Proof of Concept Grant

Yes, under the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, submitting an application with a spin-off company as Host Institution (HI) is feasible, as long as it complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF. The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not need to be the same as the HI of the ERC main frontier research grant.

Yes, an applicant can submit a proposal to the ERC-2027-PoC call and at the same time a proposal to one of the five main ERC frontier research call (since the restrictions stated in section 1.4.3 of the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF do not apply to PoC Grants). Nevertheless, a researcher can apply for a PoC grant ONLY if they are already the grantee in an ongoing ERC main frontier research grant or their ERC main grant ended on or after 1 January 2026. For more information, please refer to the eligibility criteria for PoC in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

Under the ERC-2027-POC call, for the question in the online application formPDF - Part A, 5 - Other questions: “If your proposal is not funded (due to budget limitations), do you consent to allow us to disclose the results of your evaluation (score and ranking range), together with your name (as Principal Investigator (PI)), non-confidential proposal title, acronym, abstract and your/your host institution’s contact details to national or regional public research funding authorities that run funding schemes specifically for ERC applicants that scored highly in the evaluation?”: YES should be selected in order to receive a Seal of Excellence. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, a Seal of Excellence will be awarded to proposals that have received a pass mark in all three of the evaluation elements set out in this Work Programme but cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call.

Yes. Unlike the ERC main frontier research (Starting -StG-, Consolidator -CoG-, Advanced -AdG-, Synergy -SyG-, Plus) grant calls, there are no eligibility conditions to apply for a Proof of Concept (PoC) linked to the results of proposals submitted to a previous PoC call. Therefore, the Principal Investigator who applied to the call ERC-2026-PoC call, and whose proposal was not selected for funding, may apply to the ERC-2027-PoC, provided they fulfil eligibility conditions as stipulated in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

For the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, 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 formPDF – 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 Work Programme 2027PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2027 CallPDF.

Yes, under ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, any Synergy Grant Principal Investigator (PI) from an ERC Synergy (SyG) funded project is 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. Each Principal Investigator may submit only one proposal under the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF Proof of Concept call. If the same PI submits a proposal at different cut-off dates, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. A maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants (in total) may be awarded per ERC SyG funded project. Examples of some eligible scenarios: -two (or more) PoC proposals (one from Prof. X and one from Prof. Y) from the same SyG project submitted to the same call deadline;- two (or more) PIs from the same SyG project: Prof. X submitting a PoC proposal to DL1 and Prof. Y submitting another PoC proposal to DL2. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2027 CallPDF.

Yes, researchers with a Hungarian host institution can apply to ERC 2027 calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-POC, ERC-2027-PLUS). On 13 October 2026, the Council adopted the Implementing Decision 2026/2324 lifting the measures adopted by Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 that had prohibited the Commission from entering into new legal commitments involving Union funding with certain Hungarian entities, namely public interest trusts established on the basis of Hungarian Act IX of 2021 and entities maintained by such trusts. The decision enters into effect from its date of notification to Hungary, 14 October 2026. As a result, new legal commitments involving Union funding may again be concluded with the Hungarian entities concerned as from this date of entry into effect of the lifting decision (i.e. as of 14 October 2026).

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-POC, ERC-2027-PLUS) after the 16 December2022. For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

Based on ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, section 1.4.3 Restrictions on Applications, an applicant may have only one proposal to an ERC main grant call under evaluation at any given time. An applicant may submit only one eligible proposal to an ERC main grant call published under the ERC Work Programme 2027. Please note that an applicant whose proposal has been selected for funding and who is preparing a Grant Agreement under a call of the ERC Work Programme 2025 or 2026, may not apply for ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-SYG, or ERC-2027-PLUS calls.

Yes, under ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, any Synergy Grant Principal Investigator (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. Each Principal Investigator may submit only one proposal under the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF Proof of Concept call. If the same PI submits a proposal at different cut-off dates, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. A maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants (in total) may be awarded per ERC SyG funded project. Examples of some eligible scenarios: -two (or more) PoC proposals (one from Prof. X and one from Prof. Y) from the same SyG project submitted to the same call deadline;- two (or more) PIs from the same SyG project: Prof. X submitting a PoC proposal to DL1 and Prof. Y submitting another PoC proposal to DL2. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 202PDF6 Call.

