ERA Chairs

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

With adequate institutional support outstanding researchers can have a decisive and positive impact on the culture and performance of research institutions. Yet issues such as the availability of research funding, institutional rigidities and access to resources can hamper their mobility to promising institutions, particularly in low R&I performing countries. ERA Chairs actions will address the specific challenge of creating the appropriate conditions for high quality researchers and research managers to move and engage with institutions willing to achieve excellence in the scientific domain of choice and modify their research and innovation landscape.

The ERA Chairs actions will support universities or research organisations with the objective of attracting and maintaining high quality human resources under the direction of an outstanding researcher and research manager (the "ERA Chair holder") and in parallel implement structural changes to achieve excellence on a sustainable basis.

The scientific field can be any domain of research and innovation addressed under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union^[1], however it needs to be closely connected with the activities of the ERA Chair holder and fully capitalise on his/her presence and expertise.

Research organisations interested in establishing an ERA Chair shall submit a proposal based on a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis, aimed at structural change in the institution and ensuring that the conditions are in place to foster excellent research. Proposals should include arrangements for compliance with ERA priorities^[2] including the European Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers^[3]. A description of the necessary investments in research projects, facilities and infrastructures and how those will be achieved as, for example, through the use of Cohesion Policy funds, and/ or a better use of the installed research capacity (in particular of EU co-funded research infrastructures & facilities) should be made. Making full use of the latter (i.e. existing EU funded research infrastructure) will be an asset.

Proposals should outline how the proposed activities will positively induce a change in current practices.

ERA Chair holders should be excellent researchers and research managers in the given field of research, with a proven record of effective leadership. They should establish their own research team fully integrated in the coordinator's institution to significantly improve its research performance in the scientific domain of choice and to be more successful in obtaining competitive funding. The ERA Chair holder should have a position within the organisation/university, professor or similar, that will allow her/him to make appropriate resource allocation decisions, supervise team members and freely apply for research funding. A letter of the head of the institution clearly describing the intended remuneration package of the ERA Chair holder and the criteria on which the level of remuneration^[4] has been established, as well as his/her roles, level of responsibility and obligations should be included within the proposal. This will allow for the determination of the commitment of the institution and feasibility of the ERA Chair tasks.

The position of the ERA Chair holder must be open to all EU and non-EU nationals but shall match the profile of an "Established Researcher (R3)" or "Leading Researcher (R4)" as set out in the European Framework for Research Careers ^[5]. Moreover, given the objectives of the action, internal mobility within the institution hosting the grant is excluded except in exceptional and duly justified cases. The appointment of an ERA Chair holder will be undertaken by the host institution at the beginning of the action and must follow an open, transparent and merit-based recruitment process that will be monitored by the European Commission.

It is expected that the Chair holder commits him/herself for the full duration of the grant. The ERA Chair holder is to be appointed in a full-time position (permanent or non-permanent) in accordance with the national legislation of the institution hosting the grant.

Provisions should also be made in the proposal to ensure the sustainability of the action after the end of the Horizon 2020 funding. This should be demonstrated clearly in the proposal (e.g. through the inclusion of a sustainability plan). Concretely, proposals need to outline how the ERA Chair holder and his/her team will continue to contribute within the institution after the end of the Horizon 2020 project. In case this is not possible, an outline of transitional arrangements needs to be explained to ensure the work, progress and structural changes achieved will continue to be implemented in the future.

The grant that can have a duration of six years maximum will cover the appointment of the ERA Chair holder and a number of team members (e.g. their salaries, recruitment costs^[6], administrative costs, travel and subsistence costs).

One of the lessons learned from previous calls and from the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, is the lack of experience with regard to research management and administration in widening countries. That is why proposals should also focus on strengthening the research management and administration skills of the institution. This should take the form of a dedicated work package or task, placing emphasis to specific activities, in view of helping the staff of the coordinating institution to improve their proposal preparation and project management/administration skills. If not yet in place, setting up/upgrading a research management/administration unit within the institution would be beneficial, involving the ERA Chair holder and his/her experience and is expected to be a concrete deliverable of the action.

The grant will also provide a contribution towards measures aimed at facilitating structural changes in the institution (e.g. costs for trainings, meetings, publications and managing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).While the action does not focus on equipment and research costs, these could be accepted if they constitute only a minor part (up to 10%) of the total Horizon 2020 funding requested and are deemed necessary to fulfil the action's specific scope and objective. For grants awarded under this topic and type of action, the following cost categories will be ineligible costs:

- Infrastructure costs;

The respective option of Article 6.5.C of the Model Grant Agreement will be applied.

The duration of an ERA Chair project can be up to 6 years.

If the coordinating entity has already been funded under other Horizon 2020 ERA Chairs calls, these projects need to be described in the proposal. In particular, proposers need to clearly demonstrate the added value and impact of the proposal in achieving the ERA Chair programme objectives, in comparison to the already funded ERA Chair project within the coordinating entity.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of EUR 2.5 million, would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting lower amounts.

- Institutional changes within the ERA Chair host institution allowing for its full participation in the European Research Area.

- Increased attractiveness of the institution for internationally excellent and mobile researchers (including a policy of compliance to the European Research Area priorities like an open recruitment policy, gender balance, peer review and innovative doctoral training).

- Increased research excellence of the institution in the specific fields covered by the ERA Chair holders illustrated quantitatively and qualitatively through indicators such as expected future publications in peer reviewed journals, collaboration agreements with businesses, intellectual property, new innovative products or services.

- Improved capability to compete successfully for internationally competitive research funding.

[1]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=en

[2]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2012:0392:FIN

[3]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2005/251/oj

[4]As prescribed in the Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA) at http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/grants_manual/amga/h2020-amga_en.pdf

[5]https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_research_careers_final.pdf

[6]That can be considered under the category of "other direct costs".