As stated on p.7 of the ERC 2023 Work Programme, “the fundamental activity of the ERC, via its main frontier research grants, is to provide attractive, long-term funding to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk/high-gain research.”
European Research Council (ERC) funding is awarded on the basis of the excellence of the research project and the Principal Investigator (PI), with the scientific excellence used as the only evaluation criterion. The success of a proposal will depend to a great degree on the way the PI presents themselves, their track record of achievements and unique suitability to the proposal.
In principle, an ERC PI can carry out their grant on their own, however, in the vast majority of research fields, to carry out a project of the size, ambition and ground-breaking nature expected by the ERC the PI cannot do the work on their own. In such cases, the PI can design a research team that they will lead to carry out the objectives of the project.
As ERC National Contact Points of the UK, we often receive questions from potential applicants trying to understand how best to include and justify team members in their project to make it feasible when they, as the PI, must also fulfil unique, central role in the ERC proposal.
Questions of the following type often arise:
- As ERC grants are not collaborative, how can I work with the people I need to carry out the project?
- How much can the PI rely on other people for their proposal and project?
- Can I include people in other institutions or based in other countries on my project?
- What kind or career level of roles can be included in an ERC project team? (non-research roles/technicians/project manager or PhD students/post-docs/lecturers/professors etc.)
- Would a steering group/researcher from a different discipline/someone with more seniority than the PI be included in the ‘team’, and is there a danger they might overshadow the PI?
Clarifications
What is special about the role and profile of an ERC PI?
“The ERC supports individual Principal Investigators. Support for consortia is provided by other calls under Horizon Europe.”
(ERC 2023 Work Programme, page 9)
A PI is an essential part of every ERC Starting, Consolidator and Advanced grant, with “scientific responsibility for the project” (ERC Work Programme, Proposal submission and description). They lead the research project and are based at the Host Institution (HI) that signs the grant agreement with the ERC.
The Annotated Model Grant Agreement states in the section on the ‘Specific Rules for ERC Grants’ (Annex 5), that “PIs do not become party to the Grant Agreement, but they are the key actors, in charge of the research activities. The HI is the signatory of the Grant Agreement and subscribes to the financial and legal obligations under it”.
Furthermore, the Host Institution must “host and engage the principal investigator for the whole duration of the action” and sign a supplementary agreement with them. These provisions form the legal basis for the PI’s independence and unique freedom to carry out frontier science on ERC grants.
The PI’s special role on ERC grants is also reflected in the scheme’s evaluation criteria, which has a section dedicated to the ‘intellectual capacity and creativity of the Principal Investigator’ (see pages 41- 42 of the ERC 2023 Work Programme). This is summarised in the ‘Objectives and Principles of ERC Funding’:
“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 potential biases, and to take career breaks, as well as unconventional research career paths, into account . The evaluation process ensures that Principal Investigators have the professional competences and qualifications required to complete their proposed action.”
(ERC 2023 Work Programme page 7)
The profile of ERC PIs varies for each ERC frontier research scheme; each is set out separately in the ERC Work Programme in the ‘Main Frontier Research Grants’ section. These profiles describe as open-ended outlines of the kind of track record expected of applicants to the Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grant calls. The PI’s profile is assessed against the criteria at both Step 1 and Step 2 of the evaluation process.
What is the role and profile of ERC project Team Members and how should they be included in ERC applications?
“The Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced Grants will support projects carried out by
individual teams, which are headed by a single Principal Investigator.”
(ERC 2023 Work Programme page 9)
If other researchers are involved in the project, they have a different status to the PI, with a lesser degree of freedom and authority to make decisions on how to carry out the grant.
Team members can be employed as project personnel at any career level, including PhD students, post-doctoral, established researchers etc. The PI is given the freedom to decide the size and nature of the team. There are no prescriptive ERC rules on what the career level or job titles team members should or should not have. Neither are there any rules on which roles are appropriate for a given PI’s career stage. The expert evaluators will assess the team according to the evaluation criteria in the Work Programme and will use their expertise to decide whether their contributions are needed for the project objectives, whether their role and activities are feasible and well-designed.
At the proposal stage and during the project, the PI has the freedom to choose any number of team members to include in the project. These team members can be named individuals who would be appointed or vacant roles to be filled through open recruitment. In the proposal, the applicant must “describe the size and nature of the team, indicating, where appropriate, the key team members and their roles” in the ‘Resources’ section of the Part A form (Information for Applicants, Section 3).
Expert evaluators will have access to the Proposal Budget Report (Information for Applicants, Section 4.6) at Step 2 of the evaluation process and will assess the proposed team against the evaluation criteria set out in the ERC Work Programme.
Letters of commitment do not have to be submitted for Team Members but the applicant should have the written consent of all those involved in a proposal. This is set out in the Information for Applicants, Section 2.2: “The PI will have to declare that they have the written consent of all participants on their involvement and the content of their proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal on their participation in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board).”
The ERC provides guidance on how to set up and develop your team on their website.
What are the rules for Team Members based at entities other than the Host Institution?
“ERC actions are usually mono-beneficiary actions, but can also be multi-beneficiary.”
(Annotated Model Grant Agreement, page 175)
It is essential for an ERC grant to have a PI and a Host Institution. However, it is possible to have other entities included as beneficiaries funded by the ERC on the grant, as explained in the ERC Work Programme, “The constitution of the research teams is
flexible. Depending on the nature of a project, the research team may involve team members from other research organisations situated in the same or in a different country”. Despite ERC grants being primarily designed as mono-beneficiary, multiple beneficiary organisations may be included but still under the leadership of the sole PI.
