EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Version

Publication

Date

Description

1.0

25.02.2021

▪ Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant 2021 Calls

2.0

29.03.2021

▪ Updated version (clarifications added to the sections on Gender Equality Plan,

Career stages and updated reference and hyperlink of the HE General MGA)

3.0

21.09.2021

▪ Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant 2022 Calls

4.0

09.11.2021

▪ Updated version (the link to the Guide for Peer Reviewers on page 2 has been

corrected)

5.0

12.07.2022

▪ Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant 2023 Calls

6.0

20.07.2022

▪ Updated version (clarifications added to the sections on Admissibility and

Eligibility, and Supporting Documents for the PhD reference date)

7.0

11.07.2023

▪ Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant 2024 Calls

8.0.

10.07.2024

▪ Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant 2025 Calls

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Information for Applicants to the

Starting and Consolidator Grant 2025 Calls

European Research Council (ERC)

Frontier Research Grants

Main changes in 2025:

- Eligibility extension: two new categories for eligibility extensions (disability and major

disasters) have been added.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

The present document is based on the legal documents setting the rules and conditions for the ERC

frontier research grants, in particular:

➢ the ERC Work Programme 2025

➢ the European Research Council rules of submission, and the related methods and procedures

for peer review and proposal evaluation relevant to the specific programme implementing

Horizon Europe (hereinafter ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon Europe),

and

➢ the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions.

This document complements and does not supersede the afore-mentioned documents, which are

legally binding and prevail in case of discrepancies. The European Commission, the ERC Executive

Agency or any person or body acting on their behalf cannot be held responsible for the use made of

this document.

The Guide for ERC Peer Reviewers applicable to Starting and Consolidator grant calls, provides

practical information on the evaluation process.

National Contact Points (ERC NCPs) have been set up across Europe

by the national governments to

provide information and personalised support to ERC applicants in their native language. The mission

of the ERC NCPs is to raise awareness, inform and advise on ERC funding opportunities as well as to

support potential applicants in the preparation, submission and follow-up of ERC grant applications.

For details on the ERC NCP in your country, please consult the ERC website or the EU Funding &

Tenders Portal.

For any questions related to the call, please contact the relevant Call coordination team:

ERC-2025-STG-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu or ERC-2025-COG-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu

Abbreviations

European Commission C(2024)4450 of 9 July 2024.

This applies to EU Member States and Associated Countries. Some other countries also provide this service.

Please check the Horizon Europe Programme Guide on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for up-to-date information on the

current position for Associated Countries.

AC - Associated Country

HE - Horizon Europe Framework Programme

ADG - Advanced Grant

HI - host institution

COG - Consolidator Grant

PI - Principal Investigator

ERC - European Research Council

PM - Panel Member

ERC WP - ERC Work Programme

PIC - Participant Identification Code

ERC panel - ERC peer review evaluation panel

SEP - Submission and Evaluation of Proposals (online tool)

ERC NCP - ERC National Contact Points

STG - Starting Grant

ERCEA - ERC Executive Agency

SYG - Synergy Grant

EU MS - EU Member States

ScC - ERC Scientific Council

F&T Portal - EU Funding & Tenders Portal [Single

Electronic Data Interchange Area (SEDIA)]

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Content

1. ERC STARTING AND CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS 2025

1.1 ERC FUNDING PRINCIPLES ...................................................................................... 3

1.2 ADMISSIBILITY AND ELIGIBILITY ............................................................................. 6

1.3 EVALUATION PROCESS ........................................................................................... 9

1.4 ETHICS AND SECURITY ......................................................................................... 14

1.5 MEANS OF REDRESS, ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS…………………………………………….15

1.6 QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE CALL…………………………………………………………….……………….17

2. COMPLETING AN APPLICATION ................................................................................... 18

2.1 OVERVIEW OF AN ERC APPLICATION .................................................................... 18

2.2 THE ADMINISTRATIVE FORM ............................................................................... 18

2.3 THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL ................................................................................... 20

2.4 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION .......................................................................... 25

3. SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION .................................................................................... 27

3.1 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ................................................................................. 27

3.2 HOW TO APPLY .................................................................................................... 28

3.3 HOW TO WITHDRAW A PROPOSAL ...................................................................... 31

4. ANNEXES .................................................................................................................... 32

4.1 ERC EVALUATION PANELS AND KEYWORDS .......................................................... 32

4.2 HOST INSTITUTION SUPPORT LETTER TEMPLATE 2025…………………….……………………44

4.3 PHD AND EQUIVALENT DOCTORAL DEGREES ........................................................ 47

4.4 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR THE PHD REFERENCE DATE AND EXTENSION

REQUESTS .................................................................................................................... 50

4.5 LIST OF BLOCKING FIELDS IN THE ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM .............................. 55

4.6 PROPOSAL BUDGET REPORT ................................................................................ 56

4.7. TEMPLATE FOR REQUESTING ELIGIBILITY EXTENSION ……………………………….………… 58

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

1. ERC STARTING AND CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS 2025

1.1 ERC FUNDING PRINCIPLES

The ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants are part of the main ERC frontier research grants 2025

funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe Framework Programme for Research and

Innovation.

The ERC's main frontier research grants aim to empower individual researchers and provide the best

settings to foster their creativity. Scientific excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation. Please see

below an overview of all ERC 2025 main frontier research calls.

Single Principal Investigator (PI) heading a research team

The ERC Starting and Consolidator grants support individual researchers that are starting or

consolidating their own independent research team or programme, and who can demonstrate the

ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal. In certain fields (e.g. in

the humanities and mathematics), where research is often performed individually, the 'team' may

consist solely of the Principal Investigator.

Research fields – no predetermined priorities

The ERC's frontier research grants operate on a 'bottom-up' basis and applications can be made in

any field of research with an emphasis on the frontiers of science, scholarship and engineering

. In

particular, the ERC welcomes proposals of interdisciplinary nature, which cross the boundaries

between different fields of research, pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of

research or proposals introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions.

The focus is on the Principal Investigator and on the individual team. Support for consortia

provided by other calls under Horizon Europe. Projects wholly or largely consisting of the collation

and compilation of existing material in new databases, editions or collections are unlikely to

constitute ground-breaking or frontier research, however useful such resources might be to

subsequent original research. Such projects are therefore unlikely to be recommended for funding by

the ERC panels. As ERC funds frontier research, careful consideration should be given so to propose

truly novel ideas, not just continuations of ongoing work or existing collaboration.

Research proposals within the scope of Annex I to the Euratom Treaty, namely those directed towards nuclear energy

applications shall be submitted to relevant calls under the Euratom Research and Training Programme.

Consortium agreements are not required for ERC multi-beneficiary grants, as the Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced

Grants will support projects carried out by individual teams, which are headed by a single Principal Investigator. The ERC

Synergy Grant Groups are neither networks nor consortia of undertakings, universities, research centres, or other legal

entities.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Evaluation and peer review

The ERC's evaluation process is conducted by peer review panels composed of independent external

experts who are renowned scientists and scholars. The panel chair and members are selected by the

ERC Scientific Council on the basis of their scientific merits. The panels may be assisted by other

independent external experts working remotely.

Open Science

Open science is a general principle of the Horizon Europe programme, and a core principle of the

ERC. The ERC is committed to the principle of open access to the published output of research,

including, in particular, peer-reviewed articles and monographs. It also supports the basic principle of

open access to research data and data-related products such as computer code, algorithms,

software, workflows, protocols, electronic notebooks or any other forms of research output. The ERC

considers that providing free online access to all these materials can be the most effective way of

ensuring that the results of the research it funds can be accessed, read and used as the basis for

further advancement.

Under Horizon Europe, beneficiaries of ERC grants must ensure immediate open access to all peer-

reviewed scientific publications

related to their results as set out in the Annex 5 of the applicable

Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions. Open access has to be provided with full re-use rights

Beneficiaries must ensure that they or the authors retain sufficient intellectual property rights to

comply with their open access requirements and the grant agreement obligations

. Publishing costs

can be considered as eligible costs provided that the publishing venue (e.g. journal, book) is fully

open access.

In addition, beneficiaries of ERC frontier research grants funded under the ERC WP 2025 will be

covered by the provisions on research data management as set out in the applicable Model Grant

Agreement used for ERC actions. In particular, whenever a project generates research data,

beneficiaries are required to manage it in line with the principles of findability, accessibility,

interoperability, and reusability as described by the FAIR principles initiative

, and establish a data

management plan within the first six months of project implementation. Open access to research

data should be ensured under the principle ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’. These

provisions are designed to facilitate access, re-use and preservation of the research data generated

during the ERC funded research work.

Funding

Starting Grants can be up to a maximum of EUR 1 500 000 for a period of 5 years. Consolidator

Grants can be up to a maximum of EUR 2 000 000 for a period of 5 years. For projects of shorter

duration, the maximum amount of the grant is reduced pro rata

Additional funding up to EUR 1 000 000 can be requested in the proposal for STG and COG to cover

the following eligible costs when these are necessary to carry out the proposed work:

This includes peer-reviewed book chapters and long-text publications such as monographs, edited collections, critical

editions, scholarly exhibition catalogues, or PhD theses.

For monographs and other long-text formats, commercial re-use and derivative works may be excluded (as specified in the

Annex 5 of the applicable Model Grant Agreement for ERC Actions under Horizon Europe).

The granting authority may, up to four years after the end of the action, object to a transfer of ownership or to the

exclusive licensing of results, as set out in the specific provision of Annex 5 of the applicable Model Grant Agreement used

for ERC actions. If requested by the granting authority, additional obligations to grant non-exclusive licenses for the

exploitation of results apply to the beneficiaries of ERC frontier research grants in case of a public emergency (applicable up

to four years after the end of the action).

https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.18.

This does not apply to ongoing projects.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

(a) "start-up" costs for Principal Investigators moving to the EU or an AC from elsewhere as a

consequence of receiving the ERC grant and/or

(b) the purchase of major equipment and/or

(d) other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs.

Additional funding is not subject to pro rata temporis reduction for projects of shorter duration

. All

funding requested is assessed during evaluation.

Eligible project costs will be reimbursed at a funding rate of 100% for direct costs plus a flat-rate of

25% for indirect costs

Research integrity

Cases of scientific misconduct such as fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or misrepresentation of

data

may result in the rejection of proposals from the current call and in a possible restriction on

submission of proposals to future calls, as provided in the relevant ERC Work Programme

. Please

also note that a plagiarism detection software is used to analyse all submitted proposals in order to

detect similar proposals submitted by different Principal Investigators. A procedure is in place to

assess alleged or suspected cases of scientific misconduct. Scientific misconduct may result in the

rejection of the proposal from the current call and in a possible restriction on submission of

proposals to future calls, as provided in the relevant ERC Work Programme.

Starting and Consolidator Grant profiles

Principal Investigator must provide a list of achievements reflecting their track record. A short

narrative describing the scientific importance of the research outputs and the role played by the

Principal Investigator in their production may also be included.

Applicants are encouraged to evaluate their track record and research independence against the

below-mentioned benchmarks, in order to judge their likelihood for success and to avoid investing

efforts in proposals that are very unlikely to succeed.

Starting Grant

Consolidator Grant

A competitive Starting Grant Principal

Investigator should have already shown

evidence of the potential for research

independence, for example by having produced

at least one important publication as main

author or without the participation of their PhD

supervisor.

A competitive Consolidator Grant Principal

Investigator should have already shown

evidence of research independence.

The maximum award is reduced pro rata temporis for projects of a shorter duration (e.g. for a Consolidator Grant project

of 48 months duration the maximum requested EU contribution allowed is 1.600.000 €). Additional funding to cover major

one-off costs is not subject to pro-rata temporis reduction for projects of shorter duration (e.g. with additional funding it is

possible to request a maximum EU contribution of 2.600.000 € for a project of 48 months duration).

Excluding the direct eligible costs for subcontracting and internally invoiced goods and services.

For example, if (i) in the list of publications, the order of authors does not appear as indicated in the original publications;

(ii) the written consent of the research collaborators mentioned in the proposal is not obtained before the call submission

deadline.

See section 3.11 of the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon Europe.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

1.2 ADMISSIBILITY AND ELIGIBILITY

Admissible and eligible proposals

All proposals must be complete, readable, and accessible. They must be submitted by eligible

Principal Investigators before the relevant call deadlines. Please see section 2.1 for an overview of a

complete ERC proposal. Proposals that do not meet these criteria may be declared inadmissible. All

scientific fields are eligible for ERC funding

All applications and the related supporting information are reviewed to ensure that all admissibility

and eligibility criteria are met. The proposal's content should be related to the objectives of the

Starting and Consolidator Grant calls and must meet all admissibility and eligibility requirements as

defined in the ERC WP 2025. Where there is a doubt about the admissibility or eligibility of a

proposal, the peer review evaluation may proceed pending a decision of the Responsible Authorising

Officer following the opinion of the admissibility and eligibility review committee. The fact that a

proposal is evaluated in such circumstances does not constitute a proof of its admissibility or

eligibility. If it becomes clear before, during, or after the peer review evaluation phase, that one or

more of the admissibility or eligibility criteria has not been met (for example, due to incorrect or

misleading information), the proposal will be declared inadmissible or ineligible and it will be

rejected.

Host institution

The host institution (HI) must engage the Principal Investigator for at least the duration of the

project, as defined in the grant agreement

. It must either be established in an EU Member State

(EU MS) or Associated Country (AC)

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 MS or AC will be deemed to be

established in this EU MS or AC. Any type of legal entity, public or private, including universities,

research organisations and undertakings can host Principal Investigators and their teams. To be

eligible, legal entities from an EU MS or AC 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 (GEP) 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 of the ERC WP 2025. The ERC welcomes applications from Principal

Investigators hosted by private for-profit research centres, including industrial laboratories.

Normally, the Principal Investigator will be employed by the host institution, but cases where, for

duly justified reasons, the Principal Investigator's employer cannot become the host institution, or

where the Principal Investigator is self-employed, can be accommodated. The specific conditions of

engagement will be subject to clarification and approval during the granting procedure or during the

amendment procedure for a change of host institution. During the granting process, the financial

capacity of applicant legal entities will be assessed, if required

Research proposals within the scope of Annex I to the Euratom Treaty, namely those directed towards nuclear energy

applications shall be submitted to relevant calls under the Euratom Research and Training Programme.

Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions.

See footnote 3.

The applicant legal entity must have stable and sufficient resources (‘financial capacity’) to successfully implement the

projects and contribute their share. Organisations participating in several projects must have sufficient capacity to

implement all these projects. Information on financial capacity checks is provided in the ERC Rules of submission and

evaluation under Horizon Europe. Applicants that are subject to the administrative sanction of exclusion or are in one of the

exclusion situations set out in the Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (‘the

EU Financial Regulation’) are banned from receiving EU grants and can NOT participate. Please see Articles 136 and 141 of

the EU Financial Regulation, as well as important information on possible exclusion and registration of economic operators

in the Commission's Early Detection and Exclusion System (EDES) on the final page of the ERC Work Programme 2025.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Principal Investigator

ERC grants are open to researchers of any nationality who intend to conduct their research activity in

any EU MS or an AC

. The research team may be of national or trans-national character. The

Principal Investigator does not need to be employed by the host institution at the time when the

proposal is submitted. If not already employed by the host institution, the Principal Investigator must

be engaged by the latter at least for the duration of the grant. Grant proposals are submitted by the

Principal Investigator who takes scientific responsibility for the project, on behalf of the host

institution.

In order to be eligible to apply to the ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant, a Principal Investigator must

hold a PhD or an equivalent doctoral degree. The reference date used for calculation of the eligibility

period should be the date of the successful defence/viva of the first PhD (or equivalent doctoral

degree).

