On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of ERC, EU-LIFE released a statement with the message that in only a decade, ERC has become a flagship for excellent scientific research in - and for - Europe which is key to innovation. Also according to the statement, the ERC plays a crucial role in supporting that research in Europe.
The ERC has proven very successful in attracting top researchers to Europe and in increasing the competitiveness of Europe’s research at a global scale. The ERC allows the brightest scientists to perform research that sooner or later will pave the way to disruptive innovation from all scientific fields.
“Many great research ideas fully fitting ERC evaluation criteria are put on hold, simply because of the current ERC budget limits. In our experience more than 50% of excellent research projects don’t receive funding because of this. With an increased ERC budget excellent research will further flourish in Europe, making it even more attractive for top researchers” says Jo Bury current Chair of EU-LIFE and Managing Director of VIB, the Life Sciences Research Institute in Flanders, Belgium. “We believe that basic research is of utmost importance to boost innovation, especially when it is coupled to professional technology transfer. The ERC Proof of Concept Grants are indispensable for the translation of disruptive innovation from basic research results”.
“Europe needs a strong the ERC to achieve its goal of being a worldwide leader in innovation. Collectively, we need to ensure that the future ERC budget is increased to raise the positive impact of excellent research in Europe. We can state that more than a funding principle, the ERC proves to be a multiplier with increased visibility of the research in academia and beyond” says Marta Agostinho, EU-LIFE coordinator.
Notes to editors
The full EU-LIFE statement can be read at http://eu-life.eu/article/erc-10th-anniversary .
EU-LIFE institutes host currently 113 ERC grants running in 13 countries across Europe. Focusing on a range of scientific fields in the life sciences from cell biology to material sciences ERC researchers bring the best minds to EU-LIFE research centres to develop cutting edge basic research , within the European Research Area.
Follow EU-LIFE Twitter campaign at EU-LIFE twitter (@EULIFE_news) and #ERC10yrs. This campaign features ERC grant holders highlighting how ERC funding contributes to excellent research across Europe.
About EU-LIFE
EU-LIFE is an alliance of 13 European research centres in life sciences to support and strengthen research excellence. Representing over 7200 researchers, partners in EU-LIFE are renowned research centres across Europe operating with similar principles of excellence, external reviews, independence, competitiveness, and internationality, contributing to pushing European science forward. Kicked off in May 2013, the alliance has established as a voice for research institutes in European policy, currently participating in the two stakeholders’ organizations platforms which advise regularly Commissioner Moedas and European Commission’s DG RTD - the Open Science Policy Platform and the European Research Area Stakeholders’ platform. More information: http://eu-life.eu/
