Introduction: Funding of basic research (also known as frontier research) is one of the main novelties in FP7. The R&D Guide gives you an overall introduction to the European Research Council.

Objectives: In order to support and strengthen research in Europe, a European Research Council (ERC) has been set up under the aegis of FP7. The ERC funds basic research in all areas of science (bottom up principle, no pre-defined research topics). Projects are selected by international experts solely on the basis of scientific quality. These prestigious awards are open to individual research teams led by one principal investigator. ERC funding is available to researchers from both the public and private sector. The Work Programme 2013 describes the background and grant types in detail.
The main change compared to the 2012 calls is the split of the former Starting Grant into a Starting Grant and a Consolidator Grant call.

Thematic domains: There are no predefined topics; the ERC funds frontier research in any field of science.

Target public: Individual researchers (Principal Investigators).

Calls: Here you find information on: open calls; expected calls; past calls.

Four main kinds of Grant are available:

• Starting Grants:They are available for young promising researchers 2-7 years post PhD.
• Consolidator Grants: They available for young promising researchers who are more than 7 and up to 12 years after their PhD.
• Advanced Grants: This grant targets at established top researchers.
• Synergy Grants: ERC Synergy Grants are intended to enable 2-4 Principal Investigators and their teams to jointly address research problems.

Additionally, the ERC launched a new type of grant in 2011: Proof of Concept, targeting at ERC grant holders.

Are you interested? Read more on the ERC policy on the ERC homepage.

How can we help you? Discover Euresearch Services!

Your National Contact Point for Switzerland: Dr. Katja Wirth is your NCP ERC.