For the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, 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 Work Programme 2026PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 202PDF6 Call

Yes. Unlike the ERC main frontier research (StG, CoG, AdG, SyG) grant calls, there are no eligibility conditions to apply for a PoC linked to the results of proposals submitted to a previous PoC call.

Therefore, the PI who applied to the call ERC-2025-PoC call, and whose proposal was not selected for funding, may apply to the ERC-2026-PoC, provided they fulfil eligibility conditions as stipulated in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

Under the ERC-2026-POC call, for the question in the online application formPDF - Part A, 5 - Other questions: “If your proposal is not funded (due to budget limitations), do you consent to allow us to disclose the results of your evaluation (score and ranking range), together with your name (as PI), non-confidential proposal title, acronym, abstract and your/your host institution’s contact details to national or regional public research funding authorities that run funding schemes specifically for ERC applicants that scored highly in the evaluation?”: YES should be selected in order to receive a Seal of Excellence. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, a Seal of Excellence will be awarded to proposals that have received a pass mark in all three of the evaluation elements set out in this Work Programme, but cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call.

Yes, an applicant can submit a proposal to the ERC-2026-PoC call and at the same time a proposal to one of the five main ERC frontier research call (since the restrictions stated in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF do not apply to PoC Grants). Nevertheless, a researcher can apply for a PoC grant ONLY if they are already the grantee in one ERC main frontier research grant. For more information, please refer to the eligibility criteria for PoC in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

Yes, under the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, submitting an application with a spin-off company as Host Institution (HI) is feasible, as long as it complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF. The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not have to be the same as the HI of the ERC main frontier research grant.

Yes, under the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, submitting an application with a spin-off company as Host Institution (HI) is feasible, as long as it complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF. The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not have to be the same as the HI of the main frontier research Grant.

Yes, an applicant can submit to the ERC-2025-PoC call and at the same time to one of the four main ERC frontier research call (since the restrictions stated in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF do not apply to PoC Grants). Nevertheless, a researcher can apply for a PoC grant ONLY if they are already the grantee in one ERC main frontier research grant. For more information, please refer to the eligibility criteria for PoC in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

Yes, under ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, any Synergy Grant Principal Investigator (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. Each Principal Investigator may submit only one proposal under the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF Proof of Concept call. If the same PI submits a proposal at different cut-off dates, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. A maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants (in total) may be awarded per ERC SyG funded project. Examples of some eligible scenarios: -two (or more) PoC proposals (one from Prof. X and one from Prof. Y) from the same SyG project submitted to the same call deadline;- two (or more) PIs from the same SyG project: Prof. X submitting a PoC proposal to DL1 and Prof. Y submitting another PoC proposal to DL2. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2025PDF Call.

For the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, 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 Work Programme 2025PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2025PDF Call.

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-POC) after the 16 December 2022.

For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

Under the ERC-2025-POC call, for the question in the online application formPDF - Part A, 5 - Other questions: “If your proposal is not funded (due to budget limitations), do you consent to allow us to disclose the results of your evaluation (score and ranking range), together with your name (as PI), non-confidential proposal title, acronym, abstract and your/your host institutions contact details to national or regional public research funding authorities that run funding schemes specifically for ERC applicants that scored highly in the evaluation?”: YES should be selected in order to receive a Seal of Excellence. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, a Seal of Excellence will be awarded to proposals that have received a pass mark in all three of the evaluation elements set out in this Work Programme, but cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call.

Researchers with a Hungarian host institution concerned by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/2506 can continue to apply to ERC calls for proposals (e.g. ERC-2025-SyG, ERC-2025-STG, ERC-2025-COG, ERC-2025-ADG, ERC-2025-POC) after the 16 December 2022.

