Frequently asked questions

The Principal Investigator (PI) should be engaged by the Host Institution of the ERC PoC Grant during its entire duration. There is no minimum commitment percentage of the working time required from the PI applying for the ERC-2022-PoC calls. However, in the grant agreement, PIs must enter a minimum of their working time, as they are responsible for managing the ERC PoC project. It is essential that the cumulative percentage commitment that the PI spends on the ERC PoC action and on the main ERC StG/CoG/AdG/SyG Grant (if still ongoing) does not exceed 100%. For more information please refer to the ERC 2022 Work Programme.

Under the ERC 2022 Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) calls, a maximum of three Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per main grant project, except for Synergy Grant, in which case a maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per ERC funded project. PoC projects can run in parallel.

More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC 2022 Work Programme, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the guide Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2022 Calls.

According to the ERC 2022 Work programme, funding for the Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant will be awarded through two calls for proposals, ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2.

Applications can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the chosen call until its final deadline. Under call ERC-2022-PoC1, applications will be evaluated and selected in a single round (single deadline / cut-off date). Under call ERC-2022-PoC2, applications will be evaluated and selected in three rounds, based on three specific cut-off dates. A Principal Investigator may submit only one eligible application per call (i.e. one proposal to the first call: ERC-2022-PoC1 call, and/or one proposal to the second call: ERC-2022-PoC2 call). If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates of the second call: ERC-2022-PoC2, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered (inadmissible, ineligible or withdrawn applications do not count against this limit).Therefore, exceptionally under the ERC 2022 Work programme, an applicant may submit up to two proposals (one to ERC-2022-PoC1 call and one to ERC-2022-PoC2 call).

There are no shares or quotas by domain or discipline for the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) 2022 calls. No domain or field is excluded and the possibility for innovation arising from the social sciences and humanities to apply for a PoC funding is fully recognised.

As stated in the ERC 2022 Work Programme: “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 Framework Programme.”

No, time sheets are not needed for the contractual obligations of an ERC 2022 Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) project. For more information, please refer to the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum Grants.

For ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) Lump Sum actions, beneficiaries do not need to keep records on their actual costs for the purpose of triggering the payment of the lump-sum. They only need to keep appropriate and sufficient evidence (documentation, records) that the action tasks (as described in Annex 1) were properly carried out. For more information, please refer to the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum Grants.

Yes, under ERC 2022 Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) calls, Synergy Grant Principal Investigators (PI) from an ERC Synergy (SyG) funded project are eligible to apply to an ERC PoC proposal as Principal Investigator (PI), but only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project.

More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC 2022 Work Programme, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2022 Calls.

The Proof of Concept grant is evaluated based on the sole criterion of excellence, which comprises three evaluation elements. Reviewers will evaluate independently each eligible proposal submitted under the ERC PoC 2022 Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) calls, and mark it as "very good", "good" or "fail" for each of the three evaluation elements. The applicants are provided with feedback on the outcome of the evaluation through an information letter and an evaluation report. The evaluation report indicates whether the proposal is retained for funding or not, and provides the “very good, “good” or “fail” status for each of the three evaluation elements, the ranking range and the assessment of the evaluation elements by each external independent expert.

More information on the evaluation procedure can be found in the ERC 2022 Work Programme, in the section relevant to the calls.

For the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) calls, although it is not mandatory to provide the names of individual team members or their CVs, the PoC plan needs to include justification that the persons working on the tasks are well qualified for the purpose.

The description of the team needs to be filled in the Part B form – section 1b.iii. Plan of the proof of concept – Description of the Action – Description of the team. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC 2022 Work Programme, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2022 Calls.

For the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2022-PoC1 and ERC-2022-PoC2) 2022 calls, applicants submit the whole proposal that is evaluated in a single step by the independent external experts. The experts will review the Part B proposal and annexes with letters of support or intent. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to ERC 2022 Work Programme.