Webinar on the new ERC Plus Grants

All information on this webpage and in the webinar is without prejudice to the European Commission’s decision on the amendment of the ERC Work Programme 2026.

The ERC Plus Grants are a new funding scheme to support outstanding principal investigators with bold ideas and a vision for transformative research that goes beyond the scope of existing ERC programmes.

In this webinar on the new ERC Plus Grants, ERC President Maria Leptin and Philippe Cupers, Head of the Scientific Management Department, outlined the scope, objectives, eligibility and evaluation process of this new funding initiative.

They also explained how ERC Plus Grants sit within the wider ERC funding landscape and what applicants should bear in mind when preparing a proposal. Participants were able to ask questions and engage directly with the speakers.

The session was moderated by Martin Penny, Head of Communication at the ERC.

Watch the webinar

Webinar Q&A 

Those who had a MSCA can apply or is it considered as an ex-ERC grant recipient?

ERC Plus is open to researchers at any career stage with an outstanding record of scientific achievement; there is no restriction related to having held a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship are not considered as ex-ERC grant recipient. ERC Plus is also not defined as a follow-up scheme for previous ERC grantees.

Will a transcript of this webinar be available following the event? 

A short questions and answers video interview with the ERC President, Maria Leptin, giving an overview of the main aspects of the ERC Plus grants is available on the ERC YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/TU2ymXwm-Cw?si=nu3OScSL32WFvfb2

Are the eligible location criteria the same as for other ERC grants?

Yes. The Host Institution must be located in an EU Member State or a country associated to Horizon Europe. Additionally, the Principal Investigator must spend at least 50% of their working time in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe.

What will be the exact criteria of evaluation for the 2 Steps?

The evaluation will follow two steps. Step 1 will be conducted by Advanced Grant panels, who will assess mainly the groundbreaking idea of the project, the vision statement and the past achievements and intellectual leadership of the PI. Step 2 written assessment will be performed by panel members, with the support of remote reviewers. In Step 2 the reviewers will assess all aspects considered in Step 1, with the addition of details of methodology and resources. The Step 2 panels will also interview the applicants. The specific evaluation questions for each step will be listed in the amended ERC workprogramme 2026.

When will you contact panel members? How big will the panels be?

The ERC Scientific Council will soon start nominating the ERC Plus panel members. The ERC Plus step 2 panels will be created based on an expected selection of approximately 60 panel members.

First review is by existing Advanced Grant panels which are a particular organisation of existing fields. What about projects that do not fit in an existing panel?

Step 1 evaluations will be conducted by Advanced Grant panels; as for other ERC calls the panels will be able to ask for cross panel reviews if additional expertise is needed to evaluate a step 1 ERC Plus proposal.

How many years post-PhD can one apply?

There is no limit on years post-PhD. Applicants at all career stages may apply, provided they demonstrate outstanding scientific achievement and intellectual leadership.

Will applicants from Associated Countries e.g,. UK be eligible, as per other ERC schemes?

Yes. Host Institutions may be located in EU Member States or in countries associated to Horizon Europe - therefore including applicants hosted by UK institutions. Applicants may reside anywhere in the world at the time of application.

At the first stage you compete against people from your field, the top proposals from each field are picked, and at the second stage generalists select 30?

At Step 1, applicants are evaluated along applicants in the same field. The Advanced panel members will pick the best ERC Plus applications to go to the next step, without any quota per field or upper limit. In Step 2, interdisciplinary/generalists panel will make the final decision among proposals in all fields. They will be supported by specialist reviews provided by remote referees.

Is there an appetite for practical solutions? Innovative and ambitious, but practical.

The scheme targets projects that go beyond regular ERC grants, with a vision to transform a field or open new avenues in research, which may also include proposals in applied sciences.

How does the ERC guarantee the confidentiality of exciting ideas? Are they individual projects like the Advanced Grants?

The ERC have strict rules on confidentiality that needs to be observed by all experts. The same rules regarding confidentiality will apply to ERC Plus as for other ERC grant evaluations. ERC Plus are individual grants like the Advanced Grants.

