The European Research Council (ERC) has redrawn its evaluation process to help panels focus more on applicants’ ideas and take the widest possible view of their contributions to science.
Project proposals and past achievements are currently given equal weighting during preliminary evaluation, which ranks but does not eliminate potential grantees. From 2024, panels will weigh projects and achievements three to one.
“It’s a psychological thing, but yes, it does emphasise that it’s the project that counts, and don’t be biased by researcher glamour,” ERC president Maria Leptin told Times Higher Education, explaining that ranking positions mainly influence how applications are discussed by the panel.
