European Research Council

Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are starting their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their research proposal. A Starting Grant Principal Investigator should have already shown evidence of the potential for research independence, for example by having produced at least one important publication as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor. Eligible PIs must have successfully defended their first PhD (or doctoral equivalent) between 2 to 7 years prior to the start of the Work Programme year. Eligibility periods can be extended for properly documented circumstances: Maternity, Paternity, Long-term illness or national service, Clinical training, Natural Disaster, Seeking Asylum.

• Maximum funding Up to EUR 1 500 000 for a period of 5 years. Additional funding up to EUR 1 000 000.
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent on the project: 50%
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent working in a Member State or Associated Country: 50%

Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their research proposal. A Consolidator Grant Principal Investigator should have already shown evidence of research independence. Eligible PIs must have successfully defended their first PhD (or doctoral equivalent) between 7 to 12 years prior to the start of the Work Programme year. Eligibility periods can be extended for properly documented circumstances: Maternity, Paternity, Long-term illness or national service, Clinical training, Natural Disaster, Seeking Asylum.

• Maximum funding Up to EUR 2 000 000 for a period of 5 years. Additional funding up to EUR 1 000 000
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent on the project: 40%
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent working in a Member State or Associated Country: 50%

Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are already established research leaders with a recognised track record of research achievements. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their research proposal. An ERC Advanced Grant Principal Investigator is expected to be an active researcher and to have a track record of significant research achievements.

• Maximum funding Up to EUR 2 500 000 for a period of 5 years. Additional funding up to EUR 1 000 000.
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent on the project: 30%
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent working in a Member State or Associated Country: 50%

Support for a small group of two to four Principal Investigators to jointly address ambitious research problems that could not be addressed by the individual Principal Investigators and their teams working alone. Synergy projects should enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge, stemming, for example, from the cross fertilisation of scientific fields, from new productive lines of enquiry, or new methods and techniques, including unconventional approaches and investigations at the interface between established disciplines. The transformative research funded by Synergy Grants should have the potential of becoming a benchmark on a global scale. Principal Investigators of any career stage are welcome and must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of their research proposal. Principal Investigators must also demonstrate that their group can successfully bring together the scientific elements necessary to address the scope and complexity of the proposed research question. Applications must be submitted by a group of a minimum of two and a maximum of four innovative and active Principal Investigators, referred to as the 'Synergy Grant Group', with competitive track records as appropriate to their career stage. Synergy Grant Groups are expected to demonstrate that they can successfully bring together those elements – such as skills, knowledge, experience, expertise, disciplines, methods, approaches, teams, access to infrastructures – necessary to address the scope and complexity of the proposed research question. Applicants are expected to describe the contribution of each PI, their team, and the resources to achieve the objectives proposed.

• Maximum Funding Up to EUR 10 000 000 for a period of 6 years. Additional funding up to EUR 4 000 000.
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent on the project: 30%
• Minimum percentage of the working time of a Principal Investigator that must be spent working in a Member State or Associated Country: 50% for each Principal Investigator engaged and hosted by an institution in the EU or Associated Countries