The ERC policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees, including specific provisions for

holders of medical degrees, is provided in Annex 4.3.

Starting Grant

Consolidator Grant

The first PhD shall have been successfully

defended

> 2 and ≤ 7 years

prior to 1 January 2025

Cut-off dates:

Successful defence of first PhD

from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022

(inclusive)

The first PhD shall have been successfully

defended

> 7 and ≤ 12 years

prior to 1 January 2025

Cut-off dates:

Successful defence of first PhD

from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017

(inclusive)

The eligibility periods set out in the table above can be extended beyond 7 and 12 years for the

Starting and Consolidator Grants, respectively, for certain properly documented circumstances such

as for maternity and paternity leaves, clinical training, long-term illness, disability, national service,

major disaster or seeking asylum. In case the Principal Investigator holds more than one PhD degree,

the defence date of the first PhD is always considered as the starting point of the eligibility window,

irrespective of the research field (see Annex 4.3 for further details).

Expected time commitment

With the support of the host institution, the successful Principal Investigators are expected to lead

their individual teams and devote a significant amount of time to the project. They will be expected

to spend a minimum of 50% for STG and 40% for COG of their working time on the ERC project and a

minimum of 50% of their working time in an EU MS or an AC

. It is expected that the research

project will be implemented within the territory of the Member States or Associated Countries. This

does not exclude field work or other research activities in cases where these must necessarily be

See footnote 3.

See section 2.4 Supporting documentation for cases where there was no defence of the PhD or if following the defence,

corrections were required.

For further guidance, see the Annotated Grant Agreement on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal (Annex 5, section Specific

rules for ERC Grants (HE), point 5. PI time commitments).

For Principal Investigators hosted and engaged by international European research organisations, any time spent working

for these organisations may count as working time spent in a Member State or an Associated Country for the purpose of

the Principal Investigator’s time commitment.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

conducted outside the European Union or the Associated Countries in order to achieve the scientific

objectives of the project/activity.

Submission restrictions

Thousands of high-quality proposals are received each year and only outstanding proposals are likely

to be funded. In order to maintain the quality and integrity of ERC’s evaluation process, restrictions

on applications have been put in place.

The following general restrictions apply:

− A researcher may participate as a Principal Investigator in only one ERC main frontier

research grant project at any one time

. A new project can only start after the duration of

the project fixed in a previous grant agreement for one of the main frontier research grants

has ended;

− A researcher participating as a Principal Investigator in one of the main frontier research

grants may not submit another proposal for a main ERC grant, unless the existing project

ends

less than two years after the call deadline;

− A researcher who is a serving Panel Member for a 2025 ERC call or who served as a Panel

Member for a 2023 ERC call may not apply to a 2025 ERC call for the same type of grant

;

− If a researcher applies to more than one main ERC frontier research grant call published

under the same Work Programme (i.e. from the same ‘call year’), only the first eligible

proposal will be evaluated;

− A researcher, whose proposal has been selected for funding and who is preparing a grant

agreement under a 2023 or 2024 ERC call, may not apply for a Starting, Consolidator,

Advanced or Synergy Grant under a 2025 ERC call.

Additional restrictions are related to the outcome of the evaluation in previous calls (see table

below). They are designed to allow unsuccessful Principal Investigators the time necessary to develop

a stronger proposal. Inadmissible, ineligible or withdrawn proposals do not count against any of the

restrictions listed below.

Call to which the PI applied under previous ERC WPs and proposal

evaluation outcome

2025 Calls to which a PI is NOT eligible

2023 and 2024 Starting, Consolidator,

Advanced Grant, or Synergy Grant

Rejected on the grounds

of a breach of research

integrity

STG, COG, ADG, SYG

2023 Starting, Consolidator, or

Advanced Grant

C at Step 1

STG, COG, ADG

2024 Starting, Consolidator, or

Advanced Grant

A or B at Step 2

No restrictions

B or C at Step 1

STG, COG, ADG

2023 and 2024 Synergy Grant

A or B at Step 3

No restrictions

B at Step 1 or Step 2

No restrictions

C at Step 1

SYG

Including all Principal Investigators supported under the Synergy Grant.

According to the duration of the project fixed in the previous grant agreement of the main frontier research grant.

The members of the ERC panels alternate to allow panel members to apply to the ERC calls in alternate years.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

The year of an ERC call refers to the ERC WP under which the call was published and can be

established by its call identifier. A 2025 ERC call is therefore one that was published under the ERC

WP 2025 and will have 2025 in the call identifier (for example ERC-2025-StG).

1.3 EVALUATION PROCESS

The ERC's peer review evaluation process has been carefully designed to identify scientific excellence

irrespective of gender, age, nationality or institution of the Principal Investigator and other potential

biases, and to take career breaks as well as diverse research career paths into account

. The

evaluations are monitored to guarantee transparency, fairness and impartiality in the treatment of

proposals. ERC calls are expected to be highly competitive.

A single submission of the full proposal is followed by a two-step evaluation.

ERC evaluation panels

The peer review evaluation is handled by 28 peer review evaluation panels (ERC panels), covering all

fields of science, engineering and scholarship (see panel details and ERC keywords in Annex 4.1). For

operational reasons, they are subdivided into three main research domains:

− Physical Sciences and Engineering (11 Panels)

− Life Sciences (9 Panels)

− Social Sciences and Humanities (8 Panels)

Before the deadline of a call, the names of the 28 panel chairs are published on the ERC website. The

names of the panel members will be published after the call deadline and before Step 1 evaluation

on the ERC website, provided that their consent for this publication has been obtained.

No Contact allowed with Peer Reviewers

Please note that, in accordance with section 3.2 of the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under

Horizon Europe, any direct or indirect contact about the ERC peer review evaluation between an

applicant legal entity or a Principal Investigator submitting a proposal on behalf of an applicant legal

entity, and any independent external expert

involved in the peer review evaluation under the same

call, in an attempt to influence the evaluation process is strictly forbidden. Such contact may result in

the rejection of proposals from evaluation or from the grant preparation.

In addition, any contact with Peer Reviewers to obtain confidential information on the evaluation

process is prohibited. ERC Peer Reviewers are bound to confidentiality during the evaluation and

afterwards. Hence, they are not allowed to communicate about the evaluation and/or specific

proposal(s) with the Principal Investigators or potential team members or persons linked to them,

even after the completion of the evaluation process.

Panel allocation and panel budgets

It is the applicant's responsibility to choose and indicate the most relevant ERC panel ('primary

evaluation panel') for the evaluation of the proposed research and to indicate one or more ERC

During the evaluation, the peer review panels will take into account the phase of the Principal Investigator's transition to

independence, diverse research career paths and particularly noteworthy contributions to the research community, as well

as possible breaks in the research career of the applicant and the effects of major life events or pandemic restrictions on

the applicant’s progression as a researcher.

An independent external expert is an expert who is external to the ERC and the Commission and is working impartially in

a personal capacity and without conflict of interest. Exceptionally, in duly justified cases, when relevant specialised

knowledge is held by staff of Union institutions or bodies, and provided that these are not implementing Horizon Europe as

a funding body, such staff may work as independent external experts in compliance with Article 29(1) of the Horizon Europe

Regulation.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

keywords representing the research fields involved. The Principal Investigator may indicate a

secondary evaluation panel.

When choosing the panel, please take careful note of the panel details and ERC keywords in Annex

4.1.

The initial allocation of the proposal to a panel will be based on the preference expressed by the

applicant. However, when necessary due to the expertise required for the evaluation, a proposal may

be reallocated to a different panel with the agreement of both panel chairs concerned. In such cases,

applicants are informed of the reallocation of the proposal through the notification for the invitation

to the interview (if applicable) or in the Evaluation Report attached to the information letter with the

final outcome of the evaluation of their respective proposal.

The composition of the ERC evaluation panels is by nature multi-disciplinary. The panel will

determine if additional reviews by appropriate members of other panel(s) or additional remote

experts are needed to evaluate the proposal.

An indicative budget is allocated to each panel in proportion to the budgetary demand of its assigned

proposals. This important principle ensures comparable success rates between the individual

panels regardless of how many proposals each panel evaluates. Based on the outcome of the

evaluation at Step 1, up to 44 proposals per panel will be retained for Step 2 of the evaluation. Only

proposals ranked A invited at Step 1 will be further evaluated at Step 2. Following the Step 2

evaluation, only proposals ranked A will be invited for grant preparation in priority order based on

their rank in the consolidated call rank list and until the call budget is spent. The remaining proposals

recommended for funding may be funded by the ERC if additional funds become available.

Evaluation process and important dates

An indicative evaluation timeline is available for the Starting Grant and Consolidator Grant Calls on

the ERC website.

At both evaluation steps, every proposal will be evaluated for each of the two main elements of the

proposal: the Research Project and the Principal Investigator. The panels will primarily evaluate the

ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of the research project. At the same time, the

panels will evaluate the intellectual capacity, creativity, and commitment of the Principal

Investigator, with a focus on the extent to which the Principal Investigator has the required scientific

expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project.

The ERC independent external experts deliver individual reviews in a remote evaluation phase at

both Step 1 and Step 2. The ERC panels assess and score the proposals based on the individual

reviews they have received, and on the panels’ overall appreciation of their strengths and

weaknesses.

STG 15 Oct 2024

COG 14 Jan 2025

Feb 2025

May 2025

May-June 2025

Sept-Oct 2025

Aug 2025

Dec 2025

May 2025

July 2025

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Resubmitted proposals will be evaluated as new proposals without any reference or comparison to

the previous score and/or with previous assessments. The score received by a proposal submitted in

a previous ERC call will neither be considered in the current evaluation nor affect its outcome, as the

two evaluations are independent from each other and the competition each year is different. In

addition, the content of the reviews from an ERC call will not be made available to reviewers of the

resubmitted proposal in a subsequent ERC call.

ERC StG and ERC CoG call evaluation procedure

STEP 1

At Step 1, the Extended Synopsis together with the Principal Investigator’s CV and Track Record will

be evaluated (Part B1 – see Section 2.3). After the remote evaluation phase, each panel meets to

discuss all proposals assigned to the panel. Proposals will proceed to Step 2 based on the outcome of

the Step 1 evaluation: up to 44 proposals per panel will be retained for Step 2 of the evaluation. At

the end of Step 1 of the evaluation, the proposal will receive one of the following scores:

A invited - is of excellent quality and ranked sufficiently high to pass to Step 2 of the

evaluation;

A not invited - is of excellent quality but not ranked sufficiently high

to pass to Step 2 of the

evaluation;

B - is of high quality but not sufficient to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation

;

C - is not of sufficient quality to pass to Step 2 of the evaluation

The Step 1 evaluation outcome is provided to the applicants receiving an A not invited, a B or a C

score through an information letter together with an evaluation report. It includes the final panel

score and ranking range of their proposal, the panel comment explaining the panel decision as well

as the individual comments given by each reviewer. This communication is uploaded to the F&T

Portal accounts of the Principal Investigator and host institution contacts (see Section 3.2). Applicants

It exceeds the maximum threshold of proposals that can be passed to Step 2.

The applicants may be subject to restrictions on submitting proposals to future ERC calls based on the outcome of the

evaluation. Applicants will need to check the restrictions in place for each call.

See footnote 29.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

who receive an A invited score are invited for an interview to present their project at the Step 2 panel

meeting. Each panel decides on the exact format of its interviews (number of slides allowed – if

applicable, duration, time allocated to the presentation, and to the questions and answer session),

which will be communicated to the applicants after Step 1. Applicants who pass to Step 2 do not

receive a Step 1 evaluation report.

STEP 2

At Step 2, the full proposal (Part B1, Part B2 and Section 3 – Budget, present in the submission form)

will be evaluated. After a remote evaluation phase, the panels meet again. Step 2 includes an

interview of approximately 30 minutes of each applicant

. During the Step 2 panel meeting, the

applicants will be interviewed remotely. In exceptional and justified cases, if unable to attend a

physical meeting in person, a panel member may participate in the panel meeting remotely by

electronic means (video-conferencing or telephone-conferencing), subject to ERCEA’s agreement.

The first part of the interview will be devoted to a presentation on the outline of the research project

by the Principal Investigator. The remaining time will be devoted to a question-and-answer session.

The PI may expect questions also related to the detailed budget table and resources, which is part of

the application. The evaluation panels will review the requested budget for proposals recommended

for funding and, if appropriate, recommend adjustments.

In view of the confidentiality of the evaluation process, applicants should not share the identity of

panel members within their scientific communities until their names have been published on the ERC

website.

The assessment by the panels will take into account the interview alongside the individual reviews.

At the end of Step 2, following the timeline described above, applicants will be informed about the

outcome of the evaluation. The score of their proposal can be either A or B:

A – the proposal fully meets the ERC's excellence criterion and is recommended for funding.

Such project will be funded in priority order based on its rank if sufficient funds are available.

This means that it is very likely that not all proposals scored 'A' will eventually be funded by

the ERC.

B – the proposal meets some but not all elements of the ERC's excellence criterion and will

not be funded.

Evaluation outcome

The Step 2 evaluation outcome is provided to all applicants through an information letter together

with an evaluation report. It includes the final panel score and ranking range of their proposal, the

panel comment explaining the panel decision as well as the individual comments given by each

reviewer. This communication is uploaded to the F&T Portal accounts of the PI and host institution

contacts (see Section 3.2).

Panel comments

Comments by the individual reviewers may reflect divergent views. Differences of opinions about the

proposal are part of scientific debate and are legitimate. Furthermore, the ERC panel may take a

position that is different from what could be inferred from the individual reviews. A panel discussion

could reveal an important weakness that was not identified by the individual reviewers. The panel

comment reflects the final decision taken by the panel either by consensus decision or by majority

vote based on the individual assessments and discussion in the panel.

Should a planned interview not be possible for reasons beyond the control of the ERCEA, the panel will have to take its

decision based on the information made available to it.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Evaluation criterion and elements

"Excellence" is the sole criterion of evaluation.

The panels will primarily evaluate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of the

research project. At the same time, the panels will evaluate the intellectual capacity, creativity and

commitment of the Principal Investigator, with a focus on the extent to which the Principal

Investigator has the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project. The

detailed evaluation elements applying to these two categories are set out below.

1. Research Project - Ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility

Ground-breaking nature and potential impact of the research project

• To what extent does the proposed research address important challenges?

• To what extent are the objectives ambitious and beyond the state of the art (e.g. novel concepts and approaches

or development between or across disciplines)?

Scientific Approach

• To what extent is the outlined scientific approach feasible bearing in mind the ground-breaking nature and

ambition of the proposed research (based on the Extended Synopsis)?

• To what extent are the proposed research methodology and working arrangements appropriate to achieve the

goals of the project (based on the research proposal)?

• To what extent are the proposed timescales, resources, and PI’s commitment adequate and properly justified

(based on the research proposal)?

2. Principal Investigator - Intellectual capacity and creativity

• To what extent has the PI demonstrated the ability to conduct ground-breaking research?

• To what extent does the PI provide evidence of creative and original thinking?

• To what extent does the PI have the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project?

Information to Programme Committee and NCPs

After each peer review evaluation, a report is prepared by the ERCEA services and made available to

the Programme Committee. The report provides information on the proposals received: it includes

names of host institutions and personal data (i.e. names of applicant Principal Investigators),

evaluation scores of proposals, as well as panel comments and individual reviews. A subset of

information is also made available to the National Contact Points. The NCP report provides names of

host institutions and personal data (i.e. names of applicant Principal Investigators) and evaluation

scores of proposals. Applicants have various rights as regards the processing of their personal data

Applicants have the right to access their personal data, the right to rectify them, if necessary, and/or to

restrict their processing or erase them. They are also entitled to object to the processing of their personal data,

where applicable. If they would like to exercise their rights under the Regulation 2018/1725, if they have

comments, questions or concerns, regarding the collection and use of their personal data, applicants are free

to contact the ERCEA Controller at ERC-B2-CALL-COORDIN[email protected].

