European Research Council (ERC)

What is an ERC grant?

ERC grants support excellent researchers of any nationality to conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research at institutions in European Member States and Associated Countries. It targets researchers at different stages in their careers and intends to encourage the highest quality researchers in Europe. 

ERC grants can be held in any field of research and are awarded by peer review, where the excellence of the research and PI are the only evaluation criteria. 

Who can apply for an ERC?

The ERC offers 5 grant schemes:

• Starting Grant for researchers 2-7 years post PhD offers up to 1.5 mil EUR over 5 years 
• Consolidator Grant for researchers 7-12 years post PhD offers up to 2 mil EUR over 5 years
• Advanced Grant for experienced researchers offers up to 2.5 mil EUR over 5 years
• Synergy Grant for 2-4 PIs to work together offers up to 10 mil EUR over 6 years
• Proof of Concept Grant for current and recently completed ERC grantees offers up to 1150,000 EUR over 18 months to explore the commerical and/or social innovation potential of ERC research

How can UiB support your ERC application?

UiB's externally funded project support team (BOA Team) works in collaboration with local services to offer comprehensive help to applicants, beginning in the pre-award phase and continuing throughout the project's lifetime.

• Application: CV and scientific concept appraisal; funding to work with an ERC academic mentor; financial project establishment  support; dedicated project team to support the development, writing and budgeting of your proposal to deadline
• Interview: support to develop & refine your online profile; presentation preparation support; mock panel interview
• Follow-up (if you aren't successful this time): meeting to discuss how you could re-use, re-cycle and/or re-submit your proposal
• Grant preparation: support with contract negotiations
• Launch: project start-up meeting between department, faculty and PI
• Project management: support with questions relating to reporting 

Next steps

If you would like to find out more or wish to apply for an ERC grant, please contact your local research adviser. If you don't have a local adviser you can contact ERC Local Contact Katie Anders directly. 

Useful resources 

The ERC Grants webpage provides information on current and former grantees at UiB

The ERC datahub maps ERC projects from around Europe