For successfully evaluated proposals, if these measures are not lifted at the time of the grant agreement signature, (following the procedure set out by Article 7 of Regulation 2020/2092), the concerned Hungarian entities would be found ineligible to receive Union funding. The applicant researchers concerned will then be informed about the available options to mitigate the consequences to their proposals, which will include the possibility to use portability.

For Proof of Concept (PoC) actions (e.g. ERC-2027-Proof of Concept Grant call - ERC-2027-PoC), where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may be hosted by additional legal entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries (see the information in the Horizon Europe Programme GuidePDF), or international organisations, unless they are subject to restrictions set out in Annex 3 to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

Yes, any Synergy PI can apply for a PoC grant under the ERC-2027-POC call, including the PI who was hosted by a HI established in a third, non-associated country, provided that their PoC application complies with the requirements of the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF (i.e. “Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant is ongoing, or Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant ends on or after 1 January 2026). However, the PoC HI must be established either in an EU Member State or in an Associated Country as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an international European research organisation (such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), etc.), or any other entity created under EU law. In other words, they cannot apply with their main grant HI, since the latter would not be eligible. If a new Host Institution is chosen for the PoC application and because of the relationship existing between the PoC proposal and the activities of the ERC main grant, as part of the feasibility of the proposal, the PI might need to explain, if relevant, how the proposed activities can be performed in a different entity to the one where the ERC main grant is carried out. It is also expected that, if needed, proper arrangements are made between the different entities to ensure the use of the results and the intellectual property rights. Additionally, since their main grant is a SyG, they should ensure to have “the written consent of all Principal Investigators of the same Synergy Grant project” before applying to the ERC-2027-POC call. Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project can submit one Proof of Concept application each under this Work ProgrammePDF, with a maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants for a Synergy Grant project.

Yes. Switzerland is associated to the entire Horizon Europe Programme for award procedures implementing Union budget for the year 2026 and onwards. For more information on the eligibility criteria for the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (POC) grant call, you can refer to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF (see in particular footnote 106 under Annex 3).

Yes. Switzerland is associated to the entire Horizon Europe Programme for award procedures implementing Union budget for the year 2025 and onwards. For more information on the eligibility criteria for the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept, you can refer to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF (see in particular footnote 103 under Annex 3).

Yes, any Synergy PI can apply for a PoC grant under the ERC-2026-POC call, including the PI who was hosted by a HI established in a third, non-associated country, provided that their PoC application complies with the requirements of the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF (i.e. “Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant is ongoing, or Principal Investigators whose ERC main frontier research grant ends on or after 1 January 2025). Additionally, since their main grant is a SyG, they should ensure “the written consent of all Principal Investigators of the same Synergy Grant project”. “Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project can submit one Proof of Concept application each under this Work Programme”, with “a maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants – for a Synergy Grant project”.

In the case of a SyG PI who has been hosted by a non-EU/AC HI, their PoC HI cannot be the same: The PoC HI “must be established either in an EU Member State or an Associated Country as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an international European research organisation (such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), etc.), or any other entity created under EU law”. In other words, they cannot apply with their main grant HI, since the latter would not be eligible.

If a new Host Institution is chosen for the PoC application and because of the relation existing between the PoC proposal and the activities of the ERC main grant, as part of the feasibility of the proposal, the PI might need to explain, if relevant, how the proposed activities can be performed in a different entity to the one where the ERC main grant is carried out. It is also expected that, if needed, proper arrangements are made between the different entities to ensure the use of the results and the intellectual property rights.

For Proof of Concept (PoC) actions (e.g. ERC-2026-Proof of Concept Grant call - ERC-2026-PoC), where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may also be hosted by additional legal entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries, or international organisations, subject to any restrictions provided in Annex 3 to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

For Proof of Concept (PoC) actions (e.g. ERC-2025-Proof of Concept Grant call - ERC-2025-PoC), where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may also be hosted by additional legal entities, which may be established anywhere, including outside the European Union or Associated Countries, or international organisations, subject to any restrictions provided in Annex 3 to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

Yes. In view of the ongoing negotiations of the association of Switzerland to Horizon Europe and as set out in the transitional arrangement, legal entities established in Switzerland will now be treated as entities established in an Associated Country under the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2025-PoC). The grant agreements can only be signed with successful applicants if the association agreement with Switzerland applies at that time. For more information on the eligibility criteria for the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept, you can refer to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

