Number of UK-based ERC early-career grant winners rebounds

The UK has risen up the table of countries hosting European Research Council (ERC) starting grants after it rejoined Horizon Europe, though it remains well below its pre-Brexit success levels.

In the 2024 funding round, the country had the third-most winners – 50, just behind the Netherlands (51) but slightly ahead of France (49), although some distance behind Germany, which had 98 winners.

That result was significantly better than last year when the UK had only 32 grantees, who can claim up to €1.5 million (£1.3 million) over five years, as well as funding for equipment and infrastructure.

However, those numbers are still considerably down on previous years, when Britain was a full member of Horizon and was often comfortably the most successful nation for winning ERC grants; in 2017, some 79 UK-based researchers won starting grants, ahead of Germany (67) and France (54).

While the UK was outside Horizon from 2020 until it rejoined in January 2024, its researchers could apply for ERC project funding but could receive these grants only if they moved to institutions in the European Union. Alternatively, they could stay in the UK, with their grants covered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Horizon Europe Guarantee.

Earlier this week, UKRI international champion Christopher Smith said the UKRI guarantee had been important in ensuring that institutional “muscle memory” in applying for EU grants had not been lost, though the UK funder is offering further support to help return the sector to pre-Brexit levels of success.

However, some sector leaders have warned that many of the outstanding European early career researchers responsible for the UK’s previous success might have left the UK, or decided not to move to the country, since Brexit

About half of the UK’s winners were non-British researchers, with just 27 ERC grantees coming from the UK, the ERC said, announcing the results of the latest funding round on 5 September,

On nationality, the UK was sixth for ERC starting grant winners, behind Germany (94), Italy (61), France (44), Spain (36) and Israel (30), it added.

Nearly €780 million was given to 494 young scientists and scholars across Europe, with 14.2 per cent of proposals (of which 3,474 were submitted) being funded. Forty-four per cent of starting grants were awarded to female researchers, compared with 43 per cent in 2023 and 39 per cent in 2022.

Maria Leptin, president of the European Research Council, said she was “particularly pleased to welcome UK researchers back to the ERC”.

“They have been sorely missed over the past years. With 50 grants awarded to researchers based in the UK, this influx is good for the research community overall,” said Professor Leptin.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com