The rules for participation of entities other than the Host Institution are set out alongside the rules for Host Institution eligibility in the ERC Work Programme:
“Where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may also be hosted by additional legal entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries, or international organisations, subject to any restrictions provided in Annex 3 to this Work Programme. Legal entities established outside the European Union or an Associated Country
are eligible for funding when they are one of the host institutions in a Synergy Grant
at any one time, or when they host additional team members, provided that they are not excluded from participation or covered by Council restrictive measures as set out in Annex 3 to this Work Programme. Other legal entities established outside the European Union or Associated Countries may be eligible for funding provided that their participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action, and that they are not excluded from participation or covered by Council restrictive measures as set out in Annex 3 to this Work Programme.”
(2023 ERC Work Programme, page 32)
Any entities other than the Host Institution will have obligations arising from the grant agreement which are coordinated by the Host Institution, for example any reporting for the ERC project will be submitted via the Host Institution.
The provisions regarding entities outside the EU Member States or Associated Countries are specific for the ERC and still depend upon the grant’s PI being engaged by a Host Institution based in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. UKRO understands that the scientific value added by team members based in entities outside the EU Member States or Associated Countries will be examined strictly during the ERC evaluation process and that the ERC may reject improper or abusive use of this option. However, if properly justified and persuasive for the independent expert evaluators, based on the ERC criteria for scientific excellence, funding for such team members through the entire life cycle of a grant is foreseen as an option for applicants.
Can a team member be a co-investigator? What does it mean when a team member ‘overshadows’ a PI?
Team members cannot be co-investigators as this would entail them having official say in the implementation of project activities, guaranteed by the grant agreement. Therefore this terminology should be avoided in ERC applications.
As set out throughout the ERC Work Programme, team members are not evaluated to the same degree as the ERC PI, neither are they subject to the same eligibility criteria. For example, according to the ERC evaluation criteria, expert evaluators must assess “to what extent does the PI have the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project” (Information for Applicants, Section 1.3). Given the PI is evaluated in greater detail with the explicit requirement that they should lead the ERC project and have the special role with freedoms and responsibilities as described above. No team member should detract from the freedom and independence of a successful ERC PI to carry out the objectives as they set out in the proposal and to adapt it during the project implementation in liaison with the ERC.
UKRO understands that evaluators will often reject proposals when they have concerns that the person presented as the PI seems to be ‘overshadowed’ by any of their team members. This concept of overshadowing refers to any situation in which the role and activities of a team member suggest they would have de facto leadership of a proposed project which would detract from or even supplant the PI’s independence as the sole project leader. An applicant can present their independence in their application: each respective PI profile section of the Work Programme calls for the demonstration of some degree of independence.
What are the rules for PIs in the Synergy and their respective team members on Synergy Grants?
[ERC Synergy Grants fund groups] of a minimum of two and a maximum of four innovative and active Principal Investigators (PIs), referred to as the ‘Synergy Grant Group’, with competitive track records as appropriate to their career stage” (ERC Work Programme, Profile of the ERC Synergy Grant Group).
These PIs work together and bring different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems. Evaluators will assess the combination and integration of PI profiles and scientific approaches for its excellent quality.
As stated in an ERC FAQ: “the concept of ‘co-investigator’ actually does not exist in the context of a Synergy Grant (SyG). All Principal Investigators (PIs) have equal status, although there is a ‘Corresponding Principal Investigator’ (cPI) designated to be the administrative contact with the ERCEA.”
The Synergy Grant Group of PIs makes a collective commitment to the grant, with a warning provided in the guidance that “the ERC expects the composition of a Synergy Grant Group to remain unchanged throughout the lifetime of the grant. If a PI leaves a Synergy Grant Group, the grant may be continued only exceptionally, subject to a scientific evaluation and provided that all eligibility criteria will continue to be met.” (Information for Applicants, Section 1.1).
Each PI in the Synergy Grant Group can design their team in the same way that sole PIs on Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants can. Thus a Synergy Grant can also include between two to four teams, each led by a PI with a flexible composition. The unique aspect of Synergy Grants is that these teams must be integrated to some degree with the other PIs and their teams in line with the overall, excellent scientific approach so as to contribute the project objectives. As stated in the ERC Work Programme “Applicants are expected to describe the contribution of each PI, their team, and the resources to achieve the objectives proposed.” (ERC Work Programme, Profile of the ERC Synergy Grant Group).
Making unforeseen changes to the team composition once the ERC project is running
Although applicants are asked at the proposal stage to “Describe the size and nature of the team, indicating, where appropriate, the key team members and their roles.” (Information for Applicants, Section 3), once a project starts, its needs and priorities may change, particularly given the long duration and importance of scientific freedom in ERC projects.
UKRO understands that where additional team members or changes in the role of any team members may be needed or valuable for carrying out the research objectives of the ERC grant, in principle, the PI is trusted with such decisions and can make the necessary adjustments within their existing grant budget.
UKRO would advise that the grantee liaise with the project officer – via the EC Portal – before making any changes, as they are able to support the PI with such implementation decisions and advise on whether any amendments to the grant agreement may be required. The PI would also have to ensure they follow all national law and institutional policies with regard to the project personnel, so the Host Institution (and any other entities hosting team members) should be properly consulted in such processes as well.