European Research Council's most prestigious and competitive grant awarded to TNI researcher PRESS RELEASE - 17 June 2025, Amsterdam

The award comes from an exceptionally competitive field, with only 11% of the 2,534 applications selected for funding. This places Dr Chavez among Europe's top researchers pursuing groundbreaking scientific projects.

Global Research with Policy Impact

The S-OIL project addresses one of the most pressing challenges of our time: how national oil companies (NOCs) in Africa, Asia and Latin America will navigate the urgent need for global decarbonisation while maintaining a crucial role in their countries' economic and social development.

Dr Chavez and his future team of postdoctoral researchers and PhD students will combine various theoretical and methodological insights to transform current understanding of the strategies and prospects of these companies. The research highlights two critical dimensions: their massive significance in global decarbonisation efforts, and their domestic role in development politics, revenue generation, employment provision, and delivery of essential public goods and services.

About the Transnational Institute

TNI is a policy-oriented think tank dedicated to building a just, democratic and sustainable world. For over 50 years, TNI has served as a unique nexus between engaged scholarship, activism and policy-making, working on issues of globalisation, corporate power, climate justice, and democratic governance. TNI has consistently produced high-impact research that influences policy debates worldwide. In being able to house this important project, it expects to make a significant impact on green industrial policy debates in the Global South.

What the Reviewers Said

The ERC evaluation process recognised the exceptional quality of Dr Chavez's research project. One panel member observed that the project “is extremely well detailed in terms of broader and specific methodological approaches and overarching objectives,” bringing together “qualitative research, quantitative analysis and institutional analysis.”

Another reviewer argued that Dr Chavez's research proposal “excels not simply because of the fundamental importance of climate change and the challenges of decarbonisation,” but because the researcher is also “highly effective in arguing that national oil companies need much closer scrutiny, and demonstrating that existing research has major gaps when it comes to state-owned enterprises in general and national oil companies in particular.”

The ERC panel acknowledged Dr Chavez's “background in anthropology and political economy, which prepares him well for the proposed research.” The panel highlighted as a particular strength “his experience with reaching beyond academic contexts” and concluded that “he is clearly well-positioned to lead this ambitious project.”

A Groundbreaking Achievement

Dr Chavez was born and raised in Paysandú, an industrial city in the northwest of Uruguay. He is the seventh child of working-class parents and the first in his family to pursue university-level education. He graduated from Montevideo's Universidad de la República (UdelaR) and holds a master's and a doctoral degree from the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He is the first Uruguayan and Latin American social scientist awarded an ERC Advanced Grant.

Research Timeline and Future Impact

The five-year S-OIL project will begin in early 2026, with fieldwork planned across multiple continents. The research findings are expected to inform policy debates on energy transition, development finance, and climate governance at both national and international levels. The project's multi-disciplinary approach promises to generate insights relevant to policymakers, development practitioners, and civil society organisations working on energy justice and sustainable development.

Opening Doors for Future Research

Upon hearing the news, Fiona Dove, the TNI Executive Director, said: “The ERC Advanced Grant is awarded to the crème de la crème of science in Europe. Dr Chavez’ award is a testament to the excellence, policy relevance and rigour of our research production, and makes us very proud. TNI is a policy-oriented think tank with limited financial resources and without the support facilities for international research projects commonly available in universities, yet our researchers are considered very high standard. I hope this grant will open the door to additional and much-needed funding for other TNI researchers to pursue frontier projects addressing the variety of social, economic and ecological issues on which our institute is currently working.”

About the ERC Advanced Grant

The ERC is the premier European organisation for excellent frontier research. The Advanced Grants are amongst the world's most prestigious and competitive funding schemes, providing leading researchers with the opportunity to pursue ambitious and groundbreaking projects. ERC grantees conduct cutting-edge research spanning life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The Advanced Grants provide funding for established top scientists with an outstanding track record, ensuring significant resources over five years to implement cutting-edge research projects.

More information: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/erc-2024-advanced-grants-results

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For media inquiries and potential research collaborations:

Transnational Institute
Email: hildevanderpas@tni.org
Website: www.tni.org

About Dr Daniel Chavez:
Email: chavez@tni.org
Website: www.tni.org/en/profile/daniel-chavez