No. For the 2027 ERC Advanced Grants (ERC-2027-ADG), the size of the lump sum is defined by the proposed activities and the resources needed and will therefore vary between proposals. ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-POC) grants are implemented under a fixed lump sum model where every funded project has the same budget, currently € 150,000. More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

No. For the 2027 ERC Plus Grants (ERC-2027-PLUS), the size of the lump sum is defined by the proposed activities and the resources needed and will therefore vary between proposals. The maximum grant amount for ERC-2027-PLUS is €7 million. ERC Proof of Concept (POC) grants are implemented under a fixed lump sum model where every funded project has the same budget, currently €150,000. More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

Under the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, a Seal of Excellence (SoE) is awarded to proposals that have received an overall pass mark in all three of the evaluation elements set out in this section of the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF but cannot be funded due to the budgetary constraints of the call. To access the SoE award Publication process, the Coordinator has to log into the Funding and Tenders Portal; click on Proposals; Action; Follow-up within 30 days from the receipt of the email/notification. The process will be first displayed in the Grant Management Services (GMS) with the old interface. However, once the Coordinator clicks on the button Open, the task details will be directly displayed in the new interface of the Grant Management Services application. Once the Coordinator has submitted the decision to the EU, the Seal is issued and made available for download under the Documents folder. More information can be found on the new dedicated page of the FTP explaining the procedure: webgate.ec.europa.eu

Yes. For the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept lump sum grant call (ERC-2027-PoC), it is possible to make an application with an SME, as long as their Host Institution (HI) complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF. An SME may participate as the HI hosting the Principal Investigator (PI) and their team or as an additional beneficiary hosting additional team members who bring added scientific value to the project. The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not have to be the same as the HI of the main frontier research grant. The PIs should demonstrate that such resources are appropriate for the planned work and justify the participation roles of these involved actors in relation to the additional resources this may impose to the PoC project (see Part B, in the Application form (HE ERC PoCPDF) template).

For ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) 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 GrantsPDF.

No Supplementary Agreement (SA) needs to be signed for the HE ERC Proof of Concept projects. The MGA (Model Grant Agreement) Annex 5 Article 18 “Specific rules for ERC Grants” stipulates that “For ERC Proof of Concept Grants, the specific rules on reporting (scientific and periodic reporting) and the special conditions for the principal investigator and their team do not apply”. Consequently, no Supplementary Agreement (SA) is needed for the ERC Proof of Concept Grants. See Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement (MGAPDF), and MGA used for ERC actions under Horizon Europe (HE General MGAPDF).

For ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) 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 GrantsPDF.

Yes. For the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept lump sum grant call (ERC-2026-PoC), it is possible to make anapplication with an SME, as long as their Host Institution (HI) complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF. An SME may participate as the HI hosting the PI and their team or as an additional beneficiary hosting additional team members who bring added scientific value to the project. The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not have to be the same as the HI of the main frontier research grant. The PIs should demonstrate that such resources are appropriate for the planned work and justify the participation roles of these involved actors in relation to the additional resources this may impose to the PoC project (see Part B, in the Application formPDF (HE ERC PoC) template).

Under the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC), a Seal of Excellence is awarded to proposals that have received an overall pass mark in all three of the evaluation elements set out in this section of the Work Programme but cannot be funded due to the budgetary constraints of the call.

There has been an update of the Funding and Tenders Portal Grant Management Services. In the old interface of the Grant Management Services (GMS) the Seal of Excellence document was available under the Process documents section under the Proposal Management & Grant Preparation process and in the Document Library tab. To access the SoE award Publication process, the Coordinator has to log into the Funding and Tenders Portal > click on Proposals > Action > Follow-up within 30 days from the receipt of the email/notification. The process will be first displayed in the Grant Management Services (GMS) with the old interface. However, once the Coordinator clicks on the button Open, the task details will be directly displayed in the new interface of the Grant Management Services application.

