European Research Council grants promised to UK-based researchers could be jeopardised in the event of a ¡°no-deal¡± Brexit, the UK government has warned.

on what would happen to funding allocated under the European Union¡¯s Horizon 2020 scheme if the UK crashes out of the bloc without striking a deal on its future relationship says that funding guarantees issued by the Westminster administration mean that UK-based researchers should still be able to take part in most programmes as ¡°third country¡± participants.

However, third country participation is not permitted under some Horizon 2020 calls, according to the guidance, published by the Department for Exiting the European Union.

This includes European Research Council grants ¨C typically seen as the most prestigious funding stream ¨C and some Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions, which support academic exchanges.

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Under the predecessor scheme to Horizon 2020, the UK secured €1.7 billion (?1.5 billion) of ERC funding , and €1.1 billion under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie initiative ¨C far more than any other EU country.

¡°The government is considering what other measures may be necessary to support UK research and innovation in the event that the guarantee and the extension are required,¡± the guidance says.

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Earlier this summer,?the Treasury announced?that it would guarantee funding until the end of the decade for research projects that had secured European funding, even in the event of a ¡°no-deal¡± Brexit.

However, the new guidance highlights that these guarantees only cover funding for UK participants, not European consortium partners.

¡°We are aware of some cases where UK participants lead a consortium and are responsible for distributing funding to the other participants; the UK government is seeking to discuss how this could best be addressed in a ¡®no-deal¡¯ scenario with the European Commission,¡± the guidance says. ¡°These discussions would also need to include consideration of projects where the UK¡¯s change in status from member state to third country could lead to concerns about ongoing compliance with Horizon 2020 rules (for example, where a consortium no longer meets the threshold for member state and/or associated country participants).¡±

The Francis Crick Institute, Europe¡¯s biggest biomedical research institute, based in London, warned that the loss of its ERC and Marie Sk?odowska-Curie would leave it?about ?6 million out of pocket every year.

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Sam Barrell, the Crick¡¯s chief operating officer, warned that failing to reach a ¡°sensible¡± agreement with the EU ¡°could seriously damage our ability to work with key EU partners and, as a result, harm the quality of UK science and our position on the world stage¡±.

¡°A ¡®no-deal¡¯ Brexit would undoubtedly be bad for science; the only real question is how bad. We should not underestimate the value of the UK¡¯s strong international position in science, and the potential impact of failing to reach a deal,¡± Dr Barrell said.

Beth Thompson, head of UK and EU policy at the Wellcome Trust, described the guidance as ¡°a step in the right direction to reducing risks¡±, but warned that ¡°even with the best preparation a ¡®no deal¡¯ will be damaging for research and science¡±.

But Graeme Reid, chair of science and research policy at UCL, said that his assessments of future ERC funding arrangements ¡°don¡¯t start with the assumption of a disaster¡±.

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¡°At an overall UK level, even if we get no more money at all from post-Brexit EU programmes, recent increases in [UK Research and Innovation] funding means there will be more research funding in the UK than there was on the day of the referendum,¡± Professor Reid said.

¡°But there are concentrations of EU funding in specific disciplines ¨C archaeology, law, economics and software engineering, for example ¨C and these would be damaged badly if EU funding ends with no compensation from UK sources.?

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¡°I have said before that, if the UK research base is like a piece?of?Cheddar, then Brexit could turn it into Swiss cheese ¨C solid overall but with holes punched through it in unpredictable places. This is true of all EU programmes, including [the] ERC.¡±

rachael.pells@timeshighereducation.com