Date published: 2007/03/01
The BBC says:
Europe has a new flagship agency to fund the brightest ideas in science.
The European Research Council (ERC) has been given a budget of 7.5bn euros (£5bn) to 2013, and will focus solely on fundamental, or "blue skies", study.
It is hoped the initiative can find the breakthrough thinking - and eventually new products and services - to keep the EU's economy globally competitive.
...
The Council is envisioned as an independent, quality-driven funding body run by the scientists themselves.Its creators expect it to stoke competition, and, by extension, drive up the quality of all scientific endeavour within Europe.
"We have a collection of small scientific communities, and that means you have a tendency to select the best in small parts, rather than looking for what will survive in global competition," explains Professor Fotis Kafatos, the ERC's president.
"The ERC is about pooling our efforts so that all of Europe can be a big player. We want to be the best in the world, not just the best in the local neighbourhood."
...
And in what is seen as a bold move, the agency's Scientific Council has directed its first grant call not at established names but at emerging new talent.In 2007, grants totalling 300m euros (£200m) will be handed to the most promising up-coming researchers. These are people who have not had a PhD longer than nine years.
For once a good idea from the EU. Of course only time will tell whether this will work in practise, in particular whether the selection process will be fair or corrupt. And of course only time will tell whether the ERC is good at picking enough winners versus losers.
_________________________________________________________
All material not included from other sources is copyright cambridge2000.com.
For further information or questions email: info [at] cambridge2000 [dot] com
(replace "[at]" with "@" and "[dot]" with ".").