UK ERC grant applications nosedive

Brexit uncertainty blamed for sudden drop in funding requests from UK-based researchers

UK applications for grants from the European Research Council grants have dropped by almost 20 per cent since 2017, according the latest data.

For the three main calls open to individual researchers there were 1,405 applications in 2017, but only 1,147 in 2019. Applications from other major economies have remained more or less steady over the same period, with those from Germany and France, for example, dropping by only around 2 and 4 per cent respectively.