Yes, these costs are eligible if they are incurred during the lifetime of the project and provided that they are in line with the requirements for direct costs as listed in Article II.14 of the General Conditions of the ERC Grant Agreement Single and Multi-Beneficiary.
If the Grant Agreement contains a Special Clause 39 ERC, then the initial host institution is responsible for providing open access to those publications that have been published while it was the beneficiary. For any publication after the transfer of host institution, the new host institution is responsible as far as the deposit in a repository and the provision of open access is concerned, irrespective whether the publication is based on work carried out at the old or the new host institution.
One of the specificities of the ERC Grant Agreement is the split of the reporting into two distinct sets of reporting periods, in order to diminish the administrative burden on the researchers:
-Scientific reports, usually after half of the project (30 months) and at the end of the project in Starting and Advanced Grants and two intermediate reports (usually every 24 months) and one at the end of the project in Synergy Grants. Scientific reports are submitted by the Principal Investigator on behalf of the Host Institution/beneficiary;
- Financial reports, usually every 18 months and at the end of the project. Financial reports are submitted by the Host Institution with a contribution from the Principal Investigator, as per General Conditions to the ERC Grant Agreement, Article II.3.1.b for Single or Article II.3.bis.1.b for Multi-beneficiary Grant Agreements.
Two different departments/units in the ERCEA follow the (two) separate reporting streams to independently ensure appropriate work progress, follow-up and monitoring of the project. The templates are sent via advance notice letter 15 days before the end of the reporting period (in order to ensure that the beneficiary uses the latest version available).
If the scientific report has been approved without conditions, the payment will be performed at the end of the next financial reporting period without the need of any additional scientific requirements (if no new scientific issues arise meanwhile). If the scientific report has been approved conditionally, at the end of the next financial reporting period, the payment will be subject to verification that the suggested scientific recommendations have been properly fulfilled in the meantime. If the scientific report has been rejected and a revised version of the report was requested, the payment at the forthcoming financial reporting period will be suspended, until a satisfactory revised scientific report is submitted and approved by the scientific department. If the scientific report has been rejected, the ERCEA may start the procedure for termination of the Grant Agreement.
Final reports submitted within the framework of the termination will be due 45 days after the decision on termination became definitive.
In the evaluation of scientific reports, the ERCEA Scientific Department may require sometimes additional experts review. In these cases the time to evaluate the reports and disburse payments can be suspended till the review is satisfactory.
According to the conditions of the ERC Consolidator Grant 2017 call, there is no eligibility restriction to holders of a 'habilitation'. The reference date used for calculation of the applicant's eligibility is the PhD award date or medical doctor degree award date.
For more information please consult the ERC policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees in the ERC Work Programme 2017, Annex 2.
The European Union has a range of programmes which have been set up to support projects and initiatives in various domains across the EU and beyond.In accordance with the Commission's guidelines on visual identity, all EU programmes must be identified exclusively by the EU emblem and the mention of the programme name.The names of programmes, such as Horizon 2020 and FP7, will be used as verbal brands, i.e. references to them will be made without a specific logo.Commission services will apply the Commission’s visual identity guidelines when communicating about EU programmes. Beneficiaries of EU funding will use the European emblem in their communication to acknowledge the support received under EU programmes.The guidelines mentioned below are intended for beneficiaries of EU funding and other third parties who communicate about EU programmes to show how the European Union emblem can be used in conjunction with text which highlights the fact of EU funding.
For further information please see : The use of the EU emblem in the context of EU programmes - Guidelines for beneficiaries and other third parties
According to the conditions of the ERC Consolidator Grant 2019 call, for medical doctors who have been awarded both a medical doctor degree and a PhD, the date of the earliest degree that makes the applicant eligible takes precedence in the calculation of the eligibility time-window (7-12 years after the date of award of the PhD or 9-14 years past the medical doctor degree completion for Consolidators).
For more information, please consult the ERC policy on PhD and equivalent doctoral degrees in the ERC Work Programme 2019 – Annex 2.
Indeed, although most of the rules applicable to other researchers funded under Horizon 2020 also apply in the same way to researchers funded by the ERC, there are a number of differences. In particular, in the case of the ERC the open access obligations described in Article 29.2 of the Model Grant Agreement apply not only to articles in scientific journals, but also to long-text publications such as monographs, edited volumes, or book chapters.
An overview of the open access related rules for ERC funded researchers can be found on the ERC website. Note that Article 29.2 of the ERC Model Grant Agreement is slightly different from the corresponding article in the general Horizon 2020 Model Grant Agreement. Details on the application of the article to ERC grants can be found in the ERC specific part of the Annotated Model Grant Agreement.
No, a PhD is not formally required to submit a proposal to the ERC Advanced Grant 2020 (ERC-2020-AdG) call. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2020, excellence is the sole criterion for the evaluation of a proposal. However, a Principal Investigator (PI) is expected to have outstanding research results within the last 10 years. For more information, please refer to the ERC Work Programme 2020, or the Information for Applicants relevant for the call.
Yes, an experienced researcher is welcome to apply to the ERC Advanced Grant 2020 (ERC-2020-AdG) call at any stage of their career if they can prove - independently of their age - that they are still active with recent outstanding results. As stated in the ERC Work Programme 2020, Principal Investigators (PIs) may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application. The commitment and official support of a Host Institution is nevertheless required for the whole duration of the grant. For more information, see the ERC Work Programme 2020 or the Information for Applicants to the Advanced Grant call.
Similar to the general H2020 grants, given the COVID-19 situation, maximum flexibility will be given on scheduled due dates for deliverables, milestones, scientific and financial reporting as well as to the implementation of the action whose performance was impacted by the confinement measures (see FAQs on delays in submitting reports or deliverables, on interim payments, on reorientation of the action).
As regards the time-commitments obligation for PIs, the normal rules of the grant apply. We remind our beneficiaries that the PI’s time-commitments obligations must be fulfilled for the overall action duration (NOT annually or per reporting period). Therefore, if due to COVID-19 the PI cannot fulfil the time-commitment obligations under the project in a reporting period, she or he may compensate for it in the next reporting periods once the confinement measures are lifted, and fulfil the time-commitments by the end of the action. If needed, beneficiaries may suspend the action implementation during the period where no work can be carried out (in line with Article 49 H2020 MGA). In addition, if the PI cannot fulfil the time-commitment obligations for the whole action, the beneficiary may request a suitable extension of the action that will be treated favourably and swiftly (see FAQ on extension of action duration). This extension will not count against another potential extension under H2020 ERC grants, which will follow the normal rules and procedures.
