ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS

Home Funding Calls for proposals ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS ERC-2026-POC Topic Call for proposal Internal navigation General information Topic description Topic updates Conditions and documents Budget overview Partner search announcements Start submission Topic Q&As Get support General information Programme Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Call Call for proposals for ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-POC) Type of action HORIZON-ERC-POC HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants Type of MGA HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Open For Submission Deadline model multiple cut-off Opening date 20 January 2026 Deadline dates 17 March 2026 17:00:00 Brussels time 17 September 2026 17:00:00 Brussels time Topic description Objective: The ERC Proof of Concept Grants aim at facilitating exploration of the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC funded research and are therefore available only to Principal Investigators whose proposals draw substantially on their ERC funded research. Scope: Size of ERC Proof of Concept Grants: The financial contribution will be awarded as a single lump sum of EUR 150 000 for a period of eighteen months. Extensions of the duration of Proof of concept projects may be granted only exceptionally. The lump sum will cover the beneficiaries' direct and indirect eligible costs for the project: if the project is implemented properly the amounts will be paid regardless of the costs actually incurred. The lump sum is designed to cover the beneficiaries’ personnel costs, subcontracting costs, purchase costs, other cost categories, and indirect costs. Profile of the ERC Proof of Concept Eligible Principal Investigator The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is open to Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant is ongoing, or Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant ends on or after 1 January 2025. For further information please see the ERC Work Programme 2026. Show more Topic updates 18 March 2026 ERC-2026-POC (HORIZON-ERC-POC) - Deadline 1 (cut-off 20260317): A total of 561 proposals were submitted in response to the first intermediate deadline of this call (17 March 2026). In comparison to the 2025 first cut-off (with 489 proposals submitted), this represents a 15% increase. The second and final deadline for submission is 17 September 2026 at 17:00 (Brussels local time). NB: According to the ERC Work Programme 2026, Principal Investigators may submit only one proposal under the Work Programme 2026 Proof of Concept call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. Evaluation results for this first deadline are expected to be communicated beginning of July 2026. 20 January 2026 The submission session is now available for: ERC-2026-POC Show more Topic conditions and documents General conditions 1. Admissibility and Eligibility Conditions The conditions specific to the ERC grants are described in the ERC Work Programme 2026 under the heading “Admissibility, Eligibility, and Resubmission Restrictions” and in the ERC Rules for Submission and Evaluation . An overview is provided below: Eligible Principal Investigator: The ERC Proof of Concept Grant 2026 call is open to Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant is ongoing, or Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant ends on or after 1 January 2025, subject to restrictions provided in Annex 3 of this ERC Work Programme 2026. Resubmission Restriction: Principal Investigators may submit ONLY ONE proposal under this Work Programme Proof of Concept 2026 call. If an applicant also submits a proposal at the next cut-off date within the same year, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. A Principal Investigator whose proposal was rejected on the grounds of a breach of research integrity in the calls for proposals under Work Programmes 2024 or 2025 may not submit a proposal to the ERC-2026-PoC call. Synergy Grant Principal Investigators are eligible to apply to the Proof of Concept call only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project. Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project can submit one Proof of Concept application each under this Work Programme. Eligible Host Institution: The host institution (Applicant Legal Entity) must engage the Principal Investigator for at least the duration of the Proof of Concept project, as defined in the grant agreement, and must be established in a Member State or an Associated Country as a legal entity created under applicable national law (see also "Eligible countries' below). Any type of legal entity, public or private, including a university, a research organisation, or an undertaking can host a Principal Investigator and their team. To participate in ERC frontier research actions the Host Institution must be established either in an EU Member State or an Associated Country as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an international European research organisation (such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), etc.), or any other entity created under EU law. International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Associated Country shall be deemed to be established in that Member State or Associated Country. Where they bring added scientific value to the project, additional team members may be hosted by other legal entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries, or international organisations, subject to restrictions provided in Annex 3 of the ERC Work Programme 2026. Legal entities established outside the European Union or an Associated Country are eligible for funding in the following cases: ▪ their participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action, ▪ they host team members bringing added scientific value to the project, provided that they are not excluded from participation or subject to restrictive measures set out in Annex 3. Gender Equality Plan :To be eligible, legal entities from a Member State or Associated Country that are public bodies, research organisations, or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must have a gender equality plan or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. The gender equality plan or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to this ERC Work Programme 2026. 