This Action provided the necessary support to the Vice-Presidents of the European Research Council Scientific Council (ERC ScC) to achieve key milestones and deliverables of the ScC, which are required under the Horizon 2020 framework programme.
Under the Horizon 2020 programme, the European Research Council provides a competitive funding mechanism for investigator-driven frontier research at the European level. One of the key structural components of the ERC is the Scientific Council consisting of 21 eminent researchers and their President, representative of a large range of disciplines and institutional backgrounds. The ERC ScC independently establishes and oversees the ERC's scientific management and the implementation of the Work Programme, including the peer review and the selection of peer reviewers.
The project aimed to support the ERC Vice-Presidents, who, unlike the ERC President, act on an honorary basis, in the efficient and timely achievement of the ScC’s objectives in 2017. The diverse responsibilities of the three Vice-Presidents of the ERC included the achievement of efficient and effective functioning of the ScC, its integrated operation together with the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA), and effective interfacing with the scientific community, other funding agencies and the political institutions of the European Union. The project provided administrative and research support ranging from secretarial tasks to assistance in developing policy papers related to the work of the Vice-Presidents of the ERC for a period of one year.
The Vice-Presidents in 2017 were:
Klaus Bock, University of Copenhagen
Eva Kondorosi, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Martin Stokhof, University of Amsterdam
The former Vice-Presidents concluding their work in 2017 were:
Nuria Sebastian Galles, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)
Mart Saarma, University of Helsinki, (Institute of Biotechnology)
Objectives
The project objective was to provide local administrative, operational and advisory support for the three ERC Vice-Presidents. The project allowed for the efficient and well-managed operation of the ERC Scientific Council.
Results
The project's results were:
D1: Scientific Strategy
D2: Scientific management, monitoring and quality control of programme implementation
D3: Communication and dissemination
D4: Preparation of ScC meetings
D5: Chairing Standing Committees
D6: Preparation of ERC Board meetings
