Scientific Council

Scientific Council

The Scientific Council, the ERC's governing body, defines the scientific funding strategy and methodologies. It acts on behalf of the scientific community in Europe to promote creativity and innovative research.

President and Vice-Presidents

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 equally the Vice-Chairs of the Scientific Council.

The current President is Prof. Dr. Helga Nowotny  (since 1 March 2010) and the current Vice-Presidents are Prof. Pavel Exner and Prof. Carl-Henrik Heldin.

Honorary President

Prof. Dr. Fotis C. Kafatos was the first ERC President (until 1 March 2010) and has been elected Honorary President. He also remains member of the Scientific Council. 

Members

The Scientific Council is composed of 22 eminent scientists and scholars, including some Nobel Prize winners. (see picture)

The members are appointed by the European Commission, on the recommendations of an independent Identification Committee.

Contact

Secretariat to the ERC Scientific Council - rtd-erc@ec.europa.eu

Role

Role of the ERC Scientific Council 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.

Meetings of the Scientific Council 2013