About ERC grants

European Research Council (ERC) supports and further develops research that is defined by the scientist herself/himself (or a group of scientists for Synergy grants) and is at the cutting-edge of current knowledge.

This concerns the following types of grants:

• ERC Starting Grants
  ERC Starting Grants support outstanding early career researchers, who have demonstrated potential to become leaders in research. They are designed to help early career researchers develop their independent career at the stage at which they are starting to form their own research teams. Applicants may be researchers of any age and nationality who had earned their doctorate 2–7 years before the call for proposals was published. The maximum amount of the grant is EUR 1.5 million for a period of 5 years.
• ERC Consolidator Grants
  ERC Consolidator Grants are designed to enhance the career growth of outstanding early career researchers at the stage of creating or strengthening their existing research teams. Researchers of any age and nationality who had earned their PhD 7–12 years before the call for proposal was published, and who have also already achieved excellent research results, can apply for the grant. Under this scheme, researchers can receive a grant of up to EUR 2 million for a period of 5 years.
• ERC Advanced Grants
  These grants focus on support for research activities of internationally recognised experts who have already established themselves in their field and have made a significant impact there. In terms of originality, applicants must be excellent leaders in their field with demonstrable ground-breaking results in the last 10 years before the call for proposals was published. These outstanding researchers may receive a maximum of EUR 2.5 million for 5 years.
• ERC Synergy Grants
  A group of two to four excellent researchers can apply for a grant for a joint project. This type of grant assumes achievement of breakthroughs and discoveries that would not have been achieved if each researcher worked independently. Individual researchers may work in different scientific disciplines, but interdisciplinarity is not a condition for obtaining the grant. Synergy grants amount a maximum of EUR 10 million for a project period of up to 6 years.
• Proof-of-Concept
  This is an additional support of a maximum of EUR 150,000 aimed at the commercialisation of research outputs for those applicants who have already received an ERC grant in the past. The grant is open to researchers who are still working on their ERC project or who completed their project less than 12 months before 1 January of the year, in which they intend to submit their proposal. Financial support is provided for a period of one year (or a maximum of 18 months).
• Proof-of-Concept
  This is an additional support of a maximum of EUR 150,000 aimed at the commercialisation of research outputs for those applicants who have already received an ERC grant in the past. The grant is open to researchers who are still working on their ERC project or who completed their project less than 12 months before 1 January of the year, in which they intend to submit their proposal. Financial support is provided for a period of one year (or a maximum of 18 months).