UK back on top of ERC advanced grant winners table

The ERC has announced this year’s winners of its advanced grants, and the UK has regained its top spot after years of Brexit-related uncertainty, which discouraged researchers from applying. 

UK-based academics won 56 of the awards, worth up to €2.5 million over five years. Germany won 35, followed by Italy (25), the Netherlands (24) and France (23). But only 26 UK nationals won awards, a sign of how good the country is at attracting foreign talent. 

Overall, the success rate for applications was just 11%, down from 13.9% last year.

The results mark a return to winning ways for the UK, which topped the list for the 2020 advanced grant awards, only to be entirely excluded the following year as Brexit-based wrangling prevented UK academics from applying. 

UK researchers were again allowed to apply for the 2022 and 2023 rounds, but finished below Germany, discouraged by uncertainty over whether they would receive the award or have to make do with a UK-funded backup scheme, as London and Brussels squabbled over the UK’s Horizon Europe association. 

Only in September 2023 did the UK fully rejoin Horizon Europe, putting to bed doubts for applicants. 

“These are stellar figures, with the UK winning just over a fifth of these awards,” said Patrick Vallance, the UK’s science minister, in a statement.  “This is a testament to the brilliant research happening in businesses, institutions and universities right across the country.” The figures were also celebrated by the UK’s Russell Group of research-intensive universities.

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“This is a stormingly good set of results from UK researchers, showcasing Horizon Europe’s value for our international research collaborations and the R&D contribution we can make to shared priorities with our friends and colleagues across the EU,” said Douglas Dowell, the body’s policy manager. 

The UK is hoping to recover its position in Horizon Europe to justify association to the programme and set the stage for negotiations to join the successor programme in 2028. 

“The government will of course consider associating to Horizon Europe’s successor, assuming it is open, relevant and provides good value for the UK researcher community and taxpayer,” the UK government said in its spending review, released earlier this month, which sets out financial plans for the next three years.