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

1.4 ETHICS AND SECURITY

Ethics

Every project funded, or placed on a reserve list by the ERC in Horizon Europe is subject to an ethics

review process. The ethics review process is independent from the scientific evaluation.

Please see Annex A to the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon Europe for a

detailed description of the ERC Ethics Review procedure.

The process is aimed at ensuring that all the research and innovation activities under Horizon Europe

comply with ethics principles and relevant national, Union and international legislation, including the

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention on Human

Rights and its Supplementary Protocols.

The main areas that are addressed during the ethics review process include:

1. Human embryonic stem cells and human embryos

2. Human participants

3. Human cells/tissues

4. Personal data

5. Animals

6. Non-EU countries

7. Environment, health and safety

8. Artificial Intelligence

Other ethics issues may be identified as new ethical issues, or issues not fully covered by the above

questions.

When submitting their proposal, applicants must complete the ethics issues table as part of the on-

line proposal submission form (Section 4), and if applicable, provide an ethics self-assessment (in the

same section of the form) and upload supporting documentation as separate annex(es). Please see

the How to Complete your Ethics Self-Assessment document for guidance. In order to determine

whether your proposal contains serious and complex ethics issues, please consult the guidance

documents available on the following link: Ethics guidance | ERC (europa.eu). In case the proposal

involves the use of human embryonic stem cells, applicants may pay particular attention to the

Statement by the Commission on ethics/stem cells that sets out a specific ethics framework.

It is important to provide a complete overview of all ethics issues during the submission phase in

order to speed up the ethics review process (please also see section 2.2(4) of this guide for further

details). Additional information or documents may be requested from the applicants to finalise the

ethics review. Applicants should be aware that no grant agreement will be signed by ERCEA prior to a

satisfactory conclusion of the ethics review procedure.

Security

The Security Review Procedure is managed by the Directorate General for Migration and Home

Affairs (DG HOME).

Its main scope is to ensure both that EU-funded research is conducted in line with applicable security

rules and principles and that beneficiaries comply with applicable security rules, as established in

national and EU law (in line with Article 20 of the Horizon Europe Regulation

Regulation (EU) 2021/695 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 April 2021 establishing Horizon Europe –

the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, laying down its rules for participation and dissemination, and

repealing Regulations (EU) No 1290/2013 and (EU) No 1291/2013.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

The procedure is designed to help applicants and their institutions to identify and manage possible

security risks linked to three main aspects

- the generation and/or handling of classified information;

- the generation of knowledge, materials and technologies that could be channelled

into activities that could pose a security threat for the EU and its Member States (misuse);

- the identification of research activities that may involve information and/or materials

subject to national security restrictions.

Under Horizon Europe applicants are requested to identify if the proposed activity will use and/or

generate information which might raise security concerns.

When submitting their proposal, applicants must complete the security issues table as part of the

online proposal submission form (Section 4), and provide, if applicable, available supporting

documentation as separate annex(es).

For proposals selected for funding, additional information regarding security issues may be

requested at a later stage

(for further information see Annex 4 to the ERC Work Programme 2025).

1.5 MEANS OF REDRESS, ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS

Please see section 3.9 of the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon Europe for a

detailed description of the admissibility, eligibility and evaluation review procedures and enquiries

and complaints.

Means of redress:

Upon reception of the information letter with the evaluation report or with the results of the

admissibility or eligibility review, the Principal Investigator and/or the host institution (applicant legal

entity) may request for admissibility, eligibility or evaluation review if there is an indication that the

results of the admissibility or eligibility checks were incorrect or that there has been a procedural

shortcoming or a manifest error of assessment in the evaluation of the proposal.

A request for evaluation review can be made if the Principal Investigator and/or the host institution

consider that the applicable evaluation procedure has not been correctly applied to its proposal. The

evaluation review procedure is not meant to call into question the scientific judgement made by the

peer review panel. It will look into procedural shortcomings and – in rare cases – into factual errors.

The information letter will provide information on the means of redress and how to introduce the

request. The letter will specify a deadline for the receipt of any such requests, which will be 30

calendar days from the date of receiving the information letter

. A formal notification is considered

to have been accessed by the applicant 10 calendar days after sending, if not accessed before in the

system

For a detailed overview of how to handle security issues in Horizon Europe programmes please consult the guide “How to

handle security-sensitive projects”.

Further guidance on tackling various security aspects and mitigating associated risks in research has been published by

the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation: Tackling R&I Foreign Interference: Staff

Working Document, 2022 (https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/513746).

Applicants of proposals selected for funding will normally not receive information on the means of redress in their

information letter but if the applicant considers that there are grounds for such request, they can redress.

Evaluation result letters are formal notifications. This means that deadlines triggered by these letters (evaluation review

request, etc.) must be counted accordingly (i.e. access date + 1 day (event) + 30 days (deadline) OR sending date + 1 day

(event) + 10 days (embargo period) + 30 days (deadline), if the letter was not accessed in the system).

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The request must be:

− related to the evaluation process, or admissibility/eligibility checks, for the call and grants in

question;

− set out using the online form, including a clear description of the grounds for complaint;

− received within the time limit specified in the information letter;

− sent by the Principal Investigator and/or the host institution.

Requests that do not meet the above-mentioned conditions, or do not deal with the admissibility,

eligibility or evaluation of a specific proposal, will not be admitted.

A redress committee may be convened to examine the request for the review of the admissibility,

eligibility or evaluation process. The redress committee will bring together staff of the ERC Executive

Agency with the requisite scientific, technical and legal expertise. The committee shall be chaired by

and include staff of ERCEA who were not involved in the evaluation of the proposals. The

committee’s role is to ensure a coherent interpretation of the requests, based on all available

information related to the proposals and their evaluation, and fair and equal treatment of all

applicants.

In the case of evaluation review procedure, the committee itself, however, does not re-evaluate the

proposal. Depending on the nature of the complaint, the committee may review the evaluation

report, the individual comments and examine the profile and expertise of the experts. The

committee may also contact the panel chair/panel member(s) concerned. The committee will not

call into question the scientific judgement of appropriately qualified panels of experts. In the light

of its review, the committee will recommend a course of action to the Responsible Authorizing

Officer (RAO) for the call. If there is clear evidence of a shortcoming that could have affected the

eventual funding decision, it is possible that all or part of the proposal will be re-evaluated.

Please note that:

− a partial or a total re-evaluation will only be carried out if there is evidence of a shortcoming

that affects the quality of the assessment of a proposal;

− the committee may uphold the initial outcome if it concludes that the errors identified would

not substantially have affected the outcome of the evaluation nor the ranking of the

proposal;

− the evaluation score following any re-evaluation will be regarded as definitive. It may be

lower than the original score;

− only one request at the time for evaluation review per proposal will be considered by the

committee;

− all requests for evaluation review will be treated in confidence.

Other means of redress:

The above procedure does not prevent the applicants from resorting to other means of redress, such

as:

• requesting a legal review of the Agency decision under Article 22 of Council

Regulation 58/2003

('Article 22 request'), within 1 month of receiving the ERCEA's

letter; or

• bringing an action for annulment under Article 263 of the TFEU

('Article 263 action')

against the Agency, within 2 months of receiving the ERCEA's letter.

Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive agencies to be entrusted.

with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes (O J L 11, 16.01.2003, p.1).

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, p. 47–390).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Applicants may choose which means of redress they wish to pursue

. Applicants are asked not to

take more than one formal action at a time. Once the Agency/Commission communicates the final

decision on an action, applicants can take a further action against that decision. Deadlines for further

action will start to run from when applicants receive the final decision

Other types of complaints on decisions affecting the involvement of applicants in the programme:

Any other complaint against a decision affecting the involvement of applicants in Horizon Europe

shall be addressed to the Agency Director within 30 calendar days from the receipt of the

communication of the Agency decision

1.6 QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE CALL

You can find useful information on the ERC website and more specifically on the pages dedicated to

the Starting Grant Call and Consolidator Grant Call.

An extended set of Frequently Asked Questions for the ERC calls is available at the ERC website. They

can be filtered by calls or categories, and answer the most common questions on how to prepare and

submit an ERC application.

You can also find on the funding page of the ERC website a series of explanatory videos that will give

you concrete information about the ERC application process, including frequently made mistakes and

tips.

For additional questions related to the call, please contact the relevant Call coordination team:

ERC-2025-STG-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu OR ERC-[email protected]uropa.eu.

For questions related to the ethics issues of the proposal, please contact the Ethics Support team:

ERC-ETHICS-REVIE[email protected]ropa.eu.

For questions on open access to scientific publications and research data management, please see

the section on Open Science in the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions or

contact ERC-OPEN[email protected]ropa.eu.

Even though applicants may freely choose which means of redress to pursue, first submitting a request for evaluation

review will ensure that the applicants’ case can be heard on all the above-mentioned possible instances.

Please be aware that, as per Article 22 of Regulation 58/2003, reaching a final decision on an Article 22 request may

generally take more than 30 days. Therefore, if you first file an Article 22 request you may not be able afterwards to submit

an evaluation review request within the 30 days deadline. Please note as well that applicants of proposals put on the

reserve list may not file an Article 22 request because their information letter does NOT constitute a final position

concerning funding.

A formal notification that has not been accessed within 10 calendar days after sending is considered to have been

accessed by the applicant.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

2. COMPLETING AN APPLICATION

2.1 OVERVIEW OF AN ERC APPLICATION

An ERC application is composed of:

• the administrative form (Part A) including the detailed budget table, description of resources

(Section 3 – Budget) and time commitment (Section 5 – Other questions);

• completed Part B1 template (Extended Synopsis, Curriculum Vitae and Track Record);

• completed Part B2 template (Scientific Proposal);

• mandatory documentation (PhD certificate, host institution support letter, and, if relevant,

any documentation needed to support a request for eligibility extension);

• if applicable, additional supporting documentation related to ethics and security issues.

2.2 THE ADMINISTRATIVE FORM

The submission form is accessed via the call submission link in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The

electronic form has 5 sections (approximately 25 pages in total), which need to be completed before

a submission can take place. Many fields are mandatory and specific to the ERC calls, and we

therefore advise you to create your draft proposal well in advance of the submission deadline. All

mandatory fields are marked in red if left empty. Failure to fill in any mandatory field will block

submission (see Annex 4.5).

1 – ‘General Information’: This section contains information about the research proposal, including

the project acronym, title, duration and abstract. Furthermore, in this section you will select the ERC

evaluation panel which you believe is best suited to evaluate the research proposal (for further

details, see section 1.3 Evaluation process of this guide). If the proposal covers several scientific

disciplines, you may indicate a 'secondary review panel'. You may indicate up to four ERC keywords

as listed in Annex 4.1 that cover your proposal subject. The abstract should provide a clear

understanding of the objectives of the research proposal and how they will be achieved. The abstract

will be used as a short description of your research proposal in the evaluation process. Please note

that in case your proposal is funded this abstract will be published. It must therefore be short and

precise and should not contain confidential information. The section ‘General Information’ also

contains general declarations related to the proposal and participation in Horizon Europe. They have

to be filled in by the Principal Investigator on behalf of the host institution and “We” has to be

understood as both “the Principal Investigator” and “the host institution”.

2 – ‘Participants’: This section contains information about the Principal Investigator, the host

institution and additional beneficiaries where relevant

. One section will appear for each

beneficiary. The name and e-mail of contact persons -including the Principal Investigator and host

institution contact- are read-only. Further details such as ORCID number, researcher ID, other ID, last

name at birth, gender, nationality etc., should be filled for the Principal Investigator as well as the

address and telephone number of each contact person. The Principal Investigator mobile number is

an essential information for the Step2 interview logistics.

Where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may also be hosted by additional legal

entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries, or

international organisations, subject to any restrictions provided in Annex 3 to the ERC Work Programme 2025.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

This section contains also the following fields:

- Gender Equality Plan (GEP): ‘yes/no’ tick box question to be filled in by the host institution

contact person. Only Public bodies, higher education institutions (including private research

organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This

answer and the absence of GEP at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the

proposal. In case the proposal is selected for funding, the host institution must have a

Gender Equality Plan or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the

project. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements

listed in Annex 5 of

the ERC WP 2025 and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement.

- Departments carrying out the proposed work: the data field “Links with other proposal

participating organisations” is optional and only to be filled if there are dependencies with

other participating host institutions (for example, team members from another host

institution). This field should not be filled for mono-beneficiary grants.

- Person in charge of the proposal (Principal Investigator): on this page, there is a field on the

‘career stage’ of the Principal Investigator. This information will not be provided to the

evaluators and it will not be evaluated. The field on the career stages refers to the ones

defined in Frascati 2015 manual (see below). Please choose the appropriate option.

Category A – Top grade researcher: the single highest grade/post at which research is normally

conducted. Example: ‘full professor’ or ‘director of research’.

Category B – Senior researcher: Researchers working in positions not as senior as top position but

more senior than newly qualified doctoral graduates (IsCED level 8). Examples: ‘associate professor’,

or ‘senior researcher’ or ‘principal investigator’.

Category C – Recognised researcher: the first grade/post into which a newly qualified doctoral

graduate would normally be recruited. Examples: ‘assistant professor’, ‘investigator’ or ‘post-doctoral

fellow’.

Category D – First stage researcher: Either doctoral students at the IsCED level 8 who are engaged as

researchers, or researchers working in posts that do not normally require a doctorate degree.

Examples: ‘PhD students’ or ‘junior researchers’ (without a PhD).

3 – ‘Budget’: This section contains the proposal budget including the total eligible project costs and

the requested EU contribution for the project. The costs are given in whole Euros (not kilo Euros). A

description and justification of the resources should be provided in the text box (Section C.

Resources) under the budget table. The budget table and description of resources will be made

available to the experts evaluating the proposal. The section C. Resources has a maximum length

of 8000 characters (including spaces). Please note that all information related to the budget needs

to appear in the budget table and no additional information (e.g. in an annex) will be accepted.

Please refer to Section 2.3 for further instruction on how to draw up the budget.

A Gender Equality Plan of an Applicant Legal Entity must cover the following minimum process-related requirements:

- Publication: formal document published on the institution’s website and signed by the top management.

- Dedicated resources: commitment of resources and gender expertise to implement it.

- Data collection and monitoring: sex/gender disaggregated data on personnel (and students for institutions

concerned) and annual reporting based on indicators.

- Training: Awareness raising/training on gender equality and unconscious gender biases for staff and decision-

makers.

Content-wise, recommended areas to be covered and addressed via concrete measures and targets are the following:

- work-life balance and organisational culture.

- gender balance in leadership and decision-making.

- gender equality in recruitment and career progression.

- integration of the gender dimension into research and teaching content.

- measures against gender-based violence including sexual harassment.

Other strategic documents such as a development plan, an inclusion strategy or a diversity strategy are considered as

equivalent if they meet the requirements listed above.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4 – ‘Ethics and security’: This section has two parts: the ethics issues table and the security issues

table.

The ethics issues table serves to identify any ethical aspects of the proposed work. This table has to

be completed even if there are no issues (simply confirm that none of the ethical issues applies to

the proposal). In case you answer YES to any of the questions, you are requested to provide an ethics

self-assessment (and available supporting documentation as annexes), as detailed in the ‘How to

Complete your Ethics Self-Assessment guidance’. Please refer to section 1.4 for further details.

The security issues table serves to identify if the proposed activity will use and/or generate

information which might raise security concerns. The table provided must be completed by

answering YES or NO to all questions. Where necessary and applicable, you are requested to provide

available documentation as separate annexes. For proposals selected for funding, additional

information regarding security issues may be requested at a later stage.

