Frequently asked questions

Yes, for the ERC Synergy Grant (ERC-2023-SyG) call, all Principal Investigators (PIs) whose proposal has been retained for Step 3 will be invited to an interview. It is highly recommended that all PIs are present at the interview to facilitate the assessment of the Synergy group. In very exceptional cases, in case a PI is unable to attend the interview on site in Brussels (e.g. pregnancy, immobility due to illness, expedition, pandemic-related restrictions), the ERC offers alternative solutions in case of on-site meetings (e.g. video or phone conference alternatives for a remote participation in the interview). More information about the ERC-2023-SyG call is available in the ERC Work Programme 2023.

If a Principal Investigator (PI) submits proposals to different ERC main frontier research calls published under the same Work Programme, only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated. Ineligible or withdrawn proposals do not count against this limit. If a PI thus applies to the ERC-2023-SyG call and the proposal is eligible and evaluated, their other application to a StG, CoG or AdG call under the ERC Work Programme 2023 will not be evaluated. It is important to note that the year of an ERC call refers to the ERC Work Programme under which the call was made and can be established by its call identifier, and it does not refer to a calendar year. A 2023 ERC call is therefore the one that was published under the ERC Work Programme 2023 and will have 2023 in the call identifier (for example ERC-2023-SyG). Example: A proposal submitted to the ERC-2023-AdG call will not be evaluated if the PI had already applied to the ERC-2023-SyG call and the SyG proposal was considered eligible, even if the call deadlines are in two different calendar years (in 2022 for the SyG 2023 call and in 2023 for the AdG 2023 call). Note that it is possible to apply both to the ERC-2022-AdG call and to the ERC-2023-SyG call, even though the deadlines are in the same calendar year. In case the PI is selected for funding in the 2022 AdG call and the Grant Agreement is signed, the PI becomes ineligible to the 2023 SyG call, because a PI can hold only one ERC main frontier grant at any one time. For further questions please contact the ERC SyG mailbox (ERC-SyG-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu).

Yes. In case of a Synergy Grant (SyG), one of the Principal Investigators (PIs), with the exception of the corresponding PI, can apply with a Host Institution outside the European Union or an Associated Country to the ERC-2023-SyG call. Note that except the PI applying with an outside country host institution, each PI has to spend at least 50% of their working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country. All PIs have to devote at least 30% of their working time to the ERC-funded project, regardless of the country they work in. See also the ERC Work Programme 2023.

The eligibility criteria, including the restrictions for submission, need to be fulfilled by all Principal Investigators (PIs) submitting a Synergy (SyG) proposal to the ERC-2023-SyG call under the ERC Work Programme 2023. Please also note that any PI may participate as a PI in only one main ERC frontier research grant at any one time.

For ERC-2023-SyG, please consult the section "Restrictions on submission of proposals" of the ERC Work Programme 2023. Please note that the restrictions concern an applicant PI, not the proposal. The restrictions apply to each of the Principal Investigators (PIs) and not only the corresponding Principal Investigator (cPI).

A Principal Investigator (PI) whose proposal was evaluated as category C at Step 1 in the ERC-2022-SyG (Synergy) Grant call may not submit a proposal to the ERC-2023-SyG call. A Principal Investigator (PI) whose proposal was evaluated as category B at Step 1 or Step 2 in the 2022 Synergy Grant (SyG) call may submit a proposal to the ERC-2023-SyG call. See the ERC Work Programme 2023, section "Restrictions on submission of proposals".

Yes, a Principal Investigator (PI) whose proposal was evaluated as category B or C at Step 1 or as category A or B at Step 2 in the 2021 or 2022 Starting Grant (StG), Consolidator Grant (CoG) or Advanced Grant (AdG) calls may submit a proposal to the ERC 2023 Synergy Grant (SyG) call. In other words, regardless of the score received in an individual main frontier research call prior to the ERC 2023 Synergy Grant call, you are eligible to apply. Further details in the ERC Work Programme 2023, section "Restrictions on submission of proposals".

Yes, the ERC adheres to the DORA principles. When evaluating the track record of the Principal Investigators submitting proposals to the ERC-2023-SYG call, peer reviewers are asked to concentrate on the scientific content of the publications in the evaluation process, not on the identity of the journal, even if the ERC encourages applicants to submit their publications in major international peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journals, or in the leading international peer-reviewed journals of their respective field. As defined in the ERC Work Programme 2023 and in line with the DORA principles, applicants are requested not to include the Journal Impact Factor when listing their achievements. The Principal Investigators may include a short narrative description of the scientific importance of their research outputs describing the role that the Principal Investigator played in their production.

According to the conditions applied to the ERC main frontier research grants 2023, there are three main restrictions to be considered for Principal Investigators (PI) in this regard:

1. A researcher may participate as PI [Including all PIs supported under the Synergy Grant] in only one main frontier research grant at any one time [NB: A new main frontier research project can only start after the duration of the project fixed in a previous frontier research grant agreement has ended.] In other words, at any one time, a PI can have only one ongoing ERC main grant.
2. A researcher participating as PI in one of the main frontier research grants may not submit another proposal for a main ERC grant, unless the existing project ends no more than two years after the call deadline. Therefore, an ongoing ERC main frontier research grant must end before 8 November 2024 for a PI to be eligible to apply to the 2023 Synergy grant.
3. A PI may submit proposals to different main frontier research grant calls published under the same Work Programme, but only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated. As an example, if you apply as a Principal Investigator to the 2023 Synergy Grant call (ERC-2023-SYG), and this proposal is eligible, you will not be eligible to apply to the 2023 Starting, Consolidator or Advanced grants calls.

These restrictions are specified in the ERC Work Programme 2023 and may be modified in future work programmes by the ERC Scientific Council in light of experience. Please note however that it is possible to participate in more than one ERC grant as a team member.

Yes, a Principal Investigator (PI) whose proposal was evaluated as category A or category B at Step 3 in the 2022 Synergy Grant (SyG) call may submit a proposal to the ERC-2023-SyG call. The only restrictions on scores are on those applicants who received a C score at step 1 of the evaluation in the ERC-2022-SyG call. For other restrictions please consult the ERC Work Programme 2023, section Restrictions on submission of proposals.