How much equivalent full-time will be necessary to write such grant application? For regular ones it is close to a couple months.

This is up to each applicant. The proposal template will be similar to the templates for Starting, Consolidator and Advanced grant except their will be an additional section in Part 1 dediated to the Statement of Vision, which should not exceed two pages

How will the career history be balanced against the proposal structure and the team one is proposing to assemble?

Applicants must show an outstanding record of scientific achievement and intellectual leadership, assessed relative to their career stage; the team composition should consider the activities proposed for the project.

What would the overheads be for the host institution?

Budgets should include eligible direct project costs plus a flat rate of 25% of the direct costs, which covers overheads for the Host Institution.

What kind of objectives will be positively evaluated? A new tool? A new methodology?

Positively evaluated projects should go beyond regular ERC projects and have a vision to transform a field or open new avenues in research. The ERC calls are entirely bottom-up, with no pre-defined priorities.

Can it be extended beyond 7 years?

Grants are awarded for a minimum of four years and a maximum of seven years. The ERC Plus grants will be subject to the same rules regarding amendment for extension, which means that a grant may be extended beyond seven years if duly justified.

If we have an ongoing European grant but not ERC (e.g., from EIC), can we apply?

Applicants of all career stages may apply provided they meet the general eligibility conditions;there are no restrictions related to holding other non-ERC European grants.

Do I understand well that it will not be reviewed by external experts? Important to know for feasibility promises/reality checks.

Evaluations will be carried out by panels (Advanced Grant panels at Step 1 and ERC Plus panels at Step 2). Both step 1 and step 2 panels may be supported by additional remote reviewers who will not take part in the panel meeting. In step 2, the remote reviews will be provided by Advanced Grant panel members and by some additional reviewers who have field-specific expertise related to the proposal.

Will the panel members of the Advanced Grant not intervene at all after Step 1? Will there be totally different members? What about external reviewers?

Step 1 and Step 2 will be conducted by different panels with no overlap in membership. The Advanced Grant panel members will also provide written remote reviews during the Step 2 remote evaluation, but will not attend the Step 2 panel meeting and interviews. The Step 2 external reviewers will be experts nominated for their specific expertise in the field of the proposal.

Is there a prospective date where the details of the call will be announced in 2026?

The call will be published at the latest in June 2026 and is expected to close for submissions in early September 2026. All documents and information related to the call will be available in the call page of the Funding and Tenders portal once the call is published.

I am Levent from Türkiye. My English speaking skills are insufficient. Will it affect my project's value or acceptance when presented orally or in person?

The ERC panel members are used to interview applicants with different backgrounds including non-native English speakers. The Step 2 interviews will focus on the scientific excellence of the proposal and the applicant and not the oral performance of each applicant.

Does this grant aims to support Europeans or integration of USA researchers?

ERC Plus is open to researchers of any nationality, residing anywhere in the world, provided the project is carried out at an eligible Host Institution in the EU or an Associated Country. The scheme does not target any specific nationality group.

If you have an ERC grant being evaluated at the time the call opens, can you apply?

You can only submit one eligible ERC application under the 2026 work programme. In case you have already submitted an application to the Synergy, Starting or Consolidator 2026 application, you cannot apply to ERC Plus unless you decide to withdraw your first application.

What about those who were not given an ERC grant in the past due to lack of funds?

Applicants who have applied for an ERC grant in previous years will be subject to re-submission restrictions for the ERC Plus 2026 call as listed in the 2026 amended Work Programme, expected to be published soon.

If my ERC Consolidator Grant expires in 2026, can I apply since the Plus Grants only start in 2027?

Yes. A researcher participating as a Principal Investigator in one of the ERC main frontier research grants may not submit another proposal for an ERC main frontier research grant, unless the existing project ends in less than two years following the call deadline. The ERC Plus call will have a call deadline in early September 2026. Thus, applicants with a running ERC grant that finishes before end of August 2028 are eligible to apply to the call.

As an SH researcher (SH5 specifically), I'm worried this new grant scheme will end up in PE and LS fields that are tech-heavy or AI-focused.

