A new activist at the European Research Council

BRUSSELS - For Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, his tenure at the helm of the European Research Council began last week with an unexpected problem: he stumbled on a hole in the pavement, and broke an arm. Now, the distinguished French mathematician greets visitors in his new Brussels office with a bit of discomfort, left arm in a sling – but no slackening in the enthusiasm with which he views the job ahead: a strategic, activist role to improve the lot of science and scientists who need it most.

“The position and role of the ERC president should have a political and strategic dimension,” Bourguignon says. For him, that means prodding the EU system to also help upgrade the state of science in those southern and eastern European countries that need help most. And it also means being an advocate for better, easier career paths for young scientists. The aim is, “To make it clear to somebody who has the talent and is interested in science, that there are career perspectives in science, of course in academia but also in industry.”

In a wide-ranging interview with Science|Business, Bourguignon outlined several steps he can take to make a difference – acting as an ambassador to less-developed scientific regions, seeking to improve relations between scientists and politicians, working with other EU organisations for change. He emphasises, however, that these initiatives as ERC President need to be backed up by the ERC Scientific Council, and he does not foresee any slackening in scientific standards for getting a grant.  “Ultimately the scientific quality of the projects makes the difference” in winning an ERC grant, he says. 

Advice to grant applicants

His advice to new grant applicants is to, “focus the attention on the quality of the scientific content of the application. Frontier research, creativity, matters more than the number of published papers,” he says.

Bourguignon’s comments reflect the growing political tussles within Europe, as the poorer and richer regions compete for cash at a time of austerity. The ERC began life in 2007 as the first, pan-European research agency with a classic, peer-review system of impartially administering grants for cutting-edge research. Under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme running from 2014 - 2020, it is due for a 60 per cent increase in funding, to €13 billion – a testimony to a hard-won reputation for excellence. 

But to date the biggest grant recipients are the countries with the best-developed scientific infrastructures  – the UK, Germany, France, the Nordics, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland (a participant, even though not an EU member). By contrast, researchers in several poorer countries have received virtually no grants. And Bourguignon underlines that the ERC should ensure that this gulf will not widen further.   

“My fear, that could become very pressing in the future, is that the gap could jeopardise the success of the ERC in the long run. Because at some point some politician might say, ‘we are not playing this game anymore, because it has adverse effects on us’,” explains Bourguignon. While he will oppose weakening ERC standards to help them, he intends to use his office of president to advocate that stakeholders take a broader perspective on developing research, he says. 

A Q&A with Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council 

Science|Business: What would you like to accomplish at the ERC?

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: The development of the ERC is a fantastic success story, but at some point you reach a plateau and you would want that plateau to be sustainable. The ERC gives grants by merit, excellence and quality of research; as a result the [geographical] distribution of grants is quite uneven. The ERC should help find ways to balance the distribution of grants, but without departing from the principle of basing funding on scientific excellence only. I would like to visit countries in Central and Eastern Europe and maybe Southern Europe, and assess, also through discussions with scientists, what could be the possible EU measures to help in developing more competitive infrastructures, and increasing the chances for ERC success.  

Another pressing issue is the lack of interest for science in the younger generation. This is a threat for the emergence of the next generation of young scientists in Europe. The ERC Scientific Council has taken this problem very seriously because two thirds of ERC grants are dedicated to younger scientists, and only one third to senior researchers. The whole point is to make it clear to somebody who has the talent, and the interest in science, that there is the possibility to have a successful scientific career.  This is particularly true for young women, as gender balance is a major issue.

I think that my role as ERC president is to be an advocate looking for answers to these questions. People must be aware that there is a real threat there. I hope to enroll in this campaign the relevant institutions and people from the industry as well. 

Science|Business: What concrete measures you can take to achieve these goals?

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: The ERC will not create a dedicated programme, but one of the very specific features of the ERC Scientific Council is its connections with the scientific community. We can pull all the networks of the members of the Scientific Council together to reach many countries and many disciplines. I think we can really provide good linkage between the scientific community and politicians in countries where currently links are very weak. The role of the ERC and of me as the President, is to make sure that locally these links are strengthened. 

Science|Business: Under your tenure the role of Secretary General and President of the Council have been merged. What difference will this make?

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: First of all, I am physically here, in Brussels, almost every day.  On my part at least, I fully trust what the ERC Executive Agency is doing, and I do not want to interfere with the scientific evaluation of the ERC panels. In my new role I have the possibility to access European Commission officials directly. That means that I can help the long-term development of the ERC. Ultimately, I think that my specific role here is mostly strategic and political.I would like to be able to address questions at the strategic level – time will tell if this is realistic.  

I would like that, together with the ERC Scientific Council, we prepare a roadmap for the future, and what are the threats and the potential for research in Europe, so that as soon as the new Commissioner is appointed we can tell her or him about the achievements and the future challenges for the ERC.

Science|Business: The number of applicants for grants is increasing. What will the ERC do to address this?

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: Indeed, we have had a 46 per cent rise in Consolidator grant applicants, and this is an ongoing trend. However, the ERC has taken measures to reduce the number of applicants who, for obvious reasons, have no chance. Some applicants who are rejected in a given year will not be allowed to apply again in the following year, or the following two years, depending on the grade they received. This one to two year wait can be used by applicants to improve their projects. 

Also, there are a number of countries where the people who pass the first ERC threshold but who are not selected will actually be funded through national programmes and structural funds.  Of course, these scientists do not get the prestigious title of ERC grantee, but still they get the funding and the quality of their work is recognised. This means that the effort put into applying to the ERC has not been wasted and that the considerable work it takes to evaluate applications is put to use. Countries with such schemes, that are currently active, are the Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, as well as the region of-Flanders in Belgium. Other countries run such schemes occasionally for a particular call or year.

Science|Business: Do you have any advice to new applicants?

Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: First of all, I would like to reassure that the ERC will continue to strive for less bureaucratic procedures. But, most importantly, new applicants should put a lot of emphasis on the scientific content. While the technical part of the application is important too, applicants should focus on the science. I would encourage them to make it clear whether the proposal is about frontier research and whether their project has cutting-edge features. Also, they must keep in mind that the ERC does not put an emphasis on the impact of the research when evaluating applications.