A further dimension of understanding and assessing the impact of the ERC’s funding schemes for the European research system was to register, attribute and understand how they affect research performing organisations around Europe, such as universities, research institutes and other relevant research units.
EURECIA conducted case studies of around 15 research organisations across six European countries. The case studies were chosen according to factors such as the number of ERC grants and other funding sources received, the organisation’s reputation, strategy and profile, along with its size, location and selected characteristics of its national research environment. Within the research organisation case studied, interviews will be carried out with key people (e.g. heads of department, deans).
This qualitative, interpretative approach enabled a contextual analysis, allowing for a better attribution of impacts to the ERC (or not) and contributing to the EURECIA project’s overall learning environment. In particular this work asked:
- What are important features of research organisations to develop and attract top research talent, to support research proposals and research applicants (e.g. incentives, structures, funding structures)?
- What is the importance of third party funding relative to ERC grants?
- Does this relative importance induce any change in certain research organisations?
- Are there signs that ERC grants affect the position and standing of European universities both within Europe and globally (including as compared to the USA)?
- How do research organisations support or hinder applications to the ERC schemes and the actual implementation of received grants?
- What are the key characteristics of the governance of change in the research organisations?
- How can research organisations learn and adapt their behaviour in order to provide a more supportive environment for potential applicants?
- To what extent can (or should) the ERC contribute to a greater stratification of European universities and research organisations?
- What are the strategies of any research organisations that might be losing their top people due to the allowed portability of ERC grants?
Dr Michael Stampfer and Professor Jakob Edler led the team carrying out this work. This part of EURECIA included a series of validation workshops, where preliminary results were discussed with relevant peer groups (national, European and worldwide, including interaction with industrial representatives). Learning workshops were also organised with US policy, funding and research organisation representatives (these will be conducted as part of EURECIA’s dissemination work).
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