European Research Council (ERC) was established at 2007 during FP7 to fund European frontier research. The only criteria for ERC funding is scientific excellence and all decisions are made by scientists for scientists. ERC funds one Principal Investigator leading a team of researchers (no need for partners) . ERC funds any field of research (Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, Social Sciences and Humanities). ERC funds ground breaking, high risk-high gain projects that normally cannot be funded by national funding agencies. The host institution, where the principal investigator will do his/her research, must be established in an EU Member State or Associated Country like Turkey, The principal Investigator should spend a minimum of 50% of their total working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country like Turkey.
ERC offers three different funding opportunities for the researchers depending on the date that they have earned their PhD degree:
- 1. Starting Grant (StG)
- 2. Consolidator Grant (CoG)
- 3. Advanced Grant (AdG)
Synergy Grant calls are now also a part of ERC Calls. The purpose of Synergy Grants is to bring two to four researchers and address ambitious research questions using their complementary skills, knowledge and resources in unprecedented ways.
- 4. Synergy Grant (SyG)
ERC also offers additional funding only for ERC Grantees:
- 5. Proof of Concept (PoC)
Budget: 15 027 000 000 Euros
