded 30 experts, who will assist the ERC during the panel meetings, by recording the outcome of the evaluations.

Successful applicants will be informed as soon as possible so that they can submit a second-stage proposal by September 17, 2007. Meanwhile, applicants who were unsuccessful will receive feedback by August.

'Evidently, the ERC regrets that the available funding, although substantial, is not adequate to fund all the meritorious applications. The ERC evaluation system will ensure that the best applications will be retained for the second step, and that the top ones are ultimately funded,' says ERC Scientific Council.

Source: CORDIS, ERC.

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