The proposed Action will provide the necessary support to the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the European Research Council Scientific Council (ERC ScC) to achieve key milestones and deliverables of the ScC, which are required in the fifth year of implementation of the Ideas specific programme.Under the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7) and the Ideas specific programme, the Commission has established the European Research Council providing a competitive funding mechanism for investigator-driven frontier research on European level. One of the key structural components of the ERC is the Scientific Council consisting of 22 researchers at the highest level, representative of a large range of disciplines and institutional backgrounds and acting independently. The ERC ScC establishes and oversees the ERC's scientific management and the implementation of the Work Programme, including the peer review and the selection of peer reviewers.The proposed project aims to support the ScC Chair and Vice-Chairs in the efficient and timely achievement of the ScC’s objectives in 2012. It will support and assist Professor Helga Nowotny, Chair of the ERC’s ScC, Professor Pavel Exner, and Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin, Vice-Chairs of the ERC’s ScC, in their diverse responsibilities which include the achievement of efficient and effective functioning of the ScC, its integrated operation together with the ERC Executive Agency (ERCEA), and effective interfacing with the scientific community, other funding agencies and the political institutions of the European Union. The project will provide administrative and research support ranging from secretarial tasks to assistance in developing policy papers related to the work of the Chair and Vice-Chairs of the ERC ScC for a period of one year.