European Research Council (ERC)

European Research Council, set up by the EU in 2007, provides attractive and flexible funding to enable talented and creative individual researchers, with an emphasis on early stage researchers, and their teams to pursue the most promising avenues at the frontier of science, on the basis of EU-wide competition based solely on the criterion of excellence.

ERC grantees have already made advances in new and emerging technological fields, including clean and digital technologies, as well as in many other areas targeted by the key strategic orientations of the Horizon Europe strategic plan.

European Research Council website

ERC funding opportunities are set out in an annual work programme, established by the ERC Scientific Council and subsequently adopted by the European Commission.

ERC Work Programme 2022

ERC work programme 2023

All funding information and details on how to apply are on the Funding and Tenders portal.

The ERC offers 4 main grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants and Synergy Grants.

Starting Grant: up to €1.5 million. Duration: up to 5 years. 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD.

Consolidator Grant: up to €2 million. Duration: up to 5 years. 7-12 years of experience since completion of PhD.

Advanced Grant: up to €2.5 million. Duration: up to 5 years. An excellent scientific track record of recognized achievements in the last 10 years.

Synergy Grant: 2-4 researchers (one can be based outside Europe). Up to a maximum of €10 million for a period of 6 years.

There are 4 routes for this:

Jobs in ERC teams: Recipients of ERC grants can use their funding to recruit other researchers and team members for their project. On average, each team has 4-5 members. Since its inception, ERC funding has helped create jobs for thousands of researchers.

Visiting Research Fellowships: A number of European countries fund research visits to established ERC projects in order to develop researchers’ potential before they apply for their first ERC grant.

International Arrangement funding: International agreements with funding agencies and science ministries in China, South Africa, the United States and some other countries support early-career researchers to temporarily join ERC teams in Europe.

Mentoring Initiative : the mentoring initiative will boost existing support programmes for ERC applicants by helping to identify international experts to provide coaching and advice.