Once the Coordinator has submitted the decision to the EU, the Seal is issued and made available for download under the Documents folder.

More information can be found on the new dedicated page of the FTP explaining the procedure: webgate.ec.europa.eu .

No. For the 2026 ERC Advanced Grants (ERC-2026-ADG), the size of the lump sum is defined by the proposed activities and the resources needed and will therefore vary between proposals.

ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-POC) grants are implemented under a fixed lump sum model where every funded project has the same budget, currently € 150,000.

More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

No. For the 2026 ERC Plus Grants (ERC-2026-PLUS), the size of the lump sum is defined by the proposed activities and the resources needed and will therefore vary between proposals. The maximum grant amount for ERC-2026-PLUS is €7 million. ERC Proof of Concept (POC) grants are implemented under a fixed lump sum model where every funded project has the same budget, currently €150,000.

No. For the 2025 ERC Advanced Grants (ERC-2025-ADG), the size of the lump sum is defined by the proposed activities and the resources needed and will therefore vary between proposals. The maximum grant amount for Advanced Grants is €2.5 million, to which a further €1 million can be requested as additional funding where justified.

ERC Proof of Concept (POC) grants are implemented under a fixed lump sum model where every funded project has the same budget, currently € 150,000.

More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

For ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) 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 GrantsPDF.

Yes. For the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept lump sum grant call (ERC-2025-PoC), it is possible to make an application with a SME, as long as their Host Institution (HI) complies with the eligibility criteria for an eligible HI defined in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF. It is allowed to select members of the SME, etc. to be part of the team, being either engaged under their main Host Institution or under another Host Institution. (The HI of the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal does not have to be the same as the HI of the main frontier research Grant.) The PIs should demonstrate that such resources are appropriate for the planned work and justify the participation roles of these involved actors in relation to the additional resources this may impose to the PoC project (see Part B, in the Application formPDF (HE ERC PoC) template).

No, it is not possible for a same PI to submit two different proposals related to two different ERC main grants, under the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-P0C) call. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF (point 2.1.5 Proposal Submission and Description), Principal Investigators may submit only one proposal to the Proof of Concept call under this Work Programme. Consequently, while an ERC Principal Investigator (PI) may be entitled to submit an ERC PoC application under more than one ERC main grant, the above restriction limits to only one the number of PoC eligible applications under the ERC Work Programme 2027. Therefore, the ERC PI should decide under which ERC main grant they intend to submit a PoC proposal to ERC-2027-POC. Only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated; any additional submitted application from the same PI will be declared ineligible.

For the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2027-PoC) submission of proposal, the overall page limit for the application form Part B is ten (10) pages excluding the information related to the proposal on page one (applicant’s last name; proposal title, acronym; reference to the PoC call and name of the Part B formPDF), the abstract, the risk mitigation table, and the references. More information is available in the Information for ApplicantsPDF.

For the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2027-PoC), the last declaration (10) listed in the section 1 - General Information of the Part A - Administrative formPDF, refers only to the type of Lump Sum Grants with a detailed budget table, which is not applicable to the ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum grant calls. The ticking of this box is therefore not mandatory for ERC-2027-PoC proposal submission (see also to our Information for Applicants guidancePDF).

Yes, Synergy Grant (SYG) Principal Investigators are eligible to apply to the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project (see ERC Work Programme 2027PDF). However, the written consents should not be submitted with the application. Please note that the ERCEA may request the applicant PI at any time during the evaluation, to provide proof of the written consent obtained prior to the call submission deadline. If the proposal is retained for EU funding, all applicants will be requested to sign a declaration of honour: see in the online e-submission formPDF, Part A, under Section 1 - General Information: specific declaration (mandatory field), as regards the consent obtained from participants and researchers. You can refer also to our Information for Applicants guidancePDF.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, applications to the ERC-2027-PoC (Proof of Concept) call can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the call until its final deadline and will be evaluated and selected in two rounds, based on two specific cut-off dates. The ERC-2027-PoC call opens on 12 November 2026, with a first deadline for submission on 10 March 2027, and the second (last) deadline on 16 September 2027 (see ERC Work Programme 2027PDF). A Principal Investigator may submit only one eligible application per call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates of the ERC-2027-PoC call, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered (inadmissible, ineligible, or withdrawn applications do not count against this limit).

