Horizon deal looks to have come too late for 2023 winners of EU grants in UK
By 
Anthony King2023-09-08T13:48:00
European Research Council award winners still face unenviable choice of deciding between their grant and their UK institution
UK science has received a boost with the announcement that it is to rejoin Horizon Europe in 2024. However, it seems that there’s no relief for 2023 winners of prestigious European Research Council (ERC) starting grants, which are funded by Horizon, who are based in the UK. They still face the prospect of either giving up their grant or leaving for an EU country.
Despite the deal to rejoin Horizon Europe, the situation for 2023 ERC award winners in the UK remains largely unchanged. This is because the new agreement on the UK rejoining Horizon Europe will not begin until 2024.
This year the UK slumped to joint fourth place with Italy for the number of researchers winning ERC starting grants. UK applications to the ERC have fallen recently and grants secured by UK-based researchers have been cut in half on last year, driven by uncertainty around the future of the UK in Horizon Europe. David Eggleton, a science policy researcher at the University of Sussex, says that the situation has acted as a disincentive for UK scientists to apply for ERC funding.