Our work programme builds upon the assumptions and concepts discussed in the summary and themes sections of our site.
Our work aims to ensure that ERC funding scheme impacts are registered and attributed taking into account the different social elements of science and their interdependencies (researchers, research organisations and epistemic communities), differences between research fields, and the governance of science at European and national levels. All parts of our work are considering how to measure difference (impact), how to attribute the impact and how to assess or explain the impact (i.e. to place it in its context).
We are proceeding from the position that impact can be measured by registering the difference between two states of operation of the studied social entities at two different points in time and by soliciting the opinion of impact (and attribution) from study respondents. Collecting information for at least two different points in time helps ensure some level of objectivity and a higher level of reliability.
The work packages of our current EURECIA research project represent ‘Phase 1′ of this effort. They address the development of a methodology to study and understand the impacts of the ERC funding schemes and empirical work to register a study baseline. The work is designed for the empirical part of Phase 1 to be repeated, using the same methodology to attribute and understand the impacts, in a later ‘Phase 2′. Ideally this second phase should be carried out at least three to four years later to allow for impacts to emerge from the ERC funding schemes. These launched in 2007 and 2008, for the starting and advanced schemes, respectively.
(Please note: The EURECIA project is not studying the ERC’s later funding schemes, i.e. Synergy Grants and Proof of Concept, launched in 2012 and 2011, respectively.)
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