EC news and background information
Recent years have seen very strong growth in the engagement of Oxford researchers in European Commission (EC) funding in general, and the EC's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, 2007-2013 (FP7) in particular. The EC is now the University's third largest funder in terms of income received and Oxford receives more income from the Commission than any other UK university. Horizon 2020, the new EU funding programme for research and innovation, will be launched to replace FP7 and will run from 2014 until 2020.
Please note that the EC also offers research funding opportunities outside of the Framework Programme (non-FP7 calls).
News and guidance from funder
Below are selected EC FP7 and Horizon 2020-related items included in recent Research Services News Bulletins, as well as selected guidance documents directly from the funder. This is not a comprehensive listing of EC FP7 and Horizon 2020 news – you can also subscribe directly to email alerts via the UK Research Office (UKRO).
Please also see our additional Research Services factsheets on our Applying for FP7 Funding, Negotiating your FP7 Award, and Managing your FP7 Projects pages.
Background information on the EC
| Areas supported | All subject areas |
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| Types of funding |
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| Funding Guides |
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| EC funding opportunities |
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| EC Research Income at Oxford | 2011/12: Oxford received £32.2M (third largest research funder of the University) |
| Applications and Award Activity at Oxford | 2011/12: 493 applications submitted to the value of £351.3M. 133 new EC awards accepted worth £55.3M, including financial amendments to existing awards (University financial year Aug-Jul) |
(167kb)The Co-operation Programme
The Co-operation Programme supports all types of research activities carried out by consortia of universities, industry, research centres and public authorities across the European Union as well as the rest of the world in transnational co-operation.
The Programme cuts across 10 research themes. The EC decides on the research priorities relevant to each theme. The Co-operation Programme also covers Joint Technology Initiatives. Projects typically require a minimum of 3 partners from 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries and last between 3 - 5 years, but funding requirements vary.
Funding is available for research projects (Collaborative Projects or Networks of Excellence) and/or for networking activities (Coordination and Support Actions).
Ideas Programme (European Research Council)
The Ideas Programme's European Research Council (ERC) awards operate on a 'bottom-up' basis across all research fields (excluding nuclear energy research), without predetermined priorities. Excellence is the sole criterion for ERC funding, and the only evaluation criteria are the excellence of the PI and the excellence of the proposed research project.
The three main funding schemes - Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants - fund projects led by a Principal Investigator (PI) and (if they wish) their team.
The Synergy Grant scheme enables a small group of two to four Principal Investigators and their teams to bring together complementary skills, knowledge, and resources in new ways, in order to jointly address research problems.
The Proof of Concept scheme provides additional funding to establish proof of concept, identify a development path and an Intellectual Property Rights strategy for ideas arising from an ERC-funded project. The scheme is only open to current ERC award holders.
People Programme (Marie Curie Actions)
The People Programme is implemented through a set of Marie Curie Actions, which address researchers at all stages of their professional lives. They provide opportunities for individual researchers and organisations to develop their research skills and training capacity, by building on industrial and academic expertise within Europe and across the world, through staff exchanges, secondments, postgraduate and postdoctoral fellowships.
A key feature of Marie Curie Actions is the 'mobility' requirement, and the vast majority of fellows funded under the programme will be expected to move from one country to another, subject to specific requirements for the different schemes. The Actions operate on a 'bottom-up' basis across all research fields (excluding nuclear energy research), without predetermined priorities.
Initial Training Networks (ITN) scheme provides training for doctoral and junior post-doctoral researchers.
Intra-European (IEF), International Incoming (IIF) and International Outgoing (IOF) Fellowships fund individual post-doctoral positions for 12 - 36 months.
Career Integration Grants (CIG) provide top-up funding for researchers coming/returning to Oxford from abroad.
The IRSES scheme funds international research staff exchanges, while the IAPP scheme funds staff exchanges between industry and academia.
Capacities Programme
The Capacities Programme operates across a number of research themes and some parts are structured in a more 'bottom-up' way than the Co-operation Programme. It aims to enhance research and innovation capacities throughout Europe, and to ensure their optimal use. Within the Capacities Programme there are several main activities where funding is provided.
The Research Infrastructures scheme aims to optimise the use and development of existing European research infrastructures and to help to create new European research infrastructures.
The Regions of Knowledge scheme aims to increase the capacity of European regions to develop their commitment in research by, for example, improving links between researchers and the local business communities or transnational and cross border co-operations in areas of common interest.
The Science in Society scheme seeks to encourage the integration of science and research practice and policies into broader European society.
The Research for the Benefit of SMEs scheme funds collaborative projects with predominant demonstration components aimed to support SMEs.
The Research Potential scheme funds collaborative projects aimed at developing research entities in the EU’s convergence and outermost regions.
Activities for International Cooperation (INCO) are aimed at bilateral and bi-regional coordination of S&T policies and collaborations.
ERC Presentations, June 2013