Meeting Notes from ERC Starter / Consolidator Grant Networking event
13th February 2017
The purpose of the event was to hold an informal session to share experiences and advice on the application
process for ERC Starter and Consolidator Grants. Academics from Chemistry, Physics, Engineering and Life Sciences
who had been through the process were present and the session was led by Rachel O’Reilly.
Some statistics:
Average age for Starter Grants applicants: 36 yrs
Average age for Consolidator Grant applicants: 41 yrs
UoW : Over the past 2 years we have submitted 117 grants of which 22 have been funded and we are still pending
an outcome on 15 (80 have been unsuccessful). Our success rate for ERC is 22% (we do not have the split for
Advanced: Consolidator: Starter)
First round
Only the B1, the “short” (9 page) proposal, will be reviewed at this stage. There is no feedback and the B2 – long
proposal – will not be looked at at this stage. One in four applications make it onto the B2 phase.
Panels – these appear to be on a 2 year rotation – so it should be relatively straightforward to identify who will be
on your panel. There was a variety of opinion over the experience of the panels – some found it a gruelling
experience, others did not.
Starter Grant panels are keen on identifying if the proposal is the sole work of the applicant, and not that of a
supervisor, so expect questions along this line.
Choosing your subject: there is a balance to achieve between “blue sky” thinking and following in your established
track record. The proposed research must push the boundaries, can include an element of risk and should be
cutting edge, but fundamentally be founded in your established area. As a guideline, it was suggested candidates
look at their project title and ask “if someone saw your project title, would they know it’s you?”
Try to put yourself in the place of the reviewers; they will see hundreds of applications, so to get through the B1
stage, there needs to be some excitement and passion evident.
CV:
Seen as a distinguisher for the first round; most of the science will be exceptional, so the CV is a means of
identifying the strongest candidates.
Ask yourself, what will they be looking for in your field?
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For Consolidator Grants, there is a set CV template – whilst being mindful of the quality of the content, spend time
well in advance thinking ahead to any areas of weakness (invited speaker, reviewing, papers published) and take
pro-active measures to address any such areas.
Include graphics to highlight upward trajectories – number of papers published, etc.
Preparation timeline:
Over-riding message was that you can’t start preparing early enough.
Preparing for the application – most said that deciding on the structure was a long term project, not to be rushed
into. For some it had started as a failed bid to another funding body, for others it was a more organic process
taking 12 months +. Time taken to write the application was c. 1 month, full time. It would also be useful to look at
others’ applications prior to submitting your own.
Preparation for the interview stage was on average one month, full time. Draft the “worst case scenario” questions
well before your interview –go in prepared. Time limits are strictly enforced, so don’t presume you’ll be able to
leave up a slide at the end. Download the criteria that the reviewers will be using and check how you are
performing against those, ask someone else to do this for you too. Prepare your presentation extremely
thoroughly; going in confident of that will help with any uncertainties over the environment (small, overheated
rooms etc. that some have experienced).
Getting the B1 / B2 balance right:
B1 should be the big picture, whilst B2 can focus on the technical details and feasibility.
The best advice I was given …..
Make sure you have a publication in an impact factor 10+ journal where you are the starred author.
The project should be an extension of your established track record, not solely “blue sky”.
Make the final slide of your presentation about how brilliant you are.
Include a slide on “here’s all the new stuff I’ve done since I submitted my CV / application”
Do a mock panel and read at least 2 or 3 proposals.
Make sure it’s something you want to do. You have to believe in it and feel passionate about it.
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We are grateful to the following academics who gave up their time to share their experiences:
Andrew Dove ([email protected])
Yin Chen ([email protected])
Tim Gershon ([email protected])
Neophytos Neophytou ([email protected])
Giovanni Costantini ([email protected])
Paul Goddard ([email protected])
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