5 – ’Other questions’: This section contains information on the academic training of the Principal

Investigator, as well as declarations related to eligibility and expected working time in EU or in an AC.

Here, you are also asked to specify your commitment in terms of percentage of working time you are

willing to devote to the proposed project. You are expected to spend a minimum of 50% for STG and

40% for COG of your working time on the ERC project, and a minimum of 50% of your working time

in an EU MS or an AC. The personnel cost for the Principal Investigator provided in section “3-

Budget” cannot be higher than the percentage indicated here. This information will be provided to

the experts at Step 2 together with the section “3-Budget” (see Annex 4.6). This section also contains

permission statements on sharing evaluation data. These data-related consents are entirely

voluntary. In addition, this section contains a specific declaration as regards the consent obtained

from participants and researchers. The Principal Investigator will have to declare that they have the

written consent of all participants on their involvement and the content of their proposal, as well

as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal on their participation in the project (either as team

member, collaborator, other Principal Investigator or member of the advisory board). Please note

that the ERCEA may request the applicant Principal Investigator at any time during the evaluation, to

provide proof of the written consent obtained prior to the call submission deadline. As established in

section 3.3 of the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon Europe, you may identify up

to three reviewers who you wish to exclude from the evaluation of your proposal.

2.3 THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The “research proposal” (Part B) consists of Part B1, Part B2 and Part A Section 3 – Budget and time

commitment from section 5 – Other questions (present in the administrative online submission

form). The templates of Part B1 and Part B2 that are provided in the submission system (zip-file)

should be used. Each proposal page shall carry a header presenting the Principal Investigator 's last

name, the acronym of the proposal, and the reference to the respective proposal section (Part B1 or

Part B2).

The following parameters must be respected for the layout:

Page Format

Font Type

Font Size

Line Spacing

Margins

Times New Roman

Arial or similar

At least 11

Single

2 cm side

1.5 bottom

In fairness to all applicants, the page limits will be strictly applied. References and the Funding ID

section are not counted towards these page limits. Only the material that is presented within these

limits will be evaluated. Peer reviewers will be asked to read the material presented within the page

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

limits only (provided that the instructions regarding font type and size are respected) and will not be

under any obligation either to read beyond them, or to read any information provided by the links to

webpages

Be aware that at Step 1 only Part B1 is evaluated by the panel members (they have no access to

other parts and sections). At Step 2, Part B1, Part B2, Section 3 – Budget and time commitment are

evaluated by panel members and remote reviewers.

When drafting Part B1, pay particular attention to the Extended Synopsis (section a) and do not think

of it as simply complementing Part B2. It is important that Part B1 contains all essential information.

During the Step 1 evaluation, the panel members' expertise covers a wide range of proposals within a

research field. The panel members are asked to act as generalists when evaluating the proposals.

Further expertise on each proposal retained to Step 2 is brought to the evaluation by Remote

Reviewers. Remote Reviewers are scientists and scholars who do not participate in the panel

meetings and who deliver their individual reviews before the Step 2 panel meeting.

Part B1 (References should be included – they do not count towards the page limit)

The Part B1 cover page should list the name of the Principal Investigator and the host institution, the

title, acronym and abstract of the proposal as well as the project duration (in months). The abstract

should be half a page and must be a copy/paste of the abstract from the submission form (section 1

General Information). For inter-disciplinary/cross-panel proposals, please indicate the additional ERC

review panel(s) and explain why the proposal needs to be considered by more than one panel.

Extended Synopsis of the scientific proposal (max. 5 pages) should be a concise presentation of the

scientific proposal, with particular attention to the ground-breaking nature of the research project

and the feasibility of the outlined scientific approach. It should contain all essential information

including the feasibility of the scientific proposal since the panel will only evaluate Part B1 at Step 1.

References should be included (they do not count towards the page limits).

Curriculum Vitae and Track Record are presented in one single template of up to four pages. The

applicant is expected to include their personal details, education, key qualifications, current

position(s) and relevant previous positions, as well as a list of up to ten research outputs that

demonstrate how the applicant has advanced knowledge in their field with an emphasis on more

recent achievements and a list of selected examples of significant peer recognition (for example,

prizes). The applicant may include a short, factual explanation of the significance of the selected

outputs, the applicant’s role in producing each of them, and how they demonstrate the applicant’s

capacity to successfully carry out their proposed project may be included, as well as a short

explanation of the importance of the listed examples of significant peer recognition.

The applicant may also include relevant additional information on career breaks, diverse career

paths, and life events, as well as any particularly noteworthy contributions to the research

community they have made other than research achievements and peer recognition and a short

explanation of these contributions. The purpose of this section is to allow the panels to take a more

rounded view of the applicant’s career and achievements and to ensure that any additional

responsibilities, commitments, and leadership roles that the applicants have taken on beyond their

individual research activities are recognised and taken into account.

An application can be submitted in any official language of the EU. The working language of the ERC evaluation panels is

English. Therefore, the evaluation reports will be available in English only. If the proposal is not in English, the ERCEA will

provide the evaluation panels with a raw machine translation version of the proposal. Such a translated version will not be

verified by the ERCEA. An English translation of the abstract must be included in the proposal.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Applicants are expected to report their publications, patents and any other research outputs

correctly, including all authors in the same order as published. Joint authorships (e.g. co-first author,

multiple corresponding author) must also be properly indicated.

Part B2 (References should be included – they do not count towards the page limit)

The limit of 14 pages for the ‘Scientific Proposal’ applies to Part B2.

Section a: State-of-the-art and objectives. Specify the proposal objectives in the context of the state

of the art in the research field. It should be clear how and why the proposed work is important for

the field, and what impact it will have if successful, such as how it may open up new horizons or

opportunities for science, technology or scholarship. Specify any particularly challenging or

unconventional aspects of the proposal, including multi- or inter-disciplinary aspects.

Section b: Methodology. Describe the proposed methodology in detail including any key

intermediate goals. Explain and justify the methodology in relation to the state of the art. Highlight

any intermediate stages where results may require adjustments to the project planning. In case you

ask that team members are engaged by another host institution, their participation has to be fully

justified by the scientific added value they bring to the project.

Part B2 should also include a succinct "Funding ID" which must specify any current research grants

and their subject, and any on-going application for work related to the proposal

Section 3 – Budget (included in the online submission form)

PLEASE NOTE: The Budget Table and description of resources are part of the online submission

form (Section 3 – Budget).

The Section C. Resources text box (under the budget table) should provide a clear description and

justification of the proposal budget and, if applicable, of the additional funding. If additional

funding is requested, the costs must be indicated in the budget table in the appropriate cost

category.

With the exception of clear mistakes (detected cases of obvious clerical errors

), in case of

inconsistency between the budget table and the description of resources, the figures entered in

the budget table will prevail.

Budget table

The ERC funds up to 100% of the total eligible costs. The costs cover the full project duration

. This

includes the direct costs of the project plus a flat-rate financing of indirect costs calculated as 25% of

the total eligible direct costs excluding the direct eligible costs for subcontracting and internally

invoiced goods and services, which already include indirect costs. The flat rate is automatically

calculated by the system.

Funding ID section does not count towards the page limits.

See Articles 151 and 200 (3) of the Financial Regulation and section 2.3 of the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation

under Horizon Europe.

The maximum award is reduced pro rata temporis for projects of a shorter duration (e.g. for a Consolidator Grant project

of 48 months duration the maximum requested EU contribution allowed is 1.600.000 €). Additional funding to cover major

one-off costs is not subject to pro-rata temporis reduction for projects of shorter duration (e.g. with additional funding it is

possible to request a maximum EU contribution of 2.600.000 € for a project of 48 months duration).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

The budget is subdivided in different cost categories:

A. Direct personnel costs (Principal Investigator, senior staff, post docs, students, other

personnel costs).

B. Subcontracting costs (no indirect costs).

C. Purchase costs [travel and subsistence, equipment (including major equipment),

consumables (including fieldwork and animal costs), publications (including any costs related

to Open Access fees) and dissemination, and other additional direct costs].

D. Internally invoiced goods and services (no indirect costs).

E. Indirect costs.

If additional funding

above the ceiling of 1.500.000 € for STG and 2.000.000 € for COG is requested

for (a) covering eligible 'start-up' costs for a moving from another country to the EU or an AC as a

consequence of receiving an ERC grant and/or (b) the purchase of major equipment and/or (c) access

to large facilities and/or (d) other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel

costs, then it needs to be fully justified it in the description of resources. An additional funding

request under (a), (b) or (d) may be subject to 25% overhead. The 25% flat-rate does not apply to

costs related to subcontracting or internally invoiced goods and services.

Additional funding is meant to cover relatively large costs that would exceed the normal grant

maximum. Any cost requested under additional funding must be necessary for the implementation of

the proposed research activities.

Please note that for relocation costs under (a) ‘start-up’ costs category, the cost of the Principal

Investigator’s one-way ticket to EU or AC country may be requested, only if in line with the normal

practice and the accounting policy of the host institution, and within the duration of the project;

other personal costs (e.g. tickets of family members and all relocation costs related to them) incurred

because of moving to the EU or AC cannot be claimed on the grant.

Purchases of equipment, infrastructure, or other assets used for the action must be declared as

depreciation costs. Moreover, an applicant can request to include in the Grant Agreement

equipment, infrastructure or other assets purchased specifically for the action (or developed as part

of the action tasks) that may exceptionally be declared as full capitalised costs

. These items should

be clearly listed and justified in the proposal.

In case the ‘total eligible costs’ differ from the ‘requested EU contribution’, specify in the Resources

section what exactly is funded from other sources. Please carefully check all values of the budget

table. Use only Euro integers when preparing the budget table. Please note that while the ‘total

eligible costs’ in the budget table are calculated automatically based on the figures inserted in the

individual columns, the ‘requested EU contribution’ has to be filled manually. Please make sure to

update the ‘Requested EU contribution’ if updates are made in any of the cost categories.

For more information on eligible- and non-eligible direct and indirect costs as well as the different

cost categories, applicants should consult the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions.

The Principal Investigator will have the flexibility to modify the budgetary breakdown during the

course of the project. Requests to modify the budgetary breakdown of additional funding may be

Additional funding costs of ERC frontier research grants are a separate cost category in the Model Grant Agreement used

for ERC actions. These costs will be eligible if they fulfil the eligibility conditions set out in the Model Grant Agreement for

this cost category, if they are incurred for the activities and objectives for which the additional funding may be awarded,

and if they are in line with the specific eligibility conditions for the other relevant cost categories as set out in the Model

Grant Agreement (e.g. costs related to a purchase of major equipment must also fulfil the specific eligibility conditions for

the cost category for “Equipment”).

Where needed for the viability of the action (including its financial viability) and recorded under a fixed asset account of

the beneficiary in compliance with international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual cost accounting practices.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

accepted only provided that such modifications remain within the objectives for which the additional

funding was awarded.

Section C. Resources (text box below the budget table)

To facilitate the assessment of resources by the panels:

1. State the amount of funding considered necessary to fulfil the research objectives. The

project cost estimation should be as accurate as possible. The requested budget should be

fully justified and in proportion to the actual needs. Describe all the cost categories

considered necessary for the project. The evaluation panels assess the estimated costs

carefully; unjustified budgets will be reduced.

2. Describe the size and nature of the team, indicating, where appropriate, the key team

members and their roles. In case one or more team members are engaged by another host

institution, their participation has to be fully justified with respect to the scientific added

value they bring to the project and in relation to the additional cost this may impose. When

estimating your personnel costs take into account the working time dedicated to the project.

3. Explain and describe in detail any additional funding requested for the project (the

requested additional funding must be included in the budget table). Please also indicate

under which of the above-mentioned four cost categories the request falls.

4. Include a short technical description of any requested equipment, why you need it and

how much you plan to use it for the project.

5. Include a realistic estimation of the costs for Open Access to project outputs. Costs for

providing immediate Open Access to publications are eligible if the publishing venue is fully

open access (i.e. a fully open access journal, book or publishing platforms including APCs or

BPCs) and if they are incurred during the lifetime of the project. This concerns article

processing charges, book processing charges and other publishing fees such as page charges

or colour charges.

6. Describe any existing resources not requiring EU funding that will be used for the project,

such as infrastructure and equipment.

7. If applicable, specify the cost items covered by your 'Other personnel costs' category (e.g.

technician, etc.) and the cost items covered by your 'Other additional direct costs' category

(e.g. certificate on the financial statement).

The information entered in section 3 - Budget (including “Section C. Resources”) of the administrative

form (Part A) together with the time commitment entered in section 5 of the administrative form

(Part A) will be provided to the independent external experts in the form of Proposal Budget Report

for their assessment. An example of Proposal Budget Report is shown in Annex 4.6. It shows how

experts will see the information entered in section 3 - Budget (including “Section C. Resources”) and

the time commitment in section 5 of the administrative form (Part A).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

2.4 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

A scanned copy of the following supporting documentation needs to be submitted with the proposal

by uploading them electronically in PDF format:

1. PhD certificate. You must submit scanned copies of documents proving your eligibility for

the grant, i.e. the PhD certificate (or equivalent doctoral degree, see Annex 4.3 to this

document) clearly indicating the date of the successful defence of PhD.

If:

- the PhD certificate does not explicitly state the date of the successful defence of PhD, the

applicant should provide a written confirmation from the awarding institution stating the

said date;

- the PhD defence was not successful and following the PhD defence, corrections were

required, the applicant should provide an official document indicating that the defence was

not successful and a date when the corrections to the PhD thesis were approved;

- no defence/viva was organised in the awarding institution, the applicant should provide a

written confirmation from the awarding institution stating that no defence/viva was

organised and indicating the date when the PhD was approved.

If you request an extension of the eligibility window (beyond 7 years after PhD for StG

applicants and beyond 12 years after PhD for COG applicants), the relevant documented

evidence must be provided as a single PDF document. Please indicate, on a cover page, the

duration of the requested extension together with an explanation of how the extension has

been calculated. To further clarify your calculation, supporting documents should be added

to this cover page. The cover page with all supporting documentation should be uploaded as

one single PDF under “Annex 1 – Extension Request”.

Annex 4.4 provides further details and Annex 4.7 provides a template for the “Eligibility

extension” cover page.

2. Host institution support letter - As the applicant's legal entity, the host institution must

confirm its support to the project and to the Principal Investigator. As part of the application,

the host institution must provide a binding statement that the conditions of independence

are already fulfilled or will be provided to the Principal Investigator if the application is

successful. The template letter is part of the zip-file available in the submission system (see

Annex 4.2). The complete wording should be printed on paper with the official letterhead of

the HI, blue-inked signed, stamped and dated by the institution's legal representative. In case

it is digitally signed

, there is no need to stamp it. A PDF version must be uploaded in the

submission system. Proposals that do not include this institutional statement may be

declared inadmissible.

3. Documents related to the ethics issues (i.e. supporting documentation). Where necessary,

the applicant(s) shall provide any available documentation, such as: (a) favourable opinion(s)

of relevant ethics committee(s); (b) regulatory approval(s) or authorisation(s) of the

competent national or local authority(ies) in the country(ies) in which the research is to be

carried out; (c) templates of information sheets and informed consent forms, etc. The

supporting documentation must be provided to the ERCEA at the latest during the ethics

review. If such documentation is available and provided with the application at submission

stage, it may help speed up the ethics review process following evaluation. Please note that

the ethics self-assessment is included in section 4 of the online proposal submission form.

If the letter is digitally signed, please do not lock it.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4. Documents related to the security issues (i.e. supporting documentation). Where necessary,

the applicant(s) shall provide available documentation at submission stage. For proposals

selected for funding, additional information regarding security issues may be requested at a

later stage. Please note that the security self-assessment is included in section 4 of the

online proposal submission form.