No. Principal Investigators may submit only one Proof of Concept (POC) proposal under this Work Programme Proof of Concept call. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF: If an applicant submits several proposals on different cut-off dates within the same year, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be evaluated. The Seal of Excellence does not revoke this eligibility restriction. You can find more information on the Seal of Excellence dedicated page, and more specifically under the section: How can seal holders use the Seal of Excellence.

No. Principal Investigators may submit only one POC proposal under this Work Programme Proof of Concept call. As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF: If an applicant submits also a proposal at the next cut-off date within the same year, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. The Seal of Excellence does not revoke this eligibility restriction.

You can find more information on the Seal of Excellence dedicated page, and more specifically under the section: How can seal holders use the Seal of Excellence.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, applications to the ERC-2026-PoC (Proof of Concept) call can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the call until its final deadline and will be evaluated and selected in two rounds, based on two specific cut-off dates. The ERC-2026-PoC call opens on 20 January 2026, with a first deadline for submission on 17 March 2026, and the second (last) deadline on 17 September 2026 (see ERC Work Programme 2026PDF). A Principal Investigator may submit only one eligible application per call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates of the ERC-2026-PoC call, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered (inadmissible, ineligible, or withdrawn applications do not count against this limit).

Yes, Synergy Grant (SYG) Principal Investigators are eligible to apply to the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project (see ERC Work Programme 2026PDF). However, the written consents should not be submitted with the application. Please note that the ERCEA may request the applicant PI at any time during the evaluation, to provide proof of the written consent obtained prior to the call submission deadline. If the proposal is retained for EU funding, all applicants will be requested to sign a declaration of honour: see in the online e-submission formPDF, Part A, under Section 1 - General Information: specific declaration (mandatory field), as regards the consent obtained from participants and researchers. You can refer also to our Information for ApplicantsPDF guidance.

For the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2026-PoC), the last declaration (10) listed in the section 1 - General Information of the Part A - Administrative formPDF, refers only to the type of Lump Sum Grants with a detailed budget table, which is not applicable to the ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum grant calls. The ticking of this box is therefore not mandatory for ERC-2026-PoC proposal submission.

For the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2026-PoC) submission of proposal, the overall page limit for the application formPDF Part B is ten (10) pages excluding the information related to the proposal on page one (applicant’s last name; proposal title, acronym; reference to the PoC call and name of the Part B form), abstract, the risk mitigation table, and the references. More information is available in the Information for ApplicantsPDF.

No, it is not possible for a same PI to submit two different proposals related to two different ERC grants, under the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call.

The general ERC rule stipulates that a researcher may participate as a Principal Investigator in only one ERC main frontier research grant at any given time.

As specified in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF (point 2.1.5 Proposal Submission and Description), Principal Investigators may submit only one proposal to the Proof of Concept call under this Work Programme.

Consequently, while an ERC PI may be entitled to submit an ERC PoC application under more than one ERC main grant, the above restriction limits to only one the number of PoC eligible applications under the ERC WP 2026.

Therefore, the ERC PI should decide under which ERC main grant they intend to submit the PoC, otherwise only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated whereas the later submitted application will be declared ineligible.

To be eligible for ERC calls (e.g. (ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-PoC), Host Institutions (HIs) – which can be public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions establishments) from an EU Member State or Associated CountryPDF-, must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project.

Please be aware that it is not necessary for the Host Institution to have the gender equality plan or an equivalent strategic document in place already at the time of the submission. The absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, a GEP or an equivalent is required before grant agreement signature.

According to the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, applications to the ERC-2025-PoC (Proof of Concept) call can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the call until its final deadline and will be evaluated and selected in two rounds, based on two specific cut-off dates. The ERC-2025-PoC call opens on 13 November 2024, with a first deadline for submission on 13 March 2025, and the second (last) deadline on 18 September 2025 (see ERC Work Programme 2025PDF). A Principal Investigator may submit only one eligible application per call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates of the ERC-2025-PoC call, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered (inadmissible, ineligible, or withdrawn applications do not count against this limit).

