Objective

The objective of the 'Ideas' programme for FP7 is to enhance the dynamism, creativity and excellence of European research at the frontier of knowledge. This is to be done by supporting "investigator-driven" research projects carried out across all fields by individual teams, in competition at the European level. Projects are funded on the basis of proposals presented by researchers, on subjects of their choice and evaluated on the sole criterion of excellence as judged by peer review.

Implementing Body – ERC

EU activities in frontier research are implemented by a European Research Council (ERC). This is composed of a scientific governing council and a dedicated implementation structure. Research areas covered are independent of the thematic orientations of other parts of the Framework Programme, and include engineering, social sciences and the humanities.

The ERC Scientific Council was established by the European Commission to direct the scientific strategy and management of the ERC. It consists of representatives of the European scientific community at the highest level, acting in their personal capacity, independently of political or other interests, and appointed by the Commission following an independent procedure for their identification. This governing council:

• Oversees decisions on the type of research to be funded;
• Develops the annual work programme;
• Establishes the peer review process, and
• Monitors the programme's implementation to control quality from a scientific perspective.

While the dedicated implementation structure is responsible for all aspects of implementation and programme execution, such as implementing the peer review and selection process, and ensuring the financial and scientific management of the grants, the management of the activity will be reviewed and evaluated at appropriate intervals, while the European Commission acts as the guarantor of the ERC's full autonomy and integrity.

The ERC's remit covers all areas of research, including engineering, humanities and social sciences. The ERC is also open to proposals from individuals and groups irrespective of their size, composition or participation in projects. In other words, a 'bottom-up' approach.

The ERC Launch Strategy

The scientific council has set up two funding streams to stimulate European research excellence:

ERC Starting (Independent) Grant; provides support to the independent careers of excellent researchers who are at the stage of establishing their first research team.

ERC Advanced (Investigator) Grant; provides broad support for excellent and innovative frontier research projects by individual teams, led by investigators at all career stages.

For further details contact the National Contact Point on mcst.info@gov.mt or visit www.mcst.gov.mt or http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ideas/home_en.html