Copies of official documents can be submitted in any of the EU official languages. Document(s) in

any other language must be provided together with a certified translation into English or into any

other official EU language.

Please provide only the documents requested above. Unless specified in the call, any hyperlinks to

other documents, embedded material, and any other documents (company brochures, support

letters, reports, audio, video, multimedia, etc.) will be disregarded. Experts will not have access to

any supporting documentation during the evaluation.

All annexes, including the PhD documentation, the host institution support letter (and where

relevant, documentation related to ethics and security issues or documentation for requesting an

eligibility extension) should be provided and uploaded as separate PDF documents. They do not

count towards the maximum page limits for the proposal.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

3. SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION

3.1 IMPORTANT INFORMATION

➢ Regularly consult the F&T Portal call page for updated information on the calls.

➢ Make sure that the personal information added in the Submission Form is accurate as this

information is used to personalise the communications to applicants and the Evaluation Reports.

➢ In case of technical problems with the submission system, please contact EC-FUNDING-TENDER-

SERVICE-DESK@ec.europa.eu or get in touch with the helpdesk directly on +32 (2) 29 92222 to

receive immediate assistance.

➢ Registration and submission via the F&T Portal submission system should be done as early as

possible and well in advance of the call deadline. Applicants, who wait until shortly before the

close of the call to start uploading their proposal, take a serious risk that the uploading will

not be concluded in time and thus the 'SUBMIT' button will not be active anymore in order to

conclude the submission process.

➢ Only the person creating the draft proposal will have the right to manage the access rights of

other people to the proposal and will be able to modify any parts of the proposal and to submit

it, whereas the other contacts will only be able to edit the parts related to their personal data.

➢ Be aware that only one person should work on the forms at any given time. If two persons work

on the forms at the same time, in case of a save conflict, the last save wins, which means that

you risk overwriting changes made by another person if you are working in parallel. We

therefore recommend that you give ‘read-only’ access to your partners/additional contact

persons (other contacts) unless it is absolutely necessary to grant full access. Please remember

that the host institution main contact person has full access – it is not possible to grant them

'read-only access'.

➢ Up to the call deadline, it is possible to re-edit, download or withdraw a proposal. ONLY the last

updated version of your proposal submitted before the deadline will be evaluated; no later

version can be accepted and no earlier version can be recovered from the submission system.

Once the deadline has passed, no further additions, corrections or resubmissions are accepted.

However, a read-only access to the submitted proposal is available for 90 days after the call

deadline.

➢ Do submit your proposal as early as possible (at least 48 hours prior to the deadline of the call)

to avoid being confronted with last minute issues shortly before the call deadline. There is no

reason in delaying the submission for confidentiality concerns as the system does not allow any

access to the proposals before call deadline (other than to selected data that is part of the

Submission and Evaluation of Proposals Assent Disclaimer).

➢ In some rare occasions, the proposal may be altered while converted into a PDF file. Before

uploading the file, please check that everything is correct. Additionally, please download and

verify all uploaded files in due time before the submission deadline.

Submission is deemed to occur only if the sequence described in point 3.2 below has been followed

and not when the applicant starts uploading the proposal.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

3.2 HOW TO APPLY

The ERC grant applications can only be submitted in response to a 'call for proposals' and only via the

Electronic Submission Service. Calls announced in the ERC WP 2025 are published on the ERC website

and the F&T Portal.

USER GUIDANCE

- proposals must be submitted electronically using the electronic submission service of the web-

based F&T Portal

;

- the user manual of the Submission Service is available online;

- the F&T Portal Online Manual describes the standard process of proposal submission.

The electronic submission system is an online wizard that guides you step-by-step through the

preparation of your proposal. The submission of an ERC proposal includes 6 steps as described

below.

Steps 1 & 2: “Login” and “Topic Selection”

To be able to submit a proposal and, in general, to login to the F&T Portal, you must first register an

EU Login account (Step 1). Each time you access the proposal for editing, this user ID is requested.

The same user ID is used for all later interactions with the ERCEA, including notification of the results

of the evaluation

. Under 'Search Topics' you may search for 'ERC' to select an open ERC call (Step

2). Soon after the opening of the call, you may access the Electronic Submission Service via the F&T

Portal call page. The 'Start Submission' button is available in the ‘Submission Service’ section of the

call. When you click 'Start Submission' and confirm the call selection, you will arrive to Step 3 –

Create a Draft proposal.

Step 3: “Create proposal”

At this step, you fill in pre-registration data for the proposal. These details will be used by the ERCEA

in order to plan the evaluation. You will not have access to this page again once it is completed and

you have progressed to Step 4, but certain data such as Acronym (maximum 20 characters) and Short

Summary (abstract) can be modified at a later stage (at Step 5, when editing the submission form).

Be careful to choose the correct Participant Identification Code (PIC) number for your host

institution. An online tool is available to search for existing PICs and the related organisations.

Organisations not yet having a PIC must self-register (via the same page) before starting the

application process.

In duly justified exceptional circumstances, the ERCEA may authorise submission by other means than the electronic

submission system.

Further details are available here: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cpnp/.

Topic selection

Participants

Proposal forms

Create proposal

Submit

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Step 4: “Participants”

At this step, you MUST enter the name and e-mail of the Principal Investigator and the Main host

institution Contact person

. You may also add the LEAR as a contact person (e.g. as a team member

with read-only rights). Please note that these contact details are saved directly from this step into

the administrative form. Hence, this data is not editable in the application form itself. Still, you can

at any point return to Step 4 to add or delete any contact person or to change the access rights.

Remember to save your data before leaving Step 4 and to open and save the form as well (Step 5

below). Once the coordinator saves the changes, an automatic invitation is sent to all contacts' e-mail

addresses. The invited persons can access the proposal after logging in to the F&T Portal – with the

EU login account linked to the given e-mail address – under the 'My Proposals' tab.

If they have not yet registered an EU login account, the Principal Investigator or the applicant legal

entity's contact person will receive an activation e-mail inviting them to activate their EU login

account. Following to this first activation, the EU login account will be maintained for following

communications or feedback. In order to be able to submit your proposal after saving changes

made in Step 4, you have to re-open the administrative form (‘edit forms’ button), revise the

changes, validate and save the form. Failure to do so will prevent you from submitting your

proposal. Further details are available in the Submission Service user manual.

Step 5: “Proposal forms”

This step is the core of the submission process, as from this step, you can edit the online

administrative forms (‘edit forms’ button), you can go back to the ‘Participants’ step, you can view

the ‘history’, ‘print preview‘ the draft proposal, ‘download’ Part B templates, ‘upload’ files, ‘validate’

the forms and ‘submit’ the proposal by clicking on the relevant buttons. Guidance on how to fill in

the administrative forms is provided directly in the form as ghost text for the single entries or as

additional help text hidden behind question-marks . Some parts of the form will be prefilled based

on the data entered at pre-registration or in the Beneficiary Register. Please use the functionality

'Validate' button to check the validity and completeness of your data. Any warning or error will be

listed at the end of the validated form. Please see Annex 4.5 for a list of mandatory fields. If one or

several mandatory fields are not filled, it will prevent you from submitting your proposal.

Further information on the preparation of the application (the online administrative forms and

Proposal Parts B1 and B2) is given in section 2 of this document.

• All files must be uploaded in the submission system as PDF (‘portable document format’).

Other file formats will not be accepted by the system. Irrespective of any page limits

specified in this document, there is an overall limit of 10 Mbytes to the size of each

uploaded document (Part B1, Part B2, and supporting documentation). However, it is

advised to limit the size of Parts B1 and B2 to 2 Mbytes each.

• Unless specified in the call, embedded material and any other documents (company

brochures, scientific papers, reports, audio, video, multimedia, links, etc.) sent either

electronically or by post to the ERCEA or uploaded directly in the F&T Portal will be

disregarded.

There are also restrictions to the name given to the Part B files: use alphanumeric characters; special

characters and spaces must be avoided. You are advised to clean your document before converting it

to PDF (e.g. accept all tracked changes, delete notes). Check that your conversion software has

successfully converted all the pages of your original document (e.g. there is no problem with page

limits or page view), and that captions and labels have not been lost from your diagrams.

Be careful to type the correct e-mail address of the Principal Investigator and all contact persons at this step. Please note

that if the Principal Investigator and the administrative contact person is the same person (because the Principal

Investigator is self-employed), you must use two different e-mail addresses as the system does not allow two identical e-

mail addresses to be entered.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Completing the Proposal submission forms in the submission system and uploading all the

necessary files does not yet mean that your proposal is submitted (mandatory files: Part B1, Part

B2, PhD certificate, host institution support letter and -if applicable- supporting documentation for

eligibility extension and/or ethics and security issues). Once there is a consolidated version of the

proposal, the ‘SUBMIT’ button must be pressed. The system performs a limited automatic validation

of the proposal. Any problems such as missing data, wrong file format or excessive file size will

appear as a list of warnings and/or errors on the screen. You may submit your proposal with

warnings (marked in yellow), but it is not possible to submit a proposal until all errors (marked in red)

are corrected. Please note that the electronic checks by the submission system do not replace the

formal admissibility and eligibility review and do not confirm that the contents of these files respond

to the requirements of the call.

Step 6: “Submit”

Reaching this step means that the proposal is submitted (i.e. sent to the ERCEA for evaluation). It

does not mean that the proposal is valid, admissible and eligible in all respects. Within a few minutes

of submission, your proposal will be available for download with an e-receipt in the system. You will

receive a confirmation e-mail with the summary data of the submitted proposal. The mail can end up

in the spam folder or be blocked by the anti-spam system of your organisation. This automatic

message is not the official acknowledgement of receipt. In Step 6, you can re-edit the proposal, going

back to Step 5. You may continue to modify the proposal and submit revised versions overwriting

the previous one right up until the call deadline. The sequence above must be repeated each time.

The most recent version of your proposal submitted before the deadline is the one which will be

evaluated. No earlier version can be recovered from the submission system.

Check if the proposal is complete. Once submitted, it is recommended to verify the proposal and its

content by downloading all the submitted files. We strongly advise that you submit a first version of

your proposal at least 48 hours in advance of the call deadline. Incomplete proposals (where parts or

sections of the proposal and/or the host institution's commitment statement are missing) may be

declared inadmissible and will not be evaluated

. The proposal must be submitted before the

relevant deadline of the call to the appropriate primary ERC panel (i.e. the panel which covers the

main scientific areas of the research proposed).

Warning: Please note that in the last hours prior to call closure, the download option of checking

your submitted proposal may be disabled due to a high pressure on the system. In this case, the

ERCEA will inform the applicants via the call page on the F&T Portal (under 'call summary') that the

function has been disabled. If the e-receipt and download option have been disabled, you may

review your submitted proposal by going back to Step 5 in order to check the data in the

administrative forms and click on 'View History' to verify which attachments have been uploaded.

See also section 2.4 'Admissibility and eligibility check' in the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon

Europe and in the section "Proposal submission and description" of the ERC WP 2025.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

3.3 HOW TO WITHDRAW A PROPOSAL

To withdraw a proposal before the call deadline, use the "withdraw proposal" button from the 'My

proposals' tab when logged in at the F&T Portal. After the call deadline, proposals may be withdrawn

at any moment until the day preceding the panel meeting where a final decision on the outcome of

the evaluation of the proposal is established. A withdrawn proposal will not be considered for

evaluation nor count against possible re-application restrictions as set out in the ERC Work

Programme 2025.

To withdraw a proposal after the call deadline, please send a message/letter indicating a clear and

unambiguous intention to withdraw the proposal, to the call-specific mailbox ERC-2025-STG-

APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu or ERC-2025-COG-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu. The message/letter

should mention the name of the Principal Investigator, the proposal number and the acronym of the

proposal as well as the call identifier (for example ERC-2025-STG). The applicant Principal

Investigator should use an e-mail address indicated in their application. If the message/letter is sent

by the host institution representative, the applicant Principal Investigator should be in copy of an e-

mail containing such a message/letter.

In the case of two or more proposals submitted by the same Principal Investigator, the ERCEA

services may ask the Principal Investigator to withdraw one or more of those proposals. In the case of

absence of reaction by the Principal Investigator to this request, only the first eligible submitted

proposal will be evaluated.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4. ANNEXES

4.1 ERC EVALUATION PANELS AND KEYWORDS

Physical Sciences and Engineering

PE1 Mathematics

All areas of mathematics, pure and applied, plus mathematical foundations of computer science,

mathematical physics and statistics

PE1_1 Logic and foundations

PE1_2 Algebra

PE1_3 Number theory

PE1_4 Algebraic and complex geometry

PE1_5 Lie groups, Lie algebras

PE1_6 Geometry and global analysis

PE1_7 Topology

PE1_8 Analysis

PE1_9 Operator algebras and functional analysis

PE1_10 ODE and dynamical systems

PE1_11 Theoretical aspects of partial differential equations

PE1_12 Mathematical physics

PE1_13 Probability

PE1_14 Mathematical statistics

PE1_15 Generic statistical methodology and modelling

PE1_16 Discrete mathematics and combinatorics

PE1_17 Mathematical aspects of computer science

PE1_18 Numerical analysis

PE1_19 Scientific computing and data processing

PE1_20 Control theory, optimisation and operational research

PE1_21 Application of mathematics in sciences

PE1_22 Application of mathematics in industry and society

PE2 Fundamental Constituents of Matter

Particle, nuclear, plasma, atomic, molecular, gas, and optical physics

PE2_1 Theory of fundamental interactions

PE2_2 Phenomenology of fundamental interactions

PE2_3 Experimental particle physics with accelerators

PE2_4 Experimental particle physics without accelerators

PE2_5 Classical and quantum physics of gravitational interactions

PE2_6 Nuclear, hadron and heavy ion physics

PE2_7 Nuclear and particle astrophysics

PE2_8 Gas and plasma physics

PE2_9 Electromagnetism

PE2_10 Atomic, molecular physics

PE2_11 Ultra-cold atoms and molecules

PE2_12 Optics, non-linear optics and nano-optics

PE2_13 Quantum optics and quantum information

PE2_14 Lasers, ultra-short lasers and laser physics

PE2_15 Thermodynamics

PE2_16 Non-linear physics

PE2_17 Metrology and measurement

PE2_18 Equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics: steady states and dynamics

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

PE3 Condensed Matter Physics

Structure, electronic properties, fluids, nanosciences, biological physics

PE3_1 Structure of solids, material growth and characterisation

PE3_2 Mechanical and acoustical properties of condensed matter, lattice dynamics

PE3_3 Transport properties of condensed matter

PE3_4 Electronic properties of materials, surfaces, interfaces, nanostructures

PE3_5 Physical properties of semiconductors and insulators

PE3_6 Macroscopic quantum phenomena, e.g. superconductivity, superfluidity, quantum Hall effect

PE3_7 Spintronics

PE3_8 Magnetism and strongly correlated systems

PE3_9 Condensed matter – beam interactions (photons, electrons, etc.)

