First-ever ERC grant awarded

More than 9,000 applications were made in response to the first-ever call by the European Research Council, with only three per cent of proposals being successful in competition. The best 220 up-and-coming research leaders (between two and nine years after their doctorate) were selected for the so-called Starting Independent Investigator Grant. The successful candidates represent more than 30 nationalities, based in some 170 host institutions in 21 different countries.

The 754,000 euro Starting Investigator Grant will enable Dr Meyer, Lecturer in on the European Studies Programme and member of the War Studies Department, to set-up a research team to work for three years on the production, communication and political use of early warnings relating to intra-state conflict since the end of the Cold War. The project is anticipated to start in September 2008.

Issues raised in this field of study include: What impact do forecasts have on political action? How are they communicated, perceived and used in order to prevent harmful events in the future?

Dr Meyer explains: ‘The genocide in Rwanda in 1994 showed the shortcomings in the communication of and political response to early warnings. The project will look at more cases to study much more thoroughly under what conditions early warning can lead to conflict prevention. We then want to compare our insights with studies of preventive approaches to issues such as climate change, ageing populations and financial instability.’

Frontier research

In contrast to other calls for funding under the EU’s 7th Framework Programme, the ERC grants are investigator-driven and the sole assessment criterion is the excellence of the investigator and the proposed project. The ERC aim is to support frontier research in any discipline by excellent researchers, regardless of nationality and other thematic requirements.

Professor Professor Fotis C Kafatos, President, ERC, comments: ‘I am confident that this Starting Grant will help Dr Meyer become an excellent independent investigator, and to achieve ground–breaking results in the true spirit of the ERC Starting Grants scheme.’

Source: By King's College London