Yes, Synergy Grant (SYG) Principal Investigators are eligible to apply to the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project (see ERC Work Programme 2025PDF). However, the written consents should not be submitted with the application. Please note that the ERCEA may request the applicant PI at any time during the evaluation, to provide proof of the written consent obtained prior to the call submission deadline. If the proposal is retained for EU funding, all applicants will be requested to sign a declaration of honour: see in the online e-submission formPDF, Part A, under Section 1 - General Information: specific declaration (mandatory field), as regards the consent obtained from participants and researchers. You can refer also to our Information for ApplicantsPDF guidance.

For the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2025-PoC), the last declaration (10) listed in the section 1 - General Information of the Part A - Administrative formPDF, refers only to the type of Lump Sum Grants with a detailed budget table, which is not applicable to the ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum grant calls. The ticking of this box is therefore not mandatory for ERC-2025-PoC proposal submission.

For the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept grant call (ERC-2025-PoC) submission of proposal, the overall page limit for the application formPDF Part B is ten (10) pages excluding the information related to the proposal on page one (applicant’s last name; proposal title, acronym; reference to the PoC call and name of the Part B form), abstract, the risk mitigation table, and the references. More information is available in the Information for ApplicantsPDF.

To be eligible for ERC 2025 calls, host institutions –which can be public bodies,research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions establishments) from an EU Member State or Associated Country– must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. Please be aware that it is not necessary for the host institution to have already the GEP or equivalent strategic document in place at the time of the submission and the absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, it will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement.

The Principal Investigator (PI) should be engaged by the Host Institution of the ERC PoC Grant for the entire duration of the grant. There is no minimum working-time commitment required from the PI when applying for the ERC-2027-PoC call. However, in the grant agreement, the PI must indicate a minimum percentage of their working time on the grant, as they are responsible for managing the ERC PoC project. It is essential that the cumulative time commitment that the PI spends on the ERC PoC action and on the main ERC StG/CoG/AdG/SyG/PLUS Grant (if still ongoing) does not exceed 100%. For more information please refer to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

Under the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, 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, provided they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in the Work Programme under which they have been awarded. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the guide Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2027 callPDF.

Under the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, the Proof of Concept grant is awarded as a single lump sum of EUR 150 000 for a period of eighteen months. Extensions of the duration of Proof of Concept projects may be granted when duly justified. More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF and in the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

No, time sheets are not needed for the contractual obligations of an ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC- 2027-PoC) project.For more information, please refer to the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum Grants.PDF

There are no shares or quotas by domain or discipline for the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call. 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 Work Programme 2027PDF: “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 Research& Training Programme.

Principal Investigators (PIs) with different profiles can apply to the ERC-2027-PoC call at any career stage. For ERC Proof of Concept grants, excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation. It will be applied in conjunction to the evaluation of both: the breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology of the project and the strategic lead and project management of the Principal Investigator. PIs must demonstrate in PoC Part B proposal, their ability to conduct the management of the project, the consolidation of information and data needed to take strategic decisions and implement the proposed plan, including risks and contingency measures. The PIs should describe their role in the PoC project, including how they will take the strategic lead of it. They should explain any experience or achievements in leading similar innovative projects (if applicable) and how this enables them to lead their PoC project to completion. If the PIs do not have any experience with similar projects, they should explain how they are fit to lead their Proof of Concept project (e.g. evidence of creativity, independent thinking, and taking strategic decisions). More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2027 CallPDF, and Part B of the proposal templatePDF.

Yes, Principal Investigators (PIs) submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email,letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluationPDF under Horizon Europe.

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login).The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2026 calls (ERC-2027-STG, ERC-2027-COG, ERC-2027-ADG, ERC-2027-SyG, ERC-2027-PLUS, ERC-2027-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high-level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails. Furthermore, the ERCEA has set up a helpdesk to provide Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project. The helpdesk can be contacted by email at ERC-C2-PI-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu.

