After years of campaigning and controversy, the European Research Council (ERC) was formally launched at a conference in Berlin today (February 27). The event, creating the first pan-European funding agency that can award grants for basic research based solely on peer review, was met with seemingly widespread enthusiasm from the life sciences community.
Scientists seeking European Commission (EC) funding have generally had to negotiate application processes which many view as too political, rather than science-based -- constrained by such details as which of the Commission's priorities each proposal can be made to fit. Different member states want to see fair return to their own countries for the money they each contribute, and EC funding has traditionally been focused on applied and industrial projects. The ERC, in contrast, pledges to prioritize basic research, and award grants based solely on projects' scientific merits, not politics.
"The most important added value of a ...
