Networks of Excellence (NoE) are proposed to bring together top research institutes to work together in one effective “centre of excellence”. They are designed for research institutions keen to merge and join together in order to create a European “virtual research centre” in this field. The success of a NoE is measured in terms of:

• The extent to which the social fabric for researchers and research institutions in a field has changed due to the project;
• The extent to which the existing capacities become more competitive as an outcome of this change.

Other Funding Schemes

Individual Projects:

Projects that are carried out by individual national or multinational research groups, lead by a “principal investigator”, funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Support for training and career development of researchers:

This is mainly used for the implementation of ‘People’ Programme / Marie Curie actions.

Research for the benefit of specific groups (in particular SMEs):

Research and technological development projects where the huge research is performed by actors such as universities, research centres or other legal entities, for the benefit of specific groups, in particular SMEs, or for civil society organisations and their networks.