FMI ranks first in success rates for ERC grant applications

The selection of research projects to be funded by the European Research Council (ERC) is highly competitive; therefore, the funding of a project by the ERC is a key indicator for research excellence. In the latest data provided by the ERC covering the years 2014-2018, the FMI achieved a remarkable success rate of 75%, ranking first of 172 institutes. The European Research Council (ERC) - the first pan-European funding body for frontier research - was set up in 2007. Its mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence. There are five different funding schemes (starting/ consolidator/ advanced/ proof of concept / synergy grant) in three different domains (Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities) - all of them being highly competitive. When a scientist is awarded an ERC grant, this is not only an indicator of his or her personal science excellence but also lets the host institute shine. At the end of 2019, the ERC assessed the success rate of 172 European institutions that applied for ERC funding in calls in 2014-2018 and were hosting at least seven grants as of December 2019.