Speaking before the industry, research and energy committee, ITRE, Nowotny said that on one hand the scientific council sets the scientific strategy and in this sphere is autonomous. The problem is that the structure assumes it is possible to separate the scientific strategy from the administration. “But this is not the case,” Nowotny said. Furthermore, the scientific council’s independence is not guaranteed because it has no separate legal status.
At present, this is not an issue, since relations with the executive agency – under interim head Jack Methey – are harmonious. “But this is only because of the people involved,” Nowotny said. The structure of the ERC “remains vulnerable.”
On top of this, the interface between the ERC and its directorate general (DG) in the European Commission is complex. “We need to clarify the role of the parent DG,” said Nowotny.
A review of the structure and functioning of the ERC carried out last year recommended merging the post of director and secretary general, and Nowotny told MEPs she is committed to seeing through this change.
At the same time as the review, the ERC began the process of becoming an Executive Agency of the European Commission. “Here we had to face the merging of two cultures of science, which is based on trust, and administration, which is based on control”. As a result the transition “has been a rather painful one,” Nowotny said.
She put this down to the fact that the Executive Agency structure is a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t suit the management of frontier research.
As part of the transition to becoming an Executive Agency, the ERC is in the process of recruiting a new director with robust scientific experience to run it.
The next step after this will be to redefine the relationship between the scientific council, the executive agency and the DG. “This is a complicated process,” Nowotny told MEPs. It requires a shift from a culture of control to a culture of trust. While she respects the need for accountability, the ERC is currently operating under a grant-giving scheme that is based on contracts. “This is not an easy way to provide money to institutions,” Nowotny said.
A further review is due in July 2011 to see if the merger of the scientific and administrative arms has left a robust and functioning structure. At the moment the life time of the ERC is limited to the end of Framework Programme 7 in 2013. Nowotny said she hoped to see the ERC become permanent, and with a larger budget, after that date.
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