When the rectors of European universities meet up these days the first thing they do is compare how many European Research Council (ERC) grant holders are based in their institutions. This is one sign of how the ERC as the first pan European funding body for basic research is transforming R&D, according to Helga Nowotny, President of the ERC. “For the first time European universities are starting to compete; before they couldn’t care less, they were stuck in their own countries,” Nowotny told the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington.
Nor is the impact limited to universities, there are also changes to national research systems, and consequences for the researchers themselves. By setting up a comprehensive peer review system and making excellence the only criterion in awarding grants, the ERC is raising standards for evaluating grant applications throughout the EU. “There are excellent systems already, in the UK, Germany and France, but also other (countries)have some way to go, and we see here we (the ERC) are setting new standards,” Nowotny said, noting newer EU members “are keen to revamp their systems.”
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Author: Nuala Moran
