On June 2, 2025, the ERC Scientific Council issued a press release sharing with researchers the planned major changes it intends to implement under the 2026 and 2027 ERC Work Programmes.
Changes in the 2026 Work Programme
Application Format:
Under the 2026 calls, expected to be officially published on July 9, the application format will be simplified and page limits will be reduced. The Scientific Council has explained, in the press release, what type of information is expected in each section. These changes do not apply to the currently open ERC-2025-AdG call.
Part I of the Scientific Proposal (formerly the “Extended Synopsis” of the B1 form): This section should include the state of knowledge, how the project will contribute to the field, the scientific questions to be addressed, project objectives, and the overall approach or research strategy to achieve these objectives. The page limit for this section remains at 5 pages, as before.
Part II of the Scientific Proposal (formerly the B2 form): This section should describe the research methodology, work plan, risk assessment and mitigation measures, justification of the requested budget and resources, and any additional background information not included in Part I. For SyG applications, collaboration arrangements that will enable the SyG group to carry out the project must also be described here. This section will be limited to 7 pages for StG, CoG, and AdG, and 10 pages for SyG.
Evaluation Process:
It has been stated that feasibility will no longer be assessed at Step 1; thus, Part I of the Scientific Proposal should no longer include details on the feasibility of the scientific approach but present a convincing overall research strategy. All aspects relating to feasibility should be covered in Part II of the Scientific Proposal.
Additional €2 Million for Researchers Coming from Outside Europe:
An extra €1 million will be made available on top of the €1 million “start-up” funding (e.g., for setting up a lab, recruiting a team, purchasing equipment) for researchers relocating to an EU Member or Associated Country. For instance, a researcher planning to move from the US to Türkiye and applying for the ERC-2026-CoG call may request up to €2 million in addition to the standard maximum €2 million for the project proposal, thus receiving up to €4 million in total. No changes are planned for Synergy Grants in this regard.
New Funding Mechanism (“ERC Super Grants”):
The Scientific Council has announced that it is working on a new substantial, 7-year funding scheme referred to as “ERC Super Grants”, which was introduced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in May 2025 as part of the “Choose Europe for Science” initiative. The Council aims to launch this scheme by the end of 2025 via an update to the 2026 Work Programme. Further details will be shared in due course.
Extension of PhD Eligibility Window:
Researchers who have taken parental leave or experienced gender-based violence or other forms of violence will be able to request an extension of the PhD eligibility window in their applications, provided that appropriate documentation is submitted.
Reapplication Rules:
Applicants who receive a “B” score in the first step of the 2025 SyG call evaluation will not be eligible to apply to the ERC-2026-SyG call.
Researchers currently holding an ongoing ERC grant must ensure that their project is scheduled to end within two years of the 2026 call deadline in order to be eligible to apply.
Changes in the 2027 Work Programme
Extension of the PhD Eligibility Window:
The Scientific Council has announced that in the 2027 Work Programme, the PhD eligibility window for StG and CoG calls will be broadened. Under the new rule:
Researchers may apply to the StG call from the moment they defend their PhD up to 10 years afterward.
The CoG call will be open to researchers who defended their PhD 5–15 years ago
The exact method of calculation has not yet been officially published. More details on the implementation of this rule will be shared in due course.
Maximum Number of Projects:
The Scientific Council has decided that, starting with the 2027 calls:
A researcher will be allowed to receive a maximum of one StG and one CoG grant throughout their career.
No such limits will apply for AdG and SyG grants.
You can access the official press release via the ERC website:
https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/changes-2026-and-2027-work-programmes
For questions, you may contact us at ncperc@tubitak.gov.tr.