Then, you may be eligible for an ERC grant.

European Research Council

There are four types of ERC grants and all of them have to be:

  • An excellent research proposal as the ERC supports the best researchers in Europe.
  • Open to any field of research in a bottom-up way.
  • Aimed at fundamental advances at and beyond the ‘frontier’ of knowledge.
  • Evaluated on only one criterion which is the scientific excellence of the researcher and the research proposal.
  • With a duration of up to 5 years.

ERC Starting Grant

  • It aims to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe.
  • For researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD (or equivalent degree) and scientific track record showing great promise.
  • Funding per grant: up to € 1.5 million (in some circumstances up to € 2 million).

ERC Consolidator Grant

  • It aims to support researchers at the stage at which they are consolidating their own independent research team or programme.
  • For researchers of any nationality with over 7 and up to 12 years of experience since completion of PhD (or equivalent degree) and scientific track record showing great promise.
  • Funding per grant: up to € 2 million (in some circumstances up to € 2.75 million).

ERC Advanced Grant

  • It allows exceptional established research leaders of any nationality and any age to pursue ground-breaking, high-risk projects that open new directions in their respective research fields or other domains.
  • For researchers of any nationality, any age. Applicants must be scientifically independent and have a recent research track-record and profile which identifies them as leaders in their respective field(s) of research.
  • Funding: up to € 2.5 million per grant (in some circumstances up to € 3.5 million per grant).

ERC Proof of Concept

  • ERC grant holders can apply for this additional funding to establish the innovation potential of ideas arising from their ERC-funded frontier research projects.
  • All Principal Investigators benefitting from an ERC Advanced, Consolidator or Starting Grant that is either ongoing, or where the project has ended less than 12 months before the publication date of an ERC Proof of Concept call.
  • The Principal Investigator must be able to demonstrate the relation between the idea to be taken to proof of concept and the ERC frontier research project (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy) in question.
  • Funding per grant: up to € 150.000.
  • Duration: up to 18 months.

Calls for proposals

  • Published once a year with three deadlines.
  • Applications can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the call until the final deadline and will be evaluated and selected in three rounds, based on three specific deadlines.
  • A Principal Investigator may submit only one Eligible application per call.

For more information:

http://erc.europa.eu/