Principal Investigators (PIs) with different profiles can apply to the ERC-2026-PoC call at any career stage. For ERC Proof of Concept grants, excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation. It will be applied in conjunction to the evaluation of both: the breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology of the project; and the strategic lead and project management of the Principal Investigator. PIs must demonstrate in PoC Part B proposal, their ability to conduct the management of the project, the consolidation of information and data needed to take strategic decisions and implement the proposed plan, including risks and contingency measures. The PIs should describe their role in the PoC project, including how they will take the strategic lead of it. They should explain any experience or achievements in leading similar innovative projects (if applicable) and how this enables them to lead their PoC project to completion. If the PIs do not have any experience with similar projects, they should explain how they are fit to lead their Proof of Concept project (e.g. evidence of creativity, independent thinking, and taking strategic decisions). More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2026 Call, and Part B of the proposal template.

There are no shares or quotas by domain or discipline for the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call. 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 Work Programme 2026PDF: “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 Research & Training Programme.”

No, time sheets are not needed for the contractual obligations of an ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC- 2026-PoC) project. For more information, please refer to the Multi &Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

Under the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, the Proof of Concept grant is awarded as a single lump sum of EUR 150 000 for a period of eighteen months. Extensions of the duration of Proof of Concept projects may be granted when duly justified. More information can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF and in the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

Under the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, 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, provided they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in the Work Programme under which they have been awarded. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the guide Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 202PDF6 call.

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-2026-PoC call. 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 Work Programme 2026PDF.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC; ERC-2026-PLUS) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login).The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2026 calls (ERC-2026-STG, ERC-2026-COG, ERC-2026-ADG, ERC-2026-SyG, ERC-2026-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high-level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails. Furthermore, the ERCEA has set up a helpdesk to provide Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project. The helpdesk can be contacted by email at ERC-C2-PI-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu.

Principal Investigators (PIs) with different profiles can apply to the ERC-2025-PoC call at any career stage. For ERC Proof of Concept grants, excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation. It will be applied in conjunction to the evaluation of both: the breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology of the project; and the strategic lead and project management of the Principal Investigator. PIs must demonstrate in their PoC Part B proposal, their ability to conduct the management of the project, the consolidation of information and data needed to take strategic decisions and implement the proposed plan, including risks and contingency measures. The PIs should describe their role in the PoC project, including how they will take the strategic lead of it. They should explain any experience or achievements in leading similar innovative projects (if applicable) and how this enables them to lead their PoC project to completion. If the PIs do not have any experience with similar projects, they should explain how they are fit to lead their Proof of Concept project (e.g. evidence of creativity, independent thinking, and taking strategic decisions). More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2025PDF Call, and Part B of the proposal template.

There are no shares or quotas by domain or discipline for the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call. 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 Work Programme 2025PDF: “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 Research & Training Programme.”

No, time sheets are not needed for the contractual obligations of an ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC- 2025-PoC) project. For more information, please refer to the Multi &Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

Under the ERC Work Programme 2025, the financial contribution for a Proof of Concept project will be awarded as a lump sum of EUR 150 000 for a period of 18 months. The ERC expects that normally ERC-2025-PoC projects should be completed within 12 months and activities should be planned accordingly. However, to allow for those projects that require more preparation time, grant agreements will be signed for 18 months. Given this initial flexibility, extensions of the duration of proof of concept projects may be granted only exceptionally. More information can be found in the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

Under the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, 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, provided they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in the Work Programme under which they have been awarded. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the guide Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2025PDF call.

In Horizon Europe,all interactions with ERCEA will take place online via the EU Funding & Tender Portal, under "My Area" (after EU Login). The handling of documents will be fully electronic as there is no need any more to exchange any paper document. The grants for the successful proposals submitted to the ERC 2025 calls (ERC-2025-STG, ERC-2025-COG, ERC-2025-ADG, ERC-2025-SyG, ERC-2025-PoC) will be prepared and then signed electronically. Requests of amendments will be prepared, submitted and either accepted or rejected electronically. All reports will have to be submