Today the European Research Council (ERC) has pre-announced its 2018 Work Programme and grant competitions with a total budget of €1.86 billion.

One of the programme's new elements is the reintroduction of Synergy Grants, the funding scheme for groups of two to four scientists who can jointly address ambitious research problems. Both the ERC Starting Grants and Synergy Grants calls are set to open on 3 August. Other grant competitions will be launched according to the indicative calendar:

The document is made public before its official adoption to provide potential applicants with the currently expected main lines of the Work Programme 2018. The adoption and the publication of the Work Programme by the European Commission are expected on 3 August 2017 (indicative date). Only the adopted work programme will have legal value.