ERC Plus is open to any field of science with no predetermined priorities; applications from all domains, including social sciences and humanities, are eligible on the same basis. Approximately 1/3 of the Step 2 ERC Plus panel members will be in the field of social sciences and humanities. The vision of the Scientific Council to have Step 2 ERC Plus panels mixing LS, PE and SH panels is exactly aimed at avoiding field clusterings and choose proposals only based on excellence.

Is there a cap per country?

There will be no cap per country for the ERC Plus calls, as it is also the case for any other ERC call.

The application forms should be different than the normal ERC grants? Will the forms be published soon?

Proposals will follow the same overall structure as other ERC 2026 single-PI calls, with an additional Statement of Vision in Part 1. Applicants should use the downloadable templates provided on the Funding and Tenders portal once the call is published and open for submissions (expected latest early June 2026).

Do we have to think about things like implementation? A transformative idea may take a long time to implement.

Projects must be planned for a duration of four to seven years, and the lump-sum budget should realistically cover the work to be implemented; the template for Part 2 of the proposal will ask you to explain the approach and methodology you envision.

Can proposals currently quarantined by ERC, probably because they were too ambitious, be submitted to ERC Plus?

Applicants who have applied for an ERC grant in previous years will be subject to re-submission restrictions for the ERC Plus 2026 call as listed in the 2026 amended work programme.

Have you done any estimation/prediction about the number proposals that will be submitted to the 2026 ERC Plus call?

No. It is very difficult to make such a prediction. But we ask all applicants to please consider that this will be a highly competitive call with only 30 grant awards. This compares to around 1000 ERC grants awarded per year in total in the Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grant calls.

Can you please explain in detail how Step 1 and Step 2 work?

The evaluation will follow two steps. Step 1 will be conducted by Advanced Grant panels, who will assess mainly the groundbreaking idea of the project, the vision statement and the past achievements and intellectual leadership of the PI. Step 2 will be performed by interdisciplinary distinct ERC Plus panels, with the support of remote reviewers and Advanced Grant panel members who will also provide written reviews. In Step 2 the reviewers will assess all aspects considered in Step 1, with the addition of details of methodology and resources. The interdisciplinary Step 2 ERC Plus panels will also interview the applicants. The specific evaluation questions for each step are listed in the amended ERC work programme 2026.

More like a suggestion: it could be better to have more and smaller grants of e.g, of 500.000 euro. Many coming from the US need something to replace small NSF grants.

The ERC Plus is a pilot call that foresees a maximum grant size of EUR 7 million with no possibility to request additional funding. The grant size was decided by the ERC Scientific Council because it potentially targets a need in the European funding landscape and because it should be attractive to the best scientists worldwide to establish themselves in Europe.

What is the difference between ERC Plus and Advanced Grant?

Compared with regular Advanced Grants, ERC Plus also uses a lump-sum funding model, allows extended project duration and higher maximum grant size, but does not offer additional funding or pro-rata reductions. An ERC Plus application should go beyond what is expected to achieve with an ERC Advanced grant. How it will go beyond should be described in the section of Part 1 dedicated to the Vision Statement in Part B1 (evaluated at both steps). The ERC Plus evaluation places greater emphasis on past achievements and intellectual leadership, and the composition of the Step 2 panels is different from the Step 1 panels.

How much emphasis will be placed on the proposed Host Institution?

Grants will be signed with the Host Institution of the Principal Investigator, which must be a public or private research organisation located in an EU Member State or Associated Country. There will be no assessment of the quality of the host institution in the ERC Plus evaluation.

How long will the evaluation period be for each step?

The call is expected to close in early September 2026, with Step 1 panel meetings taking place in November 2026 and Step 1 results communicated in mid-February 2027. The Step 2 panel meetings will take place in early April 2027 and the Step 2 results are expected to be communicated in mid-June 2027.

Can a PI be simultaneously involved in other non-ERC projects while executing the ERC Plus?

The Principal Investigator must dedicate at least 30% of their working time to the project and spend at least 50% of their working time in the EU or an Associated Country so a PI can dedicate up to 70% of their working time on involvement in other projects.

Shouldn't ERC Plus Grants be restricted to previous ERC awardees as a way to guarantee the excellence of the candidate?

ERC Plus is open to scholars at all career stages who have demonstrated leadership in their field; there is no requirement to have held an ERC grant before.

If I understood right the evaluation approach, the evaluation would rely a lot on Advanced Grant panels. How would this prevent the potential bias to more senior CVs?

Applicants of all career stages are eligible, and their intellectual leadership will be evaluated in accordance with their career stage; past achievements are given more importance than in regular ERC grants, but the panels are expected to give equal chances to junior and senior researchers as long as they have proven leadership in their field as can be expected from a PI on their career stage.

For those of us new to ERC grants, can you briefly describe what the regular ERC grants cover and what they do not?

The European Research Council (ERC) was set up to support excellence in research through grants that tackle issues at the frontiers of existing knowledge. It provides flexible longer-term, portable funding, and independence for researchers and their teams to pursue ambitious and high-risk research. Our different funding schemes target individual researchers at different career stages: Starting grant for early career researchers, Consolidator grant for researchers who are consolidating their research team and Advanced grant for more senior research profiles are open to all researchers.

Will you also ask a Supplementary Agreement from the HI? Also, what will be the Minimum Time Commitment of the PI ?

A Host Institution letter is required as part of the full proposal, and the Principal Investigator must commit at least 30% of their working time to the project and 50% of their working time in the EU or an Associated Country. The same rules apply for the supplementary agreement as for any other ERC grant.

The statement of watching at the achievement is quite in opposition with ‘the grant is for all and gives same possibility’. Seniors will have more possibilities.

The scheme is open to all career stages, and intellectual leadership is evaluated in accordance with their career stage; at the same time, past achievements carry particular weight in ERC Plus compared with regular calls.

Is there additional funding available to purchase the necessary equipment or fabricate equipment that doesn't exist for the proposed research?

The maximum grant is EUR 7 million with no possibility to request additional funding; the budget must cover all project-eligible direct costs and associated 25% indirect costs, including any required equipment.

Should the vision be part of the B1 and does vision need to fit within the 5 page limit? Or is this above the 5 page limit?

The proposal will follow the standard structure of ERC single-PI calls, with an additional Statement of Vision in Part 1. The 5 page limits for Part 1 does not include the Vision Statement for which an additional 0.5 - 2 pages will be allowed.

Are ERC SyG 2026 (call closed in Nov 2025) applicants excluded from applying to the upcoming ERC Plus 2026?

Yes. You can only submit one eligible ERC application under the 2026 work programme. In case you have already submitted an application to the ERC Synergy 2026 call, you cannot apply to ERC Plus unless you decide to withdraw your first application.

Is big risk rewarded vs. success security? I have gathered data for years, I know what I can do with them (not applying to obtain data that maybe do not exist).

ERC Plus targets projects that go beyond regular ERC grants and aim to transform a field or open new avenues in research. ERC Plus will promote scientific excellence in research by funding ground-breaking, high-risk, and ambitious frontier research.

Can applicants to this call request additional funding as it happens for the current ERC Grants?

There is no possibility to request additional funding beyond the maximum grant size of EUR 7 million.

Are industry partners/collaborators allowed?

Host Institutions must be public or private research organisations in an EU Member State or Associated Country, and team members of any nationality can be included as additional beneficiaries including industry partners or collaborators where it is justified by the nature of the activities proposed.

Will both panels - Step 1 and Step 2 - evaluate both the B1 and B2?

In Step 1 only the Part 1 of each proposal will be evaluated. The Vision Statement in Part 1 will be evaluated in both Step 1 and Step 2. In Step 2 all evaluators will assess the full proposal (Parts 1 and 2).

Will at stage 1 specialists evaluate the application? In my recent Advanced Grant application at stage 1 I could see lack of expertise from panel members.

In Step 1 the Advanced Grant panel members will evaluate each proposal and may ask for cross panel reviews from members of other panels if required to fully assess your proposal. The detailed methodological aspects will only be evaluated by specialist remote reviewers in Step 2.

