Twenty European research grants for Dutch pioneers
30 Jan 2012
Twenty research proposals from Dutch scientists have been awarded a prestigious ‘Advanced Grant’ by the European Research Council (ERC). The grants are worth €2.24 million each on average and could be as high as €3.5 million.
Pioneering research
The ERC awards Advanced Grants to established scientists who will perform 'blue sky' research over the coming five years across Europe. Blue sky research should be pioneering, using new, ground-breaking or unconventional methodologies. Proposals are evaluated on the basis of scientific excellence as the sole criterion.
As reported by Transfer Magazine, out of the 290 research proposals that were allocated funding, twenty are from Holland, representing 6.8 per cent of the total funding allocated.
Scientific excellence
Set up in 2007 by the EU, the European Research Council is the first pan-European funding organisation for frontier research. It aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by encouraging competition for funding between the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age.
The ERC strives to attract top researchers from anywhere in the world to come to Europe. It funds both senior research leaders (ERC Advanced Grants) and younger, early-career top researchers (ERC Starting Grants).