Horizon Europe: ERC Starting Grant

Enabling outstanding researchers to establish their own research groups

ERC Starting Grants support excellent researchers at an early career stage on their path to scientific independence. An important step in this process is often the establishment of their first own research group.

The ERC Starting Grant supports scientists at an early stage of their career who want to conduct groundbreaking research in Europe as Principal Investigators (project leaders).

ERC Starting Grant calls are open to all topics and disciplines. The applications are processed exclusively according to the criterion of scientific excellence assessed. The evaluation is carried out by around 12-16 experts (panel members), who are currently working in 28 groups (evaluation panels). The panels are assigned to one of three scientific domains:

  1. Physical Sciences and Engineering
  2. Life Science
  3. Social Sciences and Humanities

All ERC applicants must assign their project to one or two of the evaluation panels.

The evaluation takes place in two stages . In the first stage a short application is evaluated by the respective ERC panel according to the sub-criteria “Excellence of the Project” and “Excellence of the Principal Investigator”. In the second stage the evaluation is carried out on the basis of the complete application and an interview . The application is also assessed by external experts (remote referees). However, the decision regarding funding rests with the panel members, who are often not specialists in the applicant's research area, but rather act as generalists.

Starting Grants are aimed at researchers whose doctorate was completed between at least two and a maximum of seven years ago on January 1 of the year of the call (according to the ERC work program). This time window can be extended under defined conditions, e.g. maternity, maternity leave or medical specialist training.

The essential in brief

Open Availability
01.01.2021 - 31.12.2027
Initiative for
(Non-profit) AssociationsCompetence centresLarge companiesResearch facilitiesSingle researchersSmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)Start UpUniversitiesUniversities of applied sciences
Funders
EC - European Commission

Contact

Ylva HUBER

Nationale Kontaktstelle
ERC
+43 577 55-4102 E-Mail

Lil REIF

Nationale Kontaktstelle
ERC
+43 577 55-4608 E-Mail

About the FFG

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