How risky can these ambitious ideas be?

Projects should be ambitious and aim at transforming a field or opening new avenues and high risk applications are welcomed.

Is there a minimum FTE for researchers for the complete project?

The Principal Investigator must allocate at least 30% of their working time to the project and spend minimum 50% of their working time in Europe or a country associated to Horizon Europe over the project lifetime.

You are using the word ‘transformative’, are you funding transformative change related research? Is transdisciplinary research welcome?

The ERC Plus scheme funds transformative projects that go beyond regular ERC grants and is open to any field of science with no predetermined priorities. Transdisciplinary research is not required but will be welcome.

Is having a previous ERC grant a plus?

Evaluation focuses on outstanding scientific achievement and intellectual leadership; previous ERC funding is not required and is not an evaluation criterion.

Will there be a requirement of % time dedication - 30% as in Advanced Grant or more?

Yes. The Principal Investigator must commit at least 30% of their working time to the project and at least 50% of their working time in the EU or an Associated Country.

Will you make the FAQ available before the publication of the call?

All of the answers from the webinar held on the ERC Plus Grants are published on our website.

Will there be a minimal budget to be eligible? (What if there is an ambitious idea that needs the 7 years, but not that huge budget?)

A maximum grant size of EUR 7 million is specified, but no minimum budget threshold is mentioned in the ERC Work Programme; the budget should realistically reflect the costs of the proposed work.

Since ‘Choose Europe’ was the initial impulse: are you expecting Host Institutions to provide long term transition perspectives?

No.

Would it be possible to apply with 30-month projects (25 months obtained from industry) and request 5 from ERC Plus?

In principle yes - whereas in-kind contributions are welcome and can be explained in the resources section, the budget split proposed in the question is rarely seen in frontier research applications to the ERC.

Can you apply to an ERC PoC afterwards?

Yes. ERC Plus Grant holders will be eligible to apply for an ERC PoC Grant as of 2027.

If I was a leader in my field, and then was away for a few years (4 years) and now I am coming back with a special idea, will this break hurt me?

Intellectual leadership will be evaluated in accordance with career stage. The panels will be asked to consider any career breaks or unusual career paths when assessing the excellence of the PI. In the CV template there is a dedicated section where you can provide further info on career breaks or other circumstances that could help assess your track record.

Could you please state the countries of Eligibility again?

Host Institutions must be located in EU Member States or in countries associated to Horizon Europe; the Principal Investigator may reside anywhere at the time of application but must spend at least 50% of their working time in the EU or an Associated Country. The list of eligible host institution countries is reported in the Annexes to the amended 2026 Work Programme.

The applications will be read by technical experts but also broad non-specialist panels. What level of technical detail is appropriate, given this?

You should write your Part 1 for experts who act as generalist in their panel and your Part 2 for experts who are specialists in the field. The ERC will provide more guidance on this question in the Information for Applicants document for the ERC Plus call.

Can we assume that the social sciences would perform worse compared to the others?

The scheme is open to any field of science with no predetermined priorities. The Step 2 panels will have an equal representation of experts across all research domains so there is no reason to think that applications from the social sciences will do worse than applications from other domains.

Are there any limits in the age of the applicant PI?

There is no age limit; researchers of any age may apply.

Can applicants be coming from for-profit organisations, as for ERC grants is the case?

Host Institutions can be public or private research organisations located in EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Can a large team (10+ researchers) be considered 'plus/grand' enough for this scheme?

No requirements or limits are specified regarding team size for ERC Plus grants. You should describe your team and the need for personnel resources in Part A of your application.

If the results have the potential to renew the field by increasing understanding on the key questions of the field, does it sound a good ERC Plus contribution?

Yes. A project whose results have the potential to renew a field by addressing key questions and transforming the area is in line with the stated aims of ERC Plus.

Can we see this ERC Plus Grant as a future aspect for Marie Curie fellows? Since we did knowledge transfer during our fellowship, to apply for an interdisciplinary grant?

The scheme is open to all career stages, and intellectual leadership is evaluated in accordance with career stage; at the same time, past achievements carry particular weight in ERC Plus compared with regular calls. Interdisciplinary research is welcome in ERC Plus, but is not a requirement.

Will expert reviewers review the application or only the two panels will be involved in the evaluation process?

Evaluations will be carried out by panels (Advanced Grant panels at Step 1 and a distinct ERC Plus panels at Step 2); Both Step 1 and Step 2 panels may be supported by additional remote reviewers who will not take part in the panel meeting. In Step 2, the remote reviews will be provided by Advanced Grant panel members and additional 2-4 reviewers who have field-specific expertise related to the proposal.

Will proposal receive a quantitative mark from 0 to 5 at Step 1 and Step 2?

Number of AV productions (videos & photos)

When is the ERC Plus grant expected to start, for the 2026 call?

The final results of the ERC Plus 2026 evaluation are expected to be communicated to the step 2 applicants by mid-June 2027. The grant agreement invitations for successful proposals will go out immediately after the communication of the final results. The starting date of each ERC Plus project will depend on when the grant agreement is concluded.

A pass proposal, judged positively but ranked out of the limit of available budget, will be considered failed?

The Advanced Grant panels acting in step 1 will decide whether a proposal is passed or failed. In step 2 the fundable proposals with an A-score will be ranked and the available budget will be used to fund the top ranked proposals. Applicants may receive a B-score in step 2 if not all elements of the excellence criterion are met.

Can part of the €7M be used for infrastructure?

The lump-sum budget must cover all project-eligible direct costs plus 25% indirect costs. The PI can freely build the budget request according to the needs of the project including on research infrastructure.

At what point must my ERC grant has concluded to be eligible for the ERC Plus grant, when the grant is solved, upon signing the contract, or at some other time?

A researcher participating as a Principal Investigator in one of the ERC main frontier research grants may not submit another proposal for an ERC main frontier research grant, unless the existing project ends in less than two years following the call deadline. The ERC Plus call will have a call deadline in early September 2026. Thus applicants with a running ERC grant that finishes before end of August 2028 are eligible to apply to the call.

Can an Emeritus professor, who has currently a running ERC Advanced Grant, apply for an ERC Plus once the Advanced Grant is finished?

Yes.

If my current ERC ends in September 2027 can I still apply?

Yes (see other Q/As above).

How detailed must the budget plan be?

The budget must be based on a realistic estimate of the project’s actual costs. A specific budget table will be available in Part A together with a section to explain and justify your resources request.

Will rejection in year 1 of the scheme affect eligibility to apply a second time?

This is still under consideration by the ERC Scientific Council for the ERC work programme 2027 and future work programmes.

Could a 2026 Consolidator applicant withdraw their proposal, if they decide to go for a Plus grant instead?

Yes, but the withdrawal request needs to be received at the latest the last day before the panel meeting in either step 1 or step 2. In case your consolidator 2026 application is rejected at step 1 and you did not withdraw your proposal before the step 1 panel meeting, it will not be possible to withdraw the proposal at a later point in time and you will not be eligible to apply to the ERC Plus 2026 call.

As previous Marie Curie fellow, how I can be competitive with my Prof who got 2 times ERC in the past, he already showed that he can manage large budgets.

Applicants are assessed on their outstanding scientific achievement and intellectual leadership in accordance with their career stage. There is no specific requirement that applicants should have held a previous ERC grant.

You said one can only have one application at a time. I thought the rule was applicable for the same work programme but I could have an Advanced Grant 2026 and a Synergy Grant 2027.

The eligibility of an Advanced Grant 2026 applicant to Synergy Grant 2027 will be clarified in the ERC work programme 2027, expected to be published in July 2026.

Are highly theoretical and/or methodological interdisciplinary humanities projects eligible and desirable when applying for these grants?

Yes. Any field of science is eligible, with a bottom-up approach and no predetermined priorities; theoretical or methodological interdisciplinary humanities projects may apply on the same basis as others.

Will the scheme include 25% of indirect costs like all other grants?

Yes. Budgets should include project-eligible direct costs plus a flat rate of 25% of the direct costs, corresponding to indirect costs.

Are paid collaborators who are not employed on the project allowed?

If we understand the question correctly, then yes. You can allocate part of the budget to secondary beneficiaries to cover costs that are not related to personnel (in case the their personnel costs are covered by other sources).

If an equipment has 10 years depreciation time and you apply for 7 years grant, so ERC+ will fund only up to 70% due to time - how that fits to lump sum funding?

The depreciation rules of your host institution will apply also to ERC Plus grants. The information of the depreciation of any equipment purchased for the ERC Plus grant should be explained in an equipment table, which will be part of each application as it is currently for the Advanced Grant lump sum pilot.

When is expected to publish the work programme?

The amended ERC 2026 work programme is expected to be published at the latest in January 2026.

It was mentioned earlier that the 2026 ERC Plus Grant would have specific restrictions compared to subsequent ones. What will these restrictions be?

This is still under consideration by the ERC Scientific Council for the ERC work programme 2027 and future work programmes.

Will use of ai for grant writing be penalised?

The ERC Scientific Council has published a statement on the use of AI in grant writing, which is available on the ERC website at: https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/current-position-erc-scientific-council-ai

What is the PI career stage expected in terms of experience? Is there a limit of years after PhD?

ERC Plus is open to scholars at all career stages with no limit on years after PhD. Intellectual leadership is evaluated in accordance with career stage.

When and where can we read more details regarding ERC Plus Grants?

Once the call is open, all documents and information will be available on the call page of the Funding and Tenders portal. A dedicated call page will also soon be available at the ERC website.

How many calls there will be the coming years?

ERC Plus will be piloted for two years, in 2026 and 2027.

Is feedback provided, besides pass, no pass?

Step 1 will lead to a retained/not-retained decision and applicants will also receive a panel comment together with all step 1 individual reviews as part of their final feedback if not retained to step 2.

If failed the ERC Starting Grant 2026, can we apply the ERC Plus in 2026?

No, you can only apply to one call for each work programme. Therefore if you applied to Starting 2026, you cannot also apply to ERC PLUS 2026 unless you decide to withdraw your Starting grant proposal respecting the rules on withdrawals.

I don't understand the restriction related to B/C result of Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant. If these proposals are rejected, why are these researchers not applicable for ERC+?

This is because if these applicants were not considered to fulfill the excellence criterion for their application to Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grant they will most likely not be competitive for the ERC Plus call.

Can only university host the ERC Plus grantee? Cannot Research Institutes host?

Host Institutions can be public or private research organisations located in EU Member States or associated countries; they are not limited to universities.

Panels will meet for Advanced Grant and in another session for ERC Plus?

Advanced Grant 2026 and ERC Plus 2026 are two separate calls, and although the Advanced Grant panel members will evaluate the applications of both calls, this will be done in two separate sessions.

Does impact matter at all?

Projects should address a major scientific challenge and aim to transform a field or open new research avenues; this implies a strong emphasis on scientific impact, but impact per se will not be part of the evaluation questions.

Will the application form still be divided in part B1 and B2 and how does this relate to the new evaluation process?

In step 1 only the Part 1 of each proposal will be evaluated. The Vision Statement in Part 1 will be evaluated in both Step 1 and Step 2. In step 2 all evaluators will assess the full proposal (Parts 1 and 2).

Will the availability part 1 and part 2 be the same as the other schemes? Meaning Advanced Grant panel members at step 1 will only see part 1?

In step 1 only the Part 1 of each proposal will be evaluated. The Vision Statement in Part 1 will be evaluated in both Step 1 and Step 2. In step 2 all evaluators will assess the full proposal (Parts 1 and 2).

ERC Synergy 2026 will have 5% success rate, the lowest rate in years. Why exclude multiple PIs in the ERC Plus?

ERC Plus is designed for single-Principal-Investigator projects. Multiple-PI applications are not foreseen.

Where will the answers to the questions you don't get to be posted?

Yes - these are posted here for all non-answered questions we received during the ERC Plus webinar.

Will the templates be the same? And what is planned for the reports?

