The ERC is an initiative in the 7th Framework Programme, operating from the beginning of 2007. It is the first pan-European funding agency for frontier research. The fundamental principle is the stimulation of investigator-initiated frontier research across all fields of research, on the basis of excellence.

The ERC's mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-initiated frontier research across all fields of research, on the basis of scientific excellence.

The ERC aims to:

• Support the best of the best scientific efforts in Europe across all fields of science, scholarship and engineering
• Promote wholly investigator-driven, or 'bottom-up' frontier research
• Encourage the work of the established and next generation of independent top research leaders in Europe
• Reward innovative proposals by placing emphasis on the quality of the idea rather than the research area
• Harness the diversity of European research talent and channel funds into the most promising or distinguished researchers
• Raise the status and visibility of European frontier research and the very best researchers of today and tomorrow
• Put excellence at the heart of European Research