ERC agency ‘too distant’

The European Research Council Executive Agency needs to continue to improve its communication with the European Commission, an assessment has said.

The report was commissioned from external consultants to assess the ERCEA—the operational agency that manages ERC grants—between 2012 and 2015. One conclusion reached by the evaluation was that the ERCEA had failed to communicate effectively enough with the Commission on policy-making processes.

"Despite staff secondments and reporting mechanisms, the know-how of the Commission on the implementation and results of ERC grants was not fully maintained," the report said.