The impact of ERC on universities and research organisations

Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy 2011This paper seeks to analyse strategic reactions of universities and research organisations to an external shock i.e. the new funding instruments of the European Research Council. It analyses how changes are mediated through national framework conditions as well as organisational characteristics. In doing so contribute to our understanding of the willingness and capability of those organisations to act and react strategically to changes in their context conditions. It thus tackles how universities (and research organisations) exercise authority over one of their core operations (research) and how this is changing through the introduction of a new instrument of highest level research funding.ERC and EC Commission (FP7