Organisation
The ERC consists of a Scientific Council and a Dedicated Implementation Structure.
The Scientific Council defines the scientific funding strategy and methodologies, whereas the Dedicated Implementation Structure implements and applies these strategies and methodologies in the management and operations of the ERC activities.
The Dedicated Implementation Structure has been legally established as the ERC Executive Agency and is fully operational since 15 July 2009. Until then, a dedicated service of the European Commission had the task of building up the operational capacities and managing the ERC activities.
The ERC operates with autonomy and integrity guaranteed by the European Commission, to which it is accountable.
The Scientific Council of the European Research Council
The ERC Scientific Council sets the scientific policy of the European Research Council. It acts on behalf of the scientific community in Europe to promote creativity and innovative research. It directs the scientific strategy and establishes methodologies and procedures for the peer review evaluation of proposals and the scientific reporting and monitoring. The scientific Council is appointed by the Commission, on th recommendations of an independent Identification Committee.
The ERC Scientific Council's mission is to:
- Decide on a scientific strategy
The Scientific Council defines and decides on the overall scientific funding and management strategy of the ERC, including an annual work programme where the calls for proposals and the corresponding funding rules and selection criteria are defined. - Monitor and control quality and performance
The Scientific Council oversees the ERC's operational management and the implementation of the work programme, including the outcome of calls for proposals, the execution of peer review evaluation processes and the selection of peer reviewers, and the grant management. It will also assess the quality and achievements of operations, and make recommendations for improvements and future actions. - Establish a communication strategy
The Scientific Council ensures the transparency of ERC operations by establishing an open information strategy in communicating with the scientific community and stakeholders on the activities and achievements of the ERC.
The principal actors are the President, the Board and the Secretary General.
The President
The Chair of the Scientific Council is the President of the ERC and the formal representative of the ERC as well as its Scientific Council with the European Commission and other bodies. The President chairs the ERC Board and Scientific Council meetings and prepares the agenda. The President is assisted by two Vice-Presidents who are the Vice-Chairs of the Scientific Council.
The current President is Prof. Dr. Fotis C. Kafatos, and the current Vice-Presidents are Prof. Dr. Helga Nowotny and Dr Daniel Esteve.
The Board
The ERC Board is composed of five members: the ERC President and two Vice-Presidents, the ERC Secretary General and the Director of the ERC Executive Agency. It ensures the effective link between the two constituents of the ERC, namely the Scientific Council and the ERC Executive Agency; it prepares the plenary meetings of the Scientific Council and serves as platform for exchange of information and ideas.
Secretary-General
The Secretary General is appointed by the Scientific Council and is its permanent representative in Brussels. The Secretary General assures on a day-to-day basis effective cooperation with the Dedicated Implementation Structure and the European Commission.
In detail, the Secretary General :
- ensures effective liaison between the Scientific Council, the Dedicated Implementation Structure and the Commission.
- monitors the effective and sound implementation of the Scientific Council's strategy and positions.
The position of ERC Secretary General for the first 5 years of ERC operation; The position was first held by Prof. Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker from January 2007 to June 2009. Prof. Andreu Mas-Colell has taken over as Secretary General on 1 July 2009 (his term of office ends in December 2011).
The European Research Council Executive Agency
Executive Agencies are set up under a specific Council Regulation and perform a variety of management tasks. By concentrating on these management tasks, they are able to improve efficiency in implementation and to provide a better service to the research community. The ERC Executive Agency (ERC EA) was created in order to manage exclusively the Ideas programme, in line with the requirement to establish a "Dedicated Implementation Structure" for the ERC. As for all Executive Agencies, it is managed by a Director and a Steering Committee, both appointed by the Commission.
The Director of the ERC Executive Agency
The Director of the ERC EA is responsible for the implementation of the ERC strategy and positions, as established by the Scientific Council and for the management of the Agency and its staff.
Dr. Jack Metthey is the ad interim director of the ERC Executive Agency.
The Steering Committee of the ERC Executive Agency
The ERC EA Steering Committee is the body that supervises the operations of the ERC Executive Agency and is appointed by the Commission. It adopts the Agency's annual work programmes, administrative budget and annual reports. It is composed of five members and one observer. The current membership of the ERC EA Steering Committee is as follows:
José Manuel Silva Rodríguez, Director-General of DG RTD, Chair of the Committee Franco Biscontin, Director for Resources in DG RTD, Vice-chair of the Committee Henk Post, Permanent Rapporteur to the Consultative Committee on Appointments Mathias Dewatripont, member of the ERC Scientific Council Catherine Cesarsky, Haut-Commissaire à l'énergie atomique The observer is Andreu Mas-Colell, ERC Secretary General.