PE3_10 Nanophysics, e.g. nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, nanomagnetism, nanoelectromechanics

PE3_11 Mesoscopic quantum physics and solid-state quantum technologies

PE3_12 Molecular electronics

PE3_13 Structure and dynamics of disordered systems, e.g. soft matter (gels, colloids, liquid crystals), granular

matter, liquids, glasses, defects

PE3_14 Fluid dynamics (physics)

PE3_15 Statistical physics: phase transitions, condensed matter systems, models of complex systems,

interdisciplinary applications

PE3_16 Physics of biological systems

PE4 Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences

Analytical chemistry, chemical theory, physical chemistry/chemical physics

PE4_1 Physical chemistry

PE4_2 Spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques

PE4_3 Molecular architecture and Structure

PE4_4 Surface science and nanostructures

PE4_5 Analytical chemistry

PE4_6 Chemical physics

PE4_7 Chemical instrumentation

PE4_8 Electrochemistry, electrodialysis, microfluidics, sensors

PE4_9 Method development in chemistry

PE4_10 Heterogeneous catalysis

PE4_11 Physical chemistry of biological systems

PE4_12 Chemical reactions: mechanisms, dynamics, kinetics and catalytic reactions

PE4_13 Theoretical and computational chemistry

PE4_14 Radiation and Nuclear chemistry

PE4_15 Photochemistry

PE4_16 Corrosion

PE4_17 Characterisation methods of materials

PE4_18 Environment chemistry

PE5 Synthetic Chemistry and Materials

New materials and new synthetic approaches, structure-properties relations, solid state chemistry,

molecular architecture, organic chemistry

PE5_1 Structural properties of materials

PE5_2 Solid state materials chemistry

PE5_3 Surface modification

PE5_4 Thin films

PE5_5 Ionic liquids

PE5_6 New materials: oxides, alloys, composite, organic-inorganic hybrid, nanoparticles

PE5_7 Biomaterials synthesis

PE5_8 Intelligent materials synthesis – self assembled materials

PE5_9 Coordination chemistry

PE5_10 Colloid chemistry

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

PE5_11 Biological chemistry and chemical biology

PE5_12 Chemistry of condensed matter

PE5_13 Homogeneous catalysis

PE5_14 Macromolecular chemistry

PE5_15 Polymer chemistry

PE5_16 Supramolecular chemistry

PE5_17 Organic chemistry

PE5_18 Medicinal chemistry

PE6 Computer Science and Informatics

Theoretical and experimental computer science, information processing, intelligent systems

PE6_1 Computer architecture, high-performance computing, real-time and embedded systems

PE6_2 Operating and distributed systems, computer networks and performance evaluation, mobile

computing

PE6_3 Software engineering, programming languages

PE6_4 Theory of computation, semantics of computation, formal methods

PE6_5 Algorithms, complexity theory, algorithmic game theory and computational economics

PE6_6 Security, privacy, cryptology

PE6_7 Databases, web and information systems, information retrieval

PE6_8 Artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, knowledge representation

PE6_9 Machine learning, statistical data processing, computing with artificial neural networks

PE6_10 Natural language processing, large language and other foundation models

PE6_11 Computer vision, computer graphics, visualization

PE6_12 Human computer interaction, multimedia and virtual reality, computer games

PE6_13 Numerical and scientific computing, computational modelling and simulation methods, bioinformatics

PE6_14 New computational paradigms, quantum computing, bio-inspired computing

PE7 Systems and Communication Engineering

Electrical, electronic, communication, optical and systems engineering

PE7_1 Control engineering

PE7_2 Electrical engineering: power components and/or systems

PE7_3 Simulation engineering and modelling

PE7_4 (Micro- and nano-) systems engineering

PE7_5 (Micro- and nano-) electronic, optoelectronic and photonic components

PE7_6 Communication systems, wireless technology, high-frequency technology

PE7_7 Signal processing

PE7_8 Networks, e.g. communication networks and nodes, Internet of Things, sensor networks, networks of

robots

PE7_9 Man-machine interfaces

PE7_10 Robotics

PE7_11 Components and systems for applications (in e.g. medicine, biology, environment)

PE7_12 Electrical energy production, distribution, applications

PE8 Products and Processes Engineering

Product and process design, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical, vehicle engineering, energy

processes and relevant computational methods

PE8_1 Aerospace engineering

PE8_2 Chemical engineering, technical chemistry

PE8_3 Civil engineering, architecture, offshore construction, lightweight construction, geotechnics

PE8_4 Computational engineering

PE8_5 Fluid mechanics

PE8_6 Energy processes engineering

PE8_7 Mechanical engineering

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

PE8_8 Propulsion engineering, e.g. hydraulic, turbo, piston, hybrid engines

PE8_9 Production technology, process engineering

PE8_10 Manufacturing engineering and industrial design

PE8_11 Environmental engineering, e.g. sustainable design, waste and water treatment, recycling,

regeneration or recovery of compounds, carbon capture & storage

PE8_12 Naval/marine engineering

PE8_13 Automotive and rail engineering; multi-/inter-modal transport engineering

PE9 Universe Sciences

Astro-physics/-chemistry/-biology; solar system; planetary systems; stellar, galactic and extragalactic

astronomy; cosmology; space sciences; astronomical instrumentation and data

PE9_1 Solar physics – the Sun and the heliosphere

PE9_2 Solar system science

PE9_3 Exoplanetary science, formation and characterization of extrasolar planets

PE9_4 Astrobiology

PE9_5 Interstellar medium and star formation

PE9_6 Stars – stellar physics, stellar systems

PE9_7 The Milky Way

PE9_8 Galaxies – formation, evolution, clusters

PE9_9 Cosmology and large-scale structure, dark matter, dark energy

PE9_10 Relativistic astrophysics and compact objects

PE9_11 Gravitational wave astronomy

PE9_12 High-energy and particle astronomy

PE9_13 Astronomical instrumentation and data, e.g. telescopes, detectors, techniques, archives, analyses

PE10 Earth System Science

Physical geography, geology, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, climatology, cryology,

ecology, global environmental change, biogeochemical cycles, natural resources management

PE10_1 Atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric composition, air pollution

PE10_2 Meteorology, atmospheric physics and dynamics

PE10_3 Climatology and climate change

PE10_4 Terrestrial ecology, land cover change

PE10_5 Geology, tectonics, volcanology

PE10_6 Palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology

PE10_7 Physics of earth’s interior, seismology, geodynamics

PE10_8 Oceanography (physical, chemical, biological, geological)

PE10_9 Biogeochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, environmental chemistry

PE10_10 Mineralogy, petrology, igneous petrology, metamorphic petrology

PE10_11 Geochemistry, cosmochemistry, crystal chemistry, isotope geochemistry, thermodynamics

PE10_12 Sedimentology, soil science, palaeontology, earth evolution

PE10_13 Physical geography, geomorphology

PE10_14 Earth observations from space/remote sensing

PE10_15 Geomagnetism, palaeomagnetism

PE10_16 Ozone, upper atmosphere, ionosphere

PE10_17 Hydrology, hydrogeology, engineering and environmental geology, water and soil pollution

PE10_18 Cryosphere, dynamics of snow and ice cover, sea ice, permafrosts and ice sheets

PE10_19 Planetary geology and geophysics

PE10_20 Geohazards

PE10_21 Earth system modelling and interactions

PE11 Materials Engineering

Advanced materials development: performance enhancement, modelling, large-scale preparation,

modification, tailoring, optimisation, novel and combined use of materials, etc.

PE11_1 Engineering of biomaterials, biomimetic, bioinspired and bio-enabled materials

PE11_2 Engineering of metals and alloys

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

PE11_3 Engineering of ceramics and glasses

PE11_4 Engineering of polymers and plastics

PE11_5 Engineering of composites and hybrid materials

PE11_6 Engineering of carbon materials

PE11_7 Engineering of metal oxides

PE11_8 Engineering of alternative established or emergent materials

PE11_9 Nanomaterials engineering, e.g. nanoparticles, nanoporous materials, 1D & 2D nanomaterials

PE11_10 Soft materials engineering, e.g. gels, foams, colloids

PE11_11 Porous materials engineering, e.g. covalent-organic, metal-organic, porous aromatic frameworks

PE11_12 Semi-conducting and magnetic materials engineering

PE11_13 Metamaterials engineering

PE11_14 Computational methods for materials engineering

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Life Sciences

LS1 Molecules of Life: Biological Mechanisms, Structures and Functions

For all organisms:

Molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biophysics, synthetic and chemical

biology, drug design, innovative methods and modelling

LS1_1 Macromolecular complexes including interactions involving nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and

carbohydrates

LS1_2 Biochemistry

LS1_3 DNA and RNA biology

LS1_4 Protein biology

LS1_5 Lipid biology

LS1_6 Glycobiology

LS1_7 Molecular biophysics, biomechanics, bioenergetics

LS1_8 Structural biology

LS1_9 Molecular mechanisms of signalling processes

LS1_10 Synthetic biology

LS1_11 Chemical biology

LS1_12 Protein design

LS1_13 Early translational research and drug design

LS1_14 Innovative methods and modelling in molecular, structural and synthetic biology

LS2 Integrative Biology: from Genes and Genomes to Systems

For all organisms:

Genetics, epigenetics, genomics and other ‘omics studies, bioinformatics, systems biology, genetic

diseases, gene editing, innovative methods and modelling, ‘omics for personalised medicine

LS2_1 Genetics

LS2_2 Gene editing

LS2_3 Epigenetics

LS2_4 Gene regulation

LS2_5 Genomics

LS2_6 Metagenomics

LS2_7 Transcriptomics

LS2_8 Proteomics

LS2_9 Metabolomics

LS2_10 Glycomics/Lipidomics

LS2_11 Bioinformatics and computational biology

LS2_12 Biostatistics

LS2_13 Systems biology

LS2_14 Genetic diseases

LS2_15 Integrative biology for personalised medicine

LS2_16 Innovative methods and modelling in integrative biology

LS3 Cell Biology, Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration

For all organisms:

Structure and function of the cell, cell-cell communication, embryogenesis, tissue differentiation,

organogenesis, growth, development, evolution of development, organoids, stem cells, regeneration,

therapeutic approaches

LS3_1 Cell cycle, cell division and growth

LS3_2 Cell senescence, cell death, autophagy, cell ageing

LS3_3 Cell behaviour, including control of cell shape, cell migration

LS3_4 Cell junctions, cell adhesion, the extracellular matrix, cell communication

LS3_5 Cell signalling and signal transduction, exosome biology

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

LS3_6 Organelle biology and trafficking

LS3_7 Mechanobiology of cells, tissues and organs

LS3_8 Embryogenesis, pattern formation, morphogenesis

LS3_9 Cell differentiation, formation of tissues and organs

LS3_10 Developmental genetics

LS3_11 Evolution of developmental strategies

LS3_12 Organoids

LS3_13 Stem cells

LS3_14 Regeneration

LS3_15 Development of cell-based therapeutic approaches for tissue regeneration

LS3_16 Functional imaging of cells and tissues

LS3_17 Theoretical modelling in cellular, developmental and regenerative biology

LS4 Physiology in Health, Disease and Ageing

Organ and tissue physiology, comparative physiology, physiology of ageing, pathophysiology, inter-

organ and tissue communication, endocrinology, nutrition, metabolism, interaction with the

microbiome, non-communicable diseases including cancer (and except disorders of the nervous

system and immunity-related diseases)

LS4_1 Organ and tissue physiology and pathophysiology

LS4_2 Comparative physiology

LS4_3 Physiology of ageing

LS4_4 Endocrinology

LS4_5 Non-hormonal mechanisms of inter-organ and tissue communication

LS4_6 Microbiome and host physiology

LS4_7 Nutrition and exercise physiology

LS4_8 Impact of stress (including environmental stress) on physiology

LS4_9 Metabolism and metabolic disorders, including diabetes and obesity

LS4_10 The cardiovascular system and cardiovascular diseases

LS4_11 Haematopoiesis and blood diseases

LS4_12 Cancer

LS4_13 Other non-communicable diseases (except disorders of the nervous system and immunity-related

diseases)

LS5 Neuroscience and Disorders of the Nervous System

Nervous system development, homeostasis and ageing, nervous system function and dysfunction,

systems neuroscience and modelling, biological basis of cognitive processes and of behaviour,

neurological and mental disorders – In humans and all other organisms

LS5_1 Neuronal cells

LS5_2 Glial cells and neuronal-glial communication

LS5_3 Neural development and related disorders

LS5_4 Neural stem cells

LS5_5 Neural networks and plasticity

LS5_6 Neurovascular biology and blood-brain barrier

LS5_7 Sensory systems, sensation and perception, including pain

LS5_8 Neural basis of behaviour (e.g. sleep, consciousness, addiction)

LS5_9 Neural basis of cognition (e.g. learning, memory, attention, emotions, speech)

LS5_10 Ageing of the nervous system

LS5_11 Neurological and neurodegenerative disorders

LS5_12 Mental disorders

LS5_13 Nervous system injuries and trauma, stroke

LS5_14 Repair and regeneration of the nervous system

LS5_15 Neuroimmunology, neuroinflammation

LS5_16 Systems and computational neuroscience (e.g. modelling, simulation, brain oscillations, connectomics)

LS5_17 Imaging in neuroscience

LS5_18 Innovative methods and tools for neuroscience

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

LS6 Immunity, Infection and Immunotherapy

The immune system, related disorders and their mechanisms, biology of infectious agents and

infection, biological basis of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, innovative

immunological tools and approaches, including therapies

LS6_1 Innate immunity

LS6_2 Adaptive immunity

LS6_3 Regulation of the immune response

LS6_4 Immune-related diseases

LS6_5 Biology of pathogens (e.g. bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi)

LS6_6 Infectious diseases

LS6_7 Mechanisms of infection

LS6_8 Biological basis of prevention and treatment of infection

LS6_9 Antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance

LS6_10 Vaccine development

LS6_11 Innovative immunological tools and approaches, including therapies

LS7 Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Diseases

Medical technologies and tools for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases,

therapeutic approaches and interventions, pharmacology, preventative medicine, epidemiology and

public health, digital medicine

LS7_1 Medical imaging for prevention, diagnosis and monitoring of diseases

LS7_2 Medical technologies and tools (including genetic tools and biomarkers) for prevention, diagnosis,

monitoring and treatment of diseases

LS7_3 Nanomedicine

LS7_4 Regenerative medicine

LS7_5 Applied gene, cell and immune therapies

LS7_6 Other medical therapeutic interventions, including transplantation

LS7_7 Pharmacology and toxicology

LS7_8 Effectiveness of interventions, including resistance to therapies

LS7_9 Public health and epidemiology

LS7_10 Preventative and prognostic medicine

LS7_11 Environmental health, occupational medicine

LS7_12 Health care, including care for the ageing population

LS7_13 Palliative medicine

LS7_14 Digital medicine, e-medicine, medical applications of artificial intelligence

LS7_15 Medical ethics

LS8 Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution

For all organisms:

Ecology, biodiversity, environmental change, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial

ecology, marine biology, ecophysiology, theoretical developments and modelling

LS8_1 Ecosystem and community ecology, macroecology

LS8_2 Biodiversity

LS8_3 Conservation biology

LS8_4 Population biology, population dynamics, population genetics

LS8_5 Biological aspects of environmental change, including climate change

LS8_6 Evolutionary ecology

LS8_7 Evolutionary genetics

LS8_8 Phylogenetics, systematics, comparative biology

LS8_9 Macroevolution and paleobiology

LS8_10 Ecology and evolution of species interactions

LS8_11 Behavioural ecology and evolution

LS8_12 Microbial ecology and evolution

LS8_13 Marine biology and ecology

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

LS8_14 Ecophysiology, from organisms to ecosystems

LS8_15 Theoretical developments and modelling in environmental biology, ecology, and evolution

LS9 Biotechnology and Biosystems Engineering

Biotechnology using all organisms, biotechnology for environment and food applications, applied

plant and animal sciences, bioengineering and synthetic biology, biomass and biofuels, biohazards

LS9_1 Bioengineering for synthetic and chemical biology

LS9_2 Applied genetics, gene editing and transgenic organisms

LS9_3 Bioengineering of cells, tissues, organs and organisms

LS9_4 Microbial biotechnology and bioengineering

LS9_5 Food biotechnology and bioengineering

LS9_6 Marine biotechnology and bioengineering

LS9_7 Environmental biotechnology and bioengineering

LS9_8 Applied plant sciences, plant breeding, agroecology and soil biology

LS9_9 Plant pathology and pest resistance

LS9_10 Veterinary and applied animal sciences

LS9_11 Biomass production and utilisation, biofuels

LS9_12 Ecotoxicology, biohazards and biosafety

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Social Sciences and Humanities

