Call for Proposals for ERC Starting Grant

ERC Starting Grant General conditions 1. Admissibility Conditions The conditions specific to ERC grants are described in the ERC Work Programme 2027 under the heading 1.4 'Admissibility, Eligibility, Resubmission Restrictions' and in the ERC Rules of Submission. An overview is provided below: Admissibility: A proposal must be complete (including all sections under 1.5 'Proposal Submission and Description' section), readable and, accessible. It must be submitted electronically by a Principal Investigator fulfilling the eligibility criteria (section 1.4.2.2 'Eligible Principal Investigator(s)') before the respective call deadline. The proposal must also satisfy the requirements set out in the documents referenced in the call for proposals. The Host Institution must confirm its association with, and its support to, the project and the Principal Investigator through a binding statement of support (i.e. the Host Institution Support Letter[1]). This statement must be provided at the time of application. [1] A template of the letter is annexed to the Information for Applicants document for the respective call: Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls, Information for Applicants to the Advanced Grant Call, Information for Applicants to the ERC Plus Call, Information for Applicants to the Synergy Grant Call. 2. Eligibility The content of the proposal must relate to the objectives and to the grant type set out in the call, as defined in the ERC Work Programme 2027 (section 1.1 ‘Objectives of ERC Grant Schemes’). If a proposal is considered not to relate to the objectives of the grant or call for proposals, it will be declared ineligible. Eligible Principal Investigators: The ERC grant schemes are open to researchers of any age and nationality, residing anywhere in the world at the time of application (except those subject to restrictions outlined in Annex 3 of the ERC Work Programme 2027), and wishing to carry out their research in one of the EU or Associated Country-based Host Institutions. Principal Investigators applying to the Starting Grant must meet specific eligibility criteria based on the time elapsed between the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree or an equivalent doctoral degree and the cut-off date specified in the ERC Work Programme 2027. A Principal Investigator applying for an ERC Starting must hold a PhD or an equivalent doctoral degree (for more information, including specific provisions for holders of medical degrees, see Annex 2). The Principal Investigators will be eligible for a Starting Grant if they have defended their PhD in the ten-year period preceding the 1st of January 2027. Cut-off dates: Successful defence of PhD between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2026 (inclusive). All Principal Investigators funded through an ERC Starting Grant must spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country and a minimum of 50% of their working time on the ERC project. Eligible Host Institution: 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 (see Annex 3 of the ERC Work Programme 2027) as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an international European research organisation (such as CERN, EMBL, etc.), or any other entity created under EU law. International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or an Associated Country shall be deemed to be established in that Member State or Associated Country. Eligible countries: The conditions specific to the ERC are described in the ERC Work Programme 2027 under the heading 1.4 ‘Admissibility, Eligibility, Resubmission Restrictions' and in Annex 3. An overview is provided below: ERC grant schemes are open to researchers of any age and nationality, residing anywhere in the world at the time of application (except those subject to restrictions outlined in see Annex 3 of the ERC Work Programme 2027), and wishing to carry out their research in one of the EU Member State or Associated Country-based Host Institutions. Eligible Scientific Field: Applications in any field of science are eligible for the ERC funding and the ERC welcomes research proposals of an interdisciplinary nature. Restrictions on applications: Given the large number of applications received every year, and the need to uphold the quality and integrity of the evaluation process, restrictions apply to the ERC main grant calls. For further details please consult the ERC Work Programme 2027, section 1.4.3 'Restrictions on applications’ and the corresponding Table 6 or the Frequently Asked Questions. 3. Proposal submissio