An analysis of the average success rates for all European Research Council (ERC) grants awarded during the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) of the EU (2007-2013) to all of the top European research institutes and universities gave the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot the top score.

Tthe Weizmann Institute has had 35% of its ERC grant proposals approved. In comparison, the Israeli average is 18% and that of all ERC proposals is around 10%. And in absolute numbers of grants - a metric that puts the Institute in direct competition with much larger institutions - the Weizmann Institute placed sixth, with a total of 82 grants worth nearly €150 million.

These figures were recently published in the 2014 Annual Report on activities and achievements put out by the ERC Scientific Council. The ERC awarded grants to researchers in almost 600 research entities from 30 different counties. Israel placed 5th overall among the countries, with a total of 170 grants.

The European Research Council (ERC) grants support individual researchers of any nationality and age who wish to pursue their frontier research. The ERC encourages in particular proposals that cross disciplinary boundaries, pioneering ideas that address new and emerging fields and applications that introduce unconventional, innovative approaches.