Applicants will use downloadable templates provided on the Funding and Tenders portal. The feedback to applicants will follow the same structure as for other ERC calls (all individual reviews and a panel comment summarising the final decision of the panel).

Please make and publish FAQ out of all these questions, answered or not.

Yes - these are posted here for all non-answered questions we received during the ERC Plus webinar.

ERC grants often require clear theoretical contribution. Does the Plus expect that as well? Or does it have a broader scope, e.g. for someone to make a tool?

ERC Plus supports projects that go beyond regular ERC grants and aim to transform a field or open new avenues in research. Applications can be of both theoretical or applied nature.

Will the same parts of the proposal be available to the panel members at the 2 steps like for other schemes? at step 1 Advanced Grant panel members will only have access to Part 1?

In step 1 only Part 1 of each proposal will be evaluated. The Vision Statement in Part 1 will be evaluated in both Step 1 and Step 2. In step 2 all evaluators will assess the full proposal (Parts 1 and 2).

Which materials will be evaluated in each evaluation step?

In step 1 only the Part 1 of each proposal will be evaluated. The Vision Statement in Part 1 will be evaluated in both Step 1 and Step 2. In step 2 all evaluators will assess the full proposal (Parts 1 and 2).

If the ‘wow effect’ is the same, are Europe-focused projects given priority over globally focused ones?

No preference is stated regarding the geographical focus of the research content, provided the Host Institution is in an EU Member State or Associated Country and other eligibility conditions are met.

This will become elite grant for those who have enough money already but it is about their prestige to get it. Why not to increase amount of current ERC per project.

This call will be financed from additional funding that the European Commission has generously provided specifically for this purpose. Therefore, using these funds for other calls would not be possible. But even if it were, precisely because the number of grants is so small, spreading the funding across the nearly 100 other peer review panels that select our other grants would have only a negligible impact on the success rates there. This grant competition is open to everyone, whether from Europe or the US or anywhere else in the world. It will be a competition at high level, but with a level playing field.

If the goal of the project fails, will there be cuts in the budget by the end of the project?

There will be the same level of flexibility in the project implementation as for any other ERC grant. The PI may ask for an amendment if they find they need to change the scientific approach substantially during the project. The payment will be done for the work performed - and not based on whether a project was succesful or failed to produce the expected outcome.

So, there will be only 1 single call in September 2026 or there will be a second call in September 2027?

Yes - While the ERC 2027 work programme still needs to be fully finalised and approved - this is currently what is expected.

You mentioned the possibility of proposing clinical studies. Would these include experimental evidence up to the first-in-human? Mainly advanced therapies?

ERC Plus supports projects that go beyond regular ERC grants and aim to transform a field or open new avenues in research. Applications can be of both theoretical or applied nature.

How will you manage panel overload? Especially considering recent increase in submissions. Any possibility for increased budgets?

The overall call budget is expected to be EUR 210 million with no or only limited possibility for an increased budget. The Scientific Council is currently discussing mitigation measures for the recent high increase of proposals submitted to all ERC call. These will also be in place for ERC Plus.

Do you think it would be useful to blind some applicant information in order to minimise any potential review bias?

This is not foreseen.

ERC Plus seems to be a pilot project. Do you plan to drop segregation to Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grant in the close future?

No. This is not foreseen.

So when submitting an ERC plus grant, you need to submit to a single ERC AdG panel, as per usual ERC grant applications?

Yes. Step 1 evaluations will be carried out by Advanced Grant 2026 panels and hence each applicant should select a primary panel to review their proposal in step 1 following the 2026 ERC panel structure.

Are private actors, media institutions, eligible as collaborators?

Yes.

How do you check under lump sum if someone spends their 50% in Europe over 7 years?

We ask a written declaration of honour co-signed by the PI and a host institution representative. The ERCEA scientific officers follow the progress of the projects and, in case of doubts, additional proof that the place commitment is respected may be requested and/or visits to the project organised.

Can an application have more than one host institution?

Grants are signed with the single Host Institution of the PI, but a PI is allowed to have multiple affiliations.

Have you done any estimation/prediction about the number proposals that will be submitted to the 2026 ERC Plus call?

No

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