SH1 Individuals, Markets and Organisations

Economics, finance, management

SH1_1 Macroeconomics; monetary economics; economic growth, labour economics

SH1_2 International trade; international business; spatial economics

SH1_3 Development economics political economics

SH1_4 Finance; financial markets

SH1_5 Corporate finance; international finance

SH1_6 Banking, insurance

SH1_7 Accounting, asset prices, auditing

SH1_8 Econometrics, game theory, decision theory

SH1_9 Behavioural economics; experimental economics; neuro-economics

SH1_10 Microeconomics, industrial organisation, applied microeconomics

SH1_11 Innovation, research & development, entrepreneurship

SH1_12 Management; operations management, international management

SH1_13 Human resource management; organisational behaviour

SH1_14 Strategy, operation research

SH1_15 Marketing, consumer behaviour

SH1_16 Quantitative economic history, economic systems, institutional economics

SH2 Institutions, Governance and Legal Systems

Political science, international relations, law

SH2_1 Political systems, governance

SH2_2 Democratisation and social movements

SH2_3 Conflict resolution, war, peace building

SH2_4 Legal studies, comparative law, law and economics

SH2_5 Constitutions, human rights, international law

SH2_6 International relations, global and transnational governance

SH2_7 Humanitarian assistance and development

SH2_8 Political and legal philosophy

SH2_9 Digital approaches to political science and law

SH3 The Social World and Its Interactions

Sociology, social psychology, education sciences, communication studies

SH3_1 Social structure, social mobility, social innovation

SH3_2 Inequalities, discrimination, prejudice

SH3_3 Aggression and violence, antisocial behaviour, crime

SH3_4 Social integration, exclusion, prosocial behaviour

SH3_5 Social attitudes and beliefs

SH3_6 Social influence; power and group behaviour

SH3_7 Social policies, welfare, work and employment

SH3_8 Poverty and poverty alleviation

SH3_9 Social aspects of teaching and learning, curriculum studies, education and educational policies

SH3_10 Communication and information, networks, media

SH3_11 Digital social research

SH3_12 Social studies of science and technology

SH4 The Human Mind and Its Complexity

Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics

SH4_1 Cognitive basis of human development, developmental disorders; comparative cognition

SH4_2 Personality and social cognition; emotion

SH4_3 Clinical and health psychology

SH4_4 Neurocognitive psychology

SH4_5 Attention, perception, action, consciousness

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

SH4_6 Learning, memory; cognition in ageing

SH4_7 Reasoning, decision-making; intelligence

SH4_8 Language learning and processing (first and second languages)

SH4_9 Theoretical linguistics; computational linguistics

SH4_10 Language typology; historical linguistics

SH4_11 Pragmatics, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, discourse analysis

SH5 Texts and Concepts

Literary studies, literature, philosophy

SH5_1 Classics, ancient literature

SH5_2 Theory and history of literature, comparative literature

SH5_3 Book studies

SH5_4 Philology; text and image studies

SH5_5 Palaeography and codicology

SH5_6 Philosophy of mind, philosophy of language

SH5_7 Philosophy of science, epistemology, logic

SH5_8 Metaphysics, philosophical anthropology; aesthetics

SH5_9 Ethics and its applications; social philosophy

SH5_10 History of philosophy

SH5_11 Digital humanities; digital approaches to literary studies and philosophy

SH6 The Study of the Human Past

Archaeology and history

SH6_1 Archaeological methods and theory, history of archaeology

SH6_2 Prehistoric archaeology, archaeology of non-literate societies

SH6_3 Archaeology of early literate societies and early civilizations

SH6_4 Medieval and post-medieval archaeologies

SH6_5 Archaeological science, bioarchaeology, environmental archaeology, geoarchaeology

SH6_6 Digital, computational, virtual and geospatial archaeologies

SH6_7 Historiography, theory and methods of history, including the analysis of digital data

SH6_8 Ancient history, medieval history

SH6_9 Early modern, modern, and contemporary history

SH6_10 Colonial and post-colonial history

SH6_11 Global, transnational, and comparative history

SH6_12 Social and economic history

SH6_13 Cultural history, intellectual history

SH6_14 History of science and technologies, environmental history

SH7 Human Mobility, Environment, and Space

Human geography, demography, health, sustainability science, territorial planning, spatial analysis

SH7_1 Human, economic and social geography

SH7_2 Migration

SH7_3 Population dynamics: households, family and fertility

SH7_4 Social aspects of health, ageing and society

SH7_5 Sustainability sciences, environment and resources, ecosystem services

SH7_6 Environmental and climate change, societal impact and policy

SH7_7 Cities; urban, regional and rural studies

SH7_8 Land use and planning

SH7_9 Energy, transportation and mobility

SH7_10 GIS, spatial analysis; digital geography

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

SH8 Studies of Cultures and Arts

Social anthropology, studies of cultures, studies of arts

SH8_1 Kinship; diversity and identities, gender, interethnic relations

SH8_2 Religious studies, ritual; symbolic representation

SH8_3 Cultural studies and theory, cultural identities and memories, cultural heritage

SH8_4 Museums, exhibitions, conservation and restoration

SH8_5 History of art and of architecture

SH8_6 Architecture, design, craft, creative industries

SH8_7 Music and musicology; history of music

SH8_8 Visual and performing arts, screen, arts-based research

SH8_9 Digital approaches to anthropology, cultural studies and art

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.2 HOST INSTITUTION SUPPORT LETTER TEMPLATE 2025

Commitment of the host institution for ERC Calls 2025

56, 57, 58

The <<please fill in here the name of the legal entity that is associated to the proposal and

may host the principal investigator and the project (action) in case the application is

successful>>, which is the applicant legal entity,

confirms its intention to sign a supplementary agreement with

<<please fill in here the name of the principal investigator>>

in which the obligations listed below will be addressed should the proposal be retained.

Performance obligations of the applicant legal entity (host institution) that will become

the coordinator of the HE ERC Grant Agreement (hereafter referred to as the

Agreement), should the proposal be retained and the preparation of the Agreement be

successfully concluded:

The applicant legal entity (host institution) commits itself to ensure that the action tasks

described in Annex 1 of the Agreement are performed under the guidance of the principal

investigator who is expected to devote:

− in the case of a Starting Grant at least 50% of her/his working time to the ERC-funded

project (action) and spend at least 50% of her/his working time in an EU Member

State or Associated Country;

− in the case of a Consolidator Grant at least 40% of her/his working time to the ERC-

funded project (action) and spend at least 50% of her/his working time in an EU

Member State or Associated Country;

− in the case of an Advanced Grant at least 30% of her/his working time to the ERC-

funded project (action) and spend at least 50% of her/his working time in an EU

Member State or Associated Country.

The applicant legal entity (host institution) commits itself to respect the following conditions

for the principal investigator and their team:

a) host and engage the principal investigator for the whole duration of the action;

b) take all measures to implement the principles set out in the Commission

recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct

for the Recruitment of Researchers

— in particular regarding working conditions,

A scanned copy of the signed statement should be uploaded electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal

Submission Service in PDF format.

The statement of commitment of the host institution refers to most obligations of the host institution, which are stated

in the Model Grant Agreement used for ERC actions (MGA). The MGA is available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. The

reference to the time commitment of the principal investigator is stated in the ERC Work Programme 2025.

This statement (on letterhead paper) shall be signed (in blue ink or digitally) by the institution’s legal representative

indicating their name, function, email address and, in case of blue ink signature, along with the stamp of the institution.

Commission Recommendation 2005/251/EC of 11 March 2005 on the European Charter for Researchers included in

Annex II to the Council Recommendation of 18 December 2023 on a European framework to attract and retain research,

innovation and entrepreneurial talents in Europe and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (OJ L 75,

22.3.2005, p. 67).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

transparent recruitment processes based on merit and career development — and

ensure that the principal investigator, researchers and third parties involved in the

action are aware of them;

c) enter — before grant signature— into a Supplementary Agreement with the principal

investigator, that specifies the obligation of the applicant legal entity to meet its

obligations under the Agreement;

d) provide the principal investigator with a copy of the signed Agreement;

e) guarantee the principal investigator scientific independence, in particular for the:

i) use of the budget to achieve the scientific objectives;

ii) authority to publish as senior author and invite as co-authors those who have

contributed substantially to the work;

iii) preparation of scientific reports for the action;

iv) selection and supervision of the other team members, in line with the profiles

needed to conduct the research and in accordance with the beneficiary’s usual

management practices;

v) possibility to apply independently for funding;

vi) access to appropriate space and facilities for conducting the research;

f) provide — during the implementation of the action — research support to the principal

investigator and the team members (regarding infrastructure, equipment, access rights,

products and other services necessary for conducting the research);

g) support the principal investigator and provide administrative assistance, in particular

for the:

i) general management of the work and their team;

ii) scientific reporting, especially ensuring that the team members send their

scientific results to the principal investigator;

iii) financial reporting, especially providing timely and clear financial information;

iv) application of the beneficiary’s usual management practices;

v) general logistics of the action;

vi) access to the electronic exchange system;

h) inform the principal investigator immediately (in writing) of any events or

circumstances likely to affect the Agreement;

i) ensure that the principal investigator enjoys adequate:

i) conditions for annual, sickness and parental leave;

ii) occupational health and safety standards;

iii) insurance under the general social security scheme, such as pension rights;

j) allow the transfer of the Agreement to a new beneficiary, if requested by the principal

investigator and provided that the objectives of the action remain achievable

(portability; see Article 41 of the Agreement);

k) respect the fundamental principle of research integrity and ensure that persons

carrying out research tasks under the action follow the good research practices and

refrain from the research integrity violations described in the European Code of

Conduct for Research Integrity

. If any such violations or allegations occur, verify

and pursue them and bring them to the attention of the Agency.

The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity – Revised Edition 2023. All European Academies, Berlin. DOI

10.26356/ECOC

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

For the applicant legal entity (host institution):

Date

……………….

Name and Function

…………………. ; ………………….

Email and Signature (blue ink or digital) of legal representative

…………………. ; …………………………….

Stamp of the applicant legal entity (host institution)

IMPORTANT NOTE:

In order to be complete, all the above-mentioned items are mandatory and shall be included in the

commitment of the host institution.

If the letter is digitally signed, please do NOT lock it.

No need to stamp this letter of support when it is digitally signed.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.3 PHD AND EQUIVALENT DOCTORAL DEGREES

The ERC Policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees is detailed in Annex 2 of the ERC WP 2025

'ERC Policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees':

1. The necessity of ascertaining PhD equivalence

In order to be eligible to apply to the ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant, a Principal Investigator must

have successfully defended a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree. First-professional degrees will not

be considered in themselves as PhD-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "Doctor". See below

for further guidelines on PhD degree equivalency.

2. PhD Degrees

The research doctorate is the highest earned academic degree. It is always awarded for independent

research at a professional level in either academic disciplines or professional fields. Regardless of the

entry point, doctoral studies involve several stages of academic work. These may include the

completion of preliminary course, seminar and laboratory studies and/or the passing of a battery of

written examinations. The PhD candidate selects an academic adviser and a subject for the

dissertation, is assigned a dissertation committee, and designs their research (some educators call

the doctoral thesis a dissertation to distinguish it from lesser theses). The dissertation committee

consists usually of 3-5 faculty members in the candidate's research field, including the adviser.

3. Independent research

Conducting the research and writing the dissertation usually requires one to several years depending

upon the topic selected and the research work necessary to prepare the dissertation. In defending

their thesis, the PhD candidate must establish mastery of the subject matter, explain and justify

their research findings, and answer all questions put by the committee. A successful defence results

in the award of the PhD degree.

4. Degrees equivalent to the PhD:

It is recognised that there are some other doctoral titles that enjoy the same status and represent

variants of the PhD in certain fields. All of them have similar content requirements. Potential

applicants are invited to consult the following for useful references on degrees that will be

considered equivalent to the PhD:

- EURYDICE: "Examinations, qualifications and titles - Second edition, Volume 1, European

glossary on education" published in 2004

. Please note that some titles that belong to the

same category with doctoral degrees (ISCED 6 – 1997 classification or ISCED 8 – 2011

classification

) may correspond to the intermediate steps towards the completion of

doctoral education and they should not be therefore considered as PhD-equivalent.

- List of research doctorate titles awarded in the United States that enjoy the same status and

represent variants of the PhD within certain fields. These doctorate titles are also recognised

as PhD-equivalent by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/european-glossary-on-education-pbEC3212292/.

http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/international-standard-classification-of-education-isced-2011-

en.pdf.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

5. First Professional Degrees (for applicants holding a degree in medicine please see below):

It is important to recognise that the initial professional degrees in various fields are first degrees, not

graduate research degrees. Several degree titles in such fields include the term "Doctor", but they

are neither research doctorates nor equivalent to the PhD.

6. Applicants holding a degree in medicine:

A first degree in medicine will not be accepted by itself as equivalent to a PhD degree. To be

considered an eligible Principal Investigator, applicants holding a degree in medicine need to provide

the certificates of both the medical degree and the PhD or proof of an appointment that requires

doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship appointment). Additionally,

candidates must also provide information on their research experience (including peer reviewed

publications) in order to further substantiate the equivalence of their overall training to a PhD.

In these cases, the certified date of the medical degree completion plus two years is the reference

date used for the calculation of the eligibility period established for Starting and Consolidator Grants

in the section “Eligible Principal investigator(s)” of the ERC Work programme 2025.

For applicants holding both a degree in medicine and a PhD, the date used for the calculation of the

eligibility period (i.e. medical degree plus two years or the date of the successful defence of their

PhD degree) is the date of the earliest degree that makes the applicant eligible.

_______________________________

Further explanation on point 6 for applicants holding several degrees:

A medical degree

takes precedence over a PhD degree only when an applicant has held an

appointment that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship, professorship

appointment) before the date of successful defence of a PhD.

Example 1

A Principal Investigator who was awarded a degree in medicine in 2010, completed clinical specialty

training in 2015 and then defended a PhD on 1 January 2020, is eligible to apply to the Starting Grant

2025 call based on the date of the successful defence of the PhD. As the medical degree by itself is

not accepted as equivalent to a PhD award, the earliest eligible degree is the PhD – defended 5 years

prior to 1 January 2025 and within the eligibility window (2 – 7 years after PhD).

Example 2

A Principal Investigator who was awarded a degree in medicine on 1 January 2006, completed clinical

training in 2009 and held one or several research positions (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship or

professorship appointment) prior to successfully defending a PhD in 2019, is ineligible for both the

Starting and Consolidator Grant 2025 calls. The medical degree together with the research

experience acquired during the research position(s) is considered equivalent to a PhD. Therefore, the

earliest eligible degree is the medical degree – awarded 19 years prior to 1

January 2025 and not

within the eligibility window (the date of the medical degree + 2 years = 1 January 2008, is used for

the calculation of the eligibility window of 2-7 years for STG and 7-12 years for COG). An extension

for three years of clinical training is not enough to make the applicant eligible for the Consolidator

grant call.

The basic medical degree (first graduate degree in medicine) applicable to all countries.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Example 3

A Principal Investigator who was awarded a medical degree on 1

January 2017, followed by a Dr.

