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ERC Plus Grant

The new funding scheme, ERC Plus Grants, is planned to support outstanding researchers from Europe and anywhere in the world with bold ideas and a vision for transformative research that goes beyond the scope of existing ERC programmes.

The funding for this new grant scheme was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her speech of 5 May 2025 on the ‘Choose Europe’ initiative.

The ERC Plus Grant supports outstanding principal investigators who address major scientific challenges. Applications for ERC Plus Grants should be for projects that could not be carried out with a regular ERC grant. Applicants should explain how the proposed project goes beyond the scope of a regular ERC project, for example because it aims to transform the field or open new avenues of research.

Applicants should be aware that every year, only some 30 ERC Plus Grants can be awarded across all fields and all career stages, compared to approximately 1 000 Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants. This level of competitiveness should be taken into account when considering whether to submit an application.

Who can apply?

ERC grant schemes are open to researchers of any age and nationality, residing anywhere in the world at the time of application, and wishing to carry out their research in Host Institutions based in the EU or associated country.

Scholars at all career stages can apply for an ERC Plus Grant if they have an outstanding record of scientific achievement at the forefront of their field. Their intellectual leadership will be evaluated in accordance with their career stage. A researcher will be allowed to hold only one ERC Plus Grant in their lifetime.

What proposals are eligible?

Criteria

Applications can be made in any field of research. The ERC's grants operate on a 'bottom-up' basis without predetermined priorities. Given the large number of applications received every year, and the need to uphold the quality and integrity of the evaluation process at the ERC, restrictions apply also to the ERC Plus call under the ERC Work Programme 2026 .

Location

Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation (Host Institution/HI). It could be the HI where the applicant already works or any other HI located in one of the EU Member States or associated countries.

Host Institution

Applications for an ERC grant must be submitted by a single Principal Investigator (PI) on behalf of their Host Institution.

The Host Institution must offer suitable conditions for the PI to independently lead the research and manage funding. The PI can be hosted by any legal entity in an EU Member State or associated country.

The PI does not need to be employed by the Host Institution at the time of proposal submission, but a mutual agreement and commitment are necessary if the proposal is successful.

PI and team

ERC grants support projects carried out by an individual researcher who can employ researchers of any nationality as team members. It is also possible to have one or more team members located in a non-European country. The Principal Investigator of an ERC Plus Grant must commit to dedicate at least 30% of their working time to the project and spend minimum 50% of their working time in the EU or an associated country.

Grant size and duration

ERC Plus Grants are awarded for a minimum of four years (48 months) and up to seven years (84 months) with no reduction for projects that are shorter than seven years. The maximum grant size is €7 million with no possibility to request additional funding.

Cost coverage

ERC Plus Grants are awarded as a single lump-sum contribution for the entire project. See Q&A on lump sums. For lump sum grants, a single lump sum contribution will be awarded, broken down by beneficiaries where applicable. It will be based on a realistic estimate of the project’s actual costs and will fully cover the work to be carried out under the proposed action.

Applicants to the ERC Plus Grant call must prepare their budget by including only those costs that would be considered eligible under an actual cost grant, i.e. the project-eligible direct costs and a flat rate of 25% of the direct cost categories that qualify for the calculation of indirect costs under the rules of Horizon Europe.

How to apply?

ERC grant applications can only be submitted in response to a call for proposals.

The ERC has annual calls for proposals covering all scientific fields.

For an ERC grant application to be complete, it needs to include the administrative forms, the research proposal and the supplementary documents. The completed proposal needs to be submitted by the specified closing date.

Calls are published on EU Funding & Tenders Portal and in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Step by step

How does the ethics review work?

Each proposal that is selected for funding must undergo an ethics review to ensure that the ERC funded research is in line with ethical principles and relevant EU, national and international law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This is a legal requirement under the Horizon Europe programme (Articles 18 and 19). The basis for this ethics review is Part A (including the Ethics Issues Table – EIT – and the Ethics Self-Assessment – ESA) and Part B of the application. A well-detailed ESA is crucial to facilitate the process as it clarifies what issues are linked to the proposed research activities and how these will be dealt with.

The ethics review comprises 3 stages

How does the evaluation process work?

Proposals are evaluated by selected international peer reviewers who assess them on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion. It will be applied to the evaluation of both the research project and the Principal Investigator in conjunction.

The panels will primarily evaluate:

the ground-breaking nature and ambition of the research project.

At the same time, the panels will evaluate:

the intellectual capacity and creativity of the Principal Investigator(s), with a focus on the extent to which the Principal Investigator(s) has the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project.

For ERC Plus Grants, the past achievements of the applicants will be given more importance than for regular grants: the applicants are expected to be leaders in their field. Because ERC Plus Grants are open to applicants at all career stages, the evaluation panels will evaluate each applicant in accordance with their career stage.

ERC Plus Grant proposals will be evaluated in two steps with interviews taking place at Step 2. The evaluation is carried out by peer review panels. There will be no overlap between Step 1 and Step 2 panel members. The panels may be assisted by independent external experts working remotely.

At Step 1, the short form of the scientific proposal (Part 1), the Principal Investigator's CV and track record, and the Statement of Vision are assessed.

Based on the outcome of the assessment at Step 1, only proposals of the highest quality will be retained for Step 2 of the evaluation through a retained/not retained decision.

At Step 2, the complete research proposal is assessed, and the Principal Investigator presents their proposal at an interview to the ERC Plus Step 2 evaluation panel.

At the end of Step 2 of the evaluation, the proposal receives one of the following scores: A: (proposal fully meets the excellence criterion and is recommended for funding should sufficient funds be available), or B (proposal meets some but not all elements of the excellence criterion and will not be funded).

Proposals recommended for funding are funded by the ERC if sufficient funds are available. Proposals are funded in order of their rank in the ranking list.

All proposals recommended for funding are subject to an ethics review and, where appropriate, shall undergo a security appraisal.

Tasks and composition of the evaluation panels