2. Eligible Countries The conditions specific to the ERC are described in the ERC Work Programme 2026. under the heading “Admissibility, Eligibility, and Resubmission Restrictions” and in Annex 3. An overview is provided below: The ERC actions are open to researchers of any nationality who intend to conduct their research activity in any Member State or Associated Country. Principal Investigators may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. 3. Admissible and eligible proposals All proposals must be complete, readable, accessible, and be submitted before the relevant deadline. Applications to the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept Grant call will be evaluated and selected in two rounds, based on two specific cut-off dates. Incomplete proposals may be declared inadmissible (see below: “Proposal submission and description”). The content of the proposal must relate to the objectives and to the grant type set out in the call, as defined in this Work Programme. If a proposal is considered not to relate to the objectives of the grant and/or call for proposals, it will be declared ineligible. Where there is a doubt on the admissibility or eligibility of a proposal, the evaluation may proceed pending a decision of the Responsible Authorising Officer following the opinion of the admissibility and eligibility review committee. If it becomes clear before, during, or after the evaluation phase, that one or more of the admissibility or eligibility criteria have not been met, the proposal will be declared inadmissible or ineligible and it will be rejected. Submission restrictions: A maximum of three Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per main grant project, except for Synergy Grant, in which case a maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per ERC funded project. Proof of Concept Grants may run in parallel provided they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in the Work Programme under which they have been awarded. Proposal submission and description: An Information for Applicants guidance is published on the ERC website and on the EU Funding & tenders opportunities Portal: it describes in detail how the submission forms should be completed. A list of Frequently Asked Questions (Q&As) is also available below (see: 'Topic Q&As'). ATTENTION: use the new Part A and Part B forms specific to the ERC PoC Lump Sum Grant call 2026 under Horizon Europe - please download the latest version at the submission link below. A complete PoC proposal is composed of: • Administrative Part A form: is an electronic submission form, available at step 5 of the submission process, once the draft proposal is created through the submission link below. (NB: To access the submission tool, you need first to register to the Funding & tender opportunities Participant Portal.) • Proposal Part B form and annexes: download the two templates available from the submission link below (at step 5, after creation of draft proposal), fill in, upload in PDF format only and submit it via the submission tool. - Part B (Proposal description): will provide detailed descriptions of the PoC project, its objectives, planning, execution, and required resources. It will comprise the following required elements: - The idea and justification of the breakthrough innovation potential: max. 3 pages - The approach and methodology to explore the innovation potential: max. 6 pages - The strategic lead and project management of the Principal Investigator: max. 1 page. • Host Institution Binding Statement of Support Letter (NB: For Principal Investigators in a Synergy grant, only the host institution of the Principal Investigator applying to the PoC call must confirm its association with and its support to the project and the Principal Investigator.) • If applicable, an Ethics review self-assessment (with documentation related to ethics or security issues) and Letters of support or intent from potential stakeholders can be uploaded (in PDF format only). Proposal templates are provisional and will be available after entering the submission tool below. To ensure fairness to all applicants a strict limit of ten pages (excluding the headers, Title of proposal, Abstract, references, and the risk mitigation table) will be applied to the length of proposals. Only the material that is presented within this limit will be evaluated (reviewers will only be asked to evaluate, and will be under no obligation to read beyond, the material presented within the page limit). The following parameters must be respected for the layout: A4 Page format, Times New Roman (or Arial or similar) Font type, at least 11 Font size, Single line spacing, 2 cm side margins, 1,5 cm top and bottom margins. Complete proposals must be submitted electronically via the submission tool available through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Further detailed guidance in the 'IT HOW TO' wiki site. Early registration and submission is strongly recommended and should be done as early as possible before the call deadline. 4. Fin [... συνέχεια στην επίσημη πρόσκληση]