What is the ERC
The European Research Council (ERC) is Europe's premier funding organisation for frontier research. Established in 2007, it is part of the European Union's Horizon Europe framework programme.
The ERC funds pioneering, high-risk research that leads to scientific breakthroughs across all scientific fields, from the natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences. The sole evaluation criterion is scientific excellence.
16 bn
Total ERC budget in Horizon Europe (2021-2027)
7 Nobel
Nobel Prizes awarded to ERC-funded researchers
13,000+
Researchers who have received ERC funding
Grant Types
Starting Grants (StG)
up to 1.5MFor researchers 2-7 years after PhD who want to start their independent research career and establish their own research team.
- check Duration: up to 5 years
- check Funding: up to 1,500,000
Consolidator Grants (CoG)
up to 2MFor researchers 7-12 years after PhD who already have a notable track record and want to consolidate their research team.
- check Duration: up to 5 years
- check Funding: up to 2,000,000
Advanced Grants (AdG)
up to 2.5MFor established researchers with a significant track record over the last 10 years who want to pursue ambitious, high-risk research programmes.
- check Duration: up to 5 years
- check Funding: up to 2,500,000
Synergy Grants (SyG)
up to 10MFor groups of 2-4 Principal Investigators who combine complementary skills and knowledge to tackle major research challenges.
- check Duration: up to 6 years
- check Funding: up to 10,000,000
Proof of Concept (PoC)
150KExclusively for existing ERC grantees who want to explore the commercial or social exploitation of their research results.
- check Duration: 18 months
- check Funding: 150,000
Evaluation Criteria
ERC proposal evaluation is based solely on the criterion of scientific excellence, which is analysed along two main axes:
Research Project
- check_circle Pioneering nature and ambition of the objective
- check_circle Appropriateness and innovation of the methodology
- check_circle Feasibility of the research plan
- check_circle Potential impact on science
Principal Investigator
- check_circle Scientific track record appropriate to career stage
- check_circle High-level and high-impact publications
- check_circle Leadership ability and intellectual independence
- check_circle Time commitment to the project
Important Information
Evaluation is conducted by international expert panels (peer review). For Starting and Consolidator Grants, candidates who pass the first stage are invited for an interview. Advanced and Synergy Grants are evaluated in two stages without a mandatory interview.