Glossary

The Scientific Council is composed of 22 members who collectively represent the European scientific community. It is charged with defining the scientific funding strategy and establishing methodologies and procedures for the peer review evaluation of proposals, as well as the scientific reporting and monitoring methodologies. The Scientific Council also oversees the implementation of the work programme, and certifies the outcome of calls for proposals and associated selection processes.
The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons of the Scientific Council may also hold the title of President and Vice-President of the European Research Council (ERC) respectively. The Scientific Council is assisted by a Secretary General ensuring its effective liaison with the Commission and the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA).

The Scientific Council appoints a Secretary General who is its permanent representative in Brussels. His/her role is to ensure the effective liaison between the Scientific Council, the Executive Agency and the European Commission. The Secretary General also monitors the effective and sound implementation of the Scientific Council strategy and position.

Small and medium-sized enterprises within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC in its version of 6 May 2003 are enterprises which:
• have fewer than 250 employees, and
• have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million EUR, or
• have an annual balance-sheet total not exceeding 43 million EUR.
A user guide and details on SME definition can be found on the European Commission websites.

The Grant Agreement (GA) determines the start date of a project (Article 3 of the ERC GA). Unless a specific (e.g. fixed) start date is duly justified and agreed during the preparation of the GA, an ERC funded project starts on the first day of the month following the entry into force of the GA (entry into force = signature by the ERCEA). A later start date later has to be duly justified and cannot be later than 6 months following the receipt of the invitation letter by the beneficiary. Costs can be incurred only as from the start date of the project.

ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grants (ERC Starting Grants) aim to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe. The grants are open to any field of research covered under the EU Treaty and open to researchers from all over the world if their Host Institution is established in the European Union or its Associated Countries

An agreement to provide goods or services relating to tasks required for the project which cannot be carried out by the beneficiary itself, concluded between a beneficiary and one or more subcontractors for the specific needs of a project. Subcontracting derogates from the principle that the beneficiaries shall have the operational capacity to implement the project and is limited to those parts of the work which cannot be carried out by the beneficiary itself. It shall not concern "core" parts of the project work and only cover a limited part of the project can be concluded by a subcontractor where this is necessary for the project implementation. Project management must always be considered to be a core element of the project and may not be the subject of a subcontract.

A subcontractor is a third party which has entered into an agreement on business conditions with one or more participants, in order to carry out part of the work of the project without the direct supervision of the participant and without a relationship of subordination.

The agreement requested by the Grant Agreement that covers the minimum contractual relation between the Principal Investigator and the beneficiary (the legal entity hosting and engaging the Principal Investigator). It describes their respective responsibilities and rights and must be fully consistent with the provisions of the Grant Agreement. A Supplementary Agreement is mandatory for all ERC projects. It shall be complemented by an employment or other collaborative type of engagement contract between Host Institution and the Principal Investigator.

The Synergy Grant is a new ERC pilot funding scheme of a 'frontier' research grant supporting small groups of excellent researchers (tackling interdisciplinary research problems) and pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge. Synergy Grants fund proposals that demonstrate the complementarity and added-value of joint research.