Med. degree awarded on 11 July 2018 and who then held one or several research positions requiring

PhD equivalence (e.g. post-doctoral fellowship or professorship appointment) is eligible to apply to

the Starting Grant 2025 call based on the award date of the medical degree. As the Dr. Med. degree

by itself is not accepted as equivalent to a PhD degree, the earliest eligible degree is the MD degree –

awarded 8 years prior to 1 January 2025 and within the eligibility window (the date of the medical

degree + 2 years = 1 January 2019, is used for the calculation of the eligibility window of 2-7 years for

STG and 7-12 years for COG). The certified date of the MD degree completion plus two years is the

time reference for calculation of the eligibility time-window and thus 1 January 2019 is the PhD

equivalence date, which should be entered in the application form for this applicant.

Example 4

A Principal Investigator who was awarded an MD Univ. degree on 8 August 2011, followed by a Dr.

Med. degree awarded on 25 October 2012 and then defended a PhD on 1 January 2015 is eligible to

apply to the Consolidator Grant 2025 call based on the defence date of the PhD degree. As the Dr.

Med. degree by itself is not accepted as equivalent to a PhD award, and as the applicant has not held

any research positions requiring PhD equivalence between the MD Univ. degree and the PhD, the

earliest eligible degree is the PhD degree – awarded 10 years prior to 1 January 2025 and within the

eligibility window (7 – 12 years past PhD) for Consolidator grant applicants.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.4 SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR THE PHD REFERENCE DATE AND EXTENSION

REQUESTS

The date of the PhD considered for the calculation of the eligibility period is the date of the successful

defence of the first PhD degree.

The eligibility periods for StG and CoG calls can be extended beyond 7 and 12 years for the Starting

and Consolidator Grants, respectively, for the following properly documented circumstances

provided they started before the call deadline:

- Maternity: 18 months extension for each child born before or after the date of the successful

defence of their first PhD degree. If the applicant can document a longer total maternity leave, the

eligibility period will be extended by the documented amount of actual leave(s) for all children taken

before the call deadline.

- Paternity: extension by the documented time of paternity leave taken before the call deadline for

each child born before or after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

- Long-term illness

or national service: extension by the documented amount of leave taken by the

Principal Investigator before the call deadline for each incident, which occurred after the date of the

successful defence of their first PhD degree.

- Disability

: Extension corresponding to the reduced amount of working time (including leave taken)

and/or the degree of disability as documented by the Principal Investigator, before the call deadline,

and which occurred after the date of the successful defence of their first PhD degree.

- Clinical training: extension by the documented amount of clinical training received by the Principal

Investigator after the reference date of the first eligible degree and before the call deadline, up to a

maximum of 4 years.

- Major disasters

: extension by the documented time of a Principal Investigator's inability to work

before the call deadline due to a major disaster, which occurred after the date of the successful

defence of their first PhD degree.

- Seeking Asylum: extension by the documented time of the Principal Investigator's inability to work

before the call deadline due to seeking asylum

, which occurred after the date of the successful

defence of their first PhD degree.

For applicants whose first eligible degree is their medical degree such incidents can be considered from the date of

completion of their medical degree.

Long-term illness is understood as a period over 90 days for the Principal Investigator or a close family member (child,

spouse, parent or sibling).

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in

interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others

(UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)). Request for eligibility extension for disability-related

reasons can also be indicated for cases where working capacity was reduced due to disability.

Major disasters include large-scale geological (e.g. earthquakes), meteorological (e.g. floods) or human-caused (e.g.

armed conflicts) events that cause loss of life or property.

For a minimum of 90 days.

The possible period of extension runs from the start date of asylum/refugee application to the date of decision on the

applicant Principal Investigator’s refugee status and/or receipt of specific residence permit.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

In case the PhD certificate does not show the date of defence of the PhD, the applicant should

provide an official confirmation from the awarding institution of the date of the successful defence of

their PhD. If the PhD defence was not successful and following the PhD defence, corrections were

required, applicants should provide an official document indicating that the defence was not

successful and a date when the corrections to the PhD thesis were approved.

In case no defence was organised, the Principal Investigator should provide an official confirmation

from the awarding institution that no defence/viva was required (not part of the PhD programme)

and stating a date when the PhD was approved (similar to a defence date; i.e. an approval date

before the PhD was awarded).

The official transcript of the PhD course noting any of the dates above is also acceptable.

All applicants are entitled to an extension of their eligibility window if properly documented and

related to the specific circumstances defined in the annual ERC work programme

. Please note that

any such circumstance must have started before the call deadline. The reference date for calculating

the eligibility window is the reference date of the first eligible degree according to the national rules

of the awarding country

. The extension time is calculated based on the supporting documentation

submitted with the application. There is no limit to the total extension timeframe. Please note

however, that a maximum of 4 years has been introduced for extensions due to clinical training. The

individual extensions for different periods are additive and the total extension time can thus be

based on several reasons.

Maternity leave

For maternity

, a flat rate of 18 months extension is granted for each child born before or after the

PhD defence. In case of one child, if a maternity leave or the combined maternity and parental leave

was longer than 18 months, an extension will be granted for the documented leave actually taken. In

case of more than one child, if the maternity leaves or the combined maternity and parental leaves

were longer than the total flat rate, an extension will be granted for the documented leave(s)

actually taken. The same principle also applies for child adoption.

Supporting documents: any official document that links the mother and the child(ren), i.e. birth

certificate(s) or passport(s) of the child(ren) or family book. For extension requests above the flat

rate, an official signed document

from the employer certifying start and end dates of the individual

leave(s) must be submitted. Any document should mention the reason for the leave. If the leave was

conducted as a part-time leave, this should be stated. It is acceptable if the time off work happened

over several periods.

A couple of examples are provided below to further clarify the guidance for maternity leave-based

extension requests:

Example 1:

A Principal Investigator has two children. She took a maternity leave of 4 months for the first child

and 6 months for the second child. She also took part-time parental leave at 50% during two years. In

this case, the total documented leave would be 4 months + 6 months + 12 months (2 years * 50 %) =

22 months. The flat rate, which is 18 months per child born before or after the PhD award, would be

2 * 18 months = 36 months. As the flat rate gives a longer extension than the accumulated

E.g. no extension to the eligibility window can be accepted for periods of unemployment.

Please see footnote 3.

Different family and couple scenarios can be considered provided they are properly documented.

The certificate should be issued by a person within the employing organisation empowered to certify the actual leave

taken (i.e. an authorised officer from the HR Department).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

documented leaves taken, the Principal Investigator would be given the 36 months of flat rate as an

extension to the eligibility reference date.

Example 2:

A Principal Investigator has two children. She took a maternity leave of 6 months for the first child

and 10 months for the second child. She also took full-time parental leave during two years. In this

case, the total documented leave would be 6 months + 10 months + 24 months = 40 months. The flat

rate, which is 18 months per child born before or after the PhD award, would be 2 * 18 months = 36

months. As the total documented leaves taken corresponds to a longer extension than the flat rate,

the Principal Investigator would be given the 40 months of documented leaves taken as an extension

to the eligibility reference date.

Paternity leave

For paternity leave, an extension will be granted corresponding to the documented time of paternity

and/or parental leave actually taken for each child born before or after the PhD defence (counting

up until the call deadline). Both full time and part time leaves can be accepted if properly

documented

. The same principle also applies for child adoption.

Supporting documents: an official signed document

from the employer certifying start and end

dates of the individual leave(s). Any document should mention the reason for the leave. If the leave

was conducted as a part-time leave, this should be stated. It is acceptable if the time off work

happened over several periods.

Long-term illness

For long-term illness (more than 90 days for the Principal Investigator or a close family member such

as a child, spouse, parent or sibling), an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented

time of leave actually taken after the PhD defence (counting up until the call deadline). Full time and

part time leaves as well as reduced working capacity can be accepted if properly documented.

Supporting documents:

- For the Principal Investigator: an official, signed document from the employer certifying start

and end dates of the individual leave(s) or a medical record that indicates work incapability

with the start and end dates of the illness period(s). Any document should mention the

reason for the leave. If the leave was conducted as a part-time leave, this should be stated. It

is acceptable if the time off work happened over several periods, as long as the leaves were

related to the same illness or condition. Furthermore, the request should be supported by an

official document explaining the long-term nature of the illness or condition (e.g. from a

hospital, a doctor or an insurance company).

- For taking care of close family members: an official signed document from the employer

certifying start and end dates of the individual leave(s). Any document should mention the

reason for the leave. If the leave was conducted as a part-time leave, this should be stated. It

is acceptable if the time off work happened over several periods, as long as the leaves were

related to the same illness or condition. Furthermore, the request should be supported by an

official document explaining the long-term nature of the illness or condition of the close

family member (e.g. from a hospital, a doctor or an insurance company). The supporting

An official document proving the Principal Investigator's right to social paternity benefits can also be accepted.

The certificate should be issued by a person within the employing organisation empowered to certify the actual leave

taken (i.e. an authorised officer from the HR Department).

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

documents should also prove the family relationship in case the extension request relates to

caring for a seriously ill close family member.

National (military) service

For national military service, an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented amount

of leave actually taken after the PhD defence (counting up until the call deadline).

Supporting documents: document signed by official authority with start and end date of the service.

Disability

For disabilities, an extension may be granted corresponding to the documented period during which

a Principal Investigator was unable to work or had reduced working capacity after their PhD defence

(counting up to the call deadline).

Supporting documents: an official document confirming the disability together with documentation

certifying leave/part-time working/reduced working capacity resulting from the disability, with

relevant start and end dates (if applicable). Any document should mention the reason for the leave.

Clinical training

For clinical training, an extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of clinical

training received by the Principal Investigator after the first eligible degree up to a maximum of 4

years (counting up until the call deadline). For applicants whose first eligible degree is a medical

degree, clinical training can be accepted from the date of the completion of their medical degree. No

extension will be accepted for serving as a house doctor or hospital doctor unless it is part of a

clinical training programme. In case of part-time clinical training, the exact total training time will be

accepted on a pro-rata basis to extend the eligibility window of the applicant.

Supporting documents: an official document signed by the employer (usually a hospital) certifying

start and end dates of the individual training period(s). Any document should mention the type of

training. If the training was conducted part-time, this should be stated. It is acceptable if the training

happened over several periods and for different clinical specialties.

Major disasters

An extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of a Principal Investigator’s

inability to work for a minimum of 90 days before the call deadline for events related to major

disasters (large-scale geological (e.g. earthquakes), meteorological (e.g. floods) or human-caused

(e.g. armed conflicts) events that cause loss of life or property)

. This inability must have occurred

after the date of the successful defence of their PhD degree and before the call deadline.

Supporting documents: An official, signed document from the employer certifying start and end

date(s) of the inability or reduced capacity to work due to a major disaster. Any document should

mention the reason for the interruption.

Please note that inability to work due to Covid-19- related lockdown and constraints per se is not considered as a reason

for extension.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Seeking Asylum:

An extension can be granted corresponding to the documented time of the Principal Investigator's

inability to work before the call deadline due to seeking asylum, which occurred after the date of the

successful defence of their PhD degree. The possible period of extension runs from the start date of

asylum/refugee application to the date of decision on the applicant Principal Investigator’s refugee

status and/or receipt of specific residence permit.

Supporting documents: an official, signed document from the competent authorities confirming the

Principal Investigator’s inability to work due to seeking asylum indicating a start date of

asylum/refugee application and a date of the decision on the applicant Principal Investigator’s

refugee status and/or receipt of specific residence permit. This information can be provided within

several documents. An official document proving the Acknowledgement of receipt of the

request/application for the asylum /refugee status could be also accepted.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.5 LIST OF BLOCKING FIELDS IN THE ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM

Section 1 – General Information

Acronym

Title

Duration

Primary ERC Review Panel

ERC Keyword 1

Abstract

Declaration on written consent of all participants

Section 2 – Participants

PI: First name, Last name and e-Mail (can only be entered at Step 4/Participants in the submission

system)

PI: Nationality, Date of birth, Gender, Country of birth, Place of birth, Town and Country.

Main contact person (for ERC HI contact person): contact First name, Last name and e-Mail (can only

be entered at Step 4/ in the submission system).

Section 3 - Budget

Total Eligible Costs and Requested EU contribution per beneficiary

Section 4 – Ethics and security

No blocking fields

Section 5 – Other questions

Date of earliest award (PhD or equivalent)

Percentage of working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country over the period of the

grant

Percentage of working time the PI dedicates to the project over the period of the grant

Eligibility declaration

Consent obtained from participants and researchers

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.6 PROPOSAL BUDGET REPORT

Proposal number

999999

Acronym

ERC proposal

Title

Title describing the ERC proposal

Evaluation panel

XXx

Principal Investigator

First Name, Last Name

Host institution

Name of host institution, country

Project duration

xx months (this information will be extracted from the administrative form, section 1 -

General information)

Time commitment of the

PI to the project

xx% (this information will be extracted from the administrative form, section 5 - Other

questions)

Budget summary

Beneficiary organisation(s)

Total cost (€)

Requested AMT (€)

1. Name of Institution, country

x,xxx,xxx.00

xxx,xxx.00

Budget details

Cost Category / Beneficiary

Name of Institution

Total

A. Personnel costs

Senior Staff

Postdocs

Students

Other Personnel costs

Total Personnel costs

Xxx

B. Subcontracting costs (no indirect costs)

C. Purchase costs

C.1 Travel and subsistence

C.2. Equipment incl. major equipment

C.3 Other goods,

works and services

Consumables incl. fieldwork and

animal costs

Publications (incl. Open Access fees)

and dissemination

Other additional direct costs

C.3 Total other goods, works and

services

Total Purchase costs (C1 + C2 + C3)

Xxx

D. Internally invoiced goods and services (no indirect costs)

E. Indirect costs (= 25% * (A + C1 + C2 + C3))

Xxx

Total eligible costs (A + B + C + D + E)

X.xxx.xxx

Requested EU contribution

X.XXX.XXX

This is an example of how the Proposal Budget Report looks like for the experts. Please note that the layout may be

further adapted when needed.

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

Section C. Resources

I plan to allocate …. (one to max. two descriptive text pages) – max. 8000 characters.

State and fully justify the amount of funding considered necessary to fulfil the objectives for the duration of the project. The

project cost estimation should be as accurate as possible. The evaluation panels assess the estimated costs carefully;

unjustified budgets will be consequently reduced. Please specify if you will use third parties giving in-kind contributions to

the action.

If applicable, please specify the cost items covered by your 'Other personnel costs' category and the cost items covered by

your 'Other additional direct costs' category.

Request for additional funding if applicable (All items MUST be included in the overall budget table above, in the

appropriate cost category): xxx (Cost in EUR).

Justification:

EU Grants: ERC-STG & ERC-COG— Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls: V8.0 10.07.2024

4.7. TEMPLATE FOR REQUESTING ELIGIBILITY EXTENSION

If you are requesting an extension of the eligibility period, this request should be uploaded as Annex

1 of the application (in a single PDF document containing a cover page and all supporting

documents). For information on the circumstances that could justify such an extension and the type

of documents supporting this request please see page 50 of this document.

The cover page should include the following information:

ELIGIBILITY EXTENSION REQUEST

In connection with my proposal [call identifier: STG 2025/ COG 2025] acronym [indicate acronym], I

am requesting an extension of the eligibility window period due to:

☐ Maternity /parental leave

☐ Paternity / parental leave

☐ Long-term illness

☐ National service

☐ Disability

☐ Clinical training

☐ Major disaster

☐ Seeking asylum

Calculation of the extension period for the applicable circumstances [each event should be listed

separately]:

No.

Leave/event

[if applicable] Short

description (e.g.

taking care of a sick

family member)

Start date

(not

needed for

a flat rate)

End date

(not

needed for

a flat rate)

Calculated

number of

days/months/

years

Supporting

document(s)

(type)

Total extension request [1+2+3+(…)]:

Over 90 days for the Principal Investigator or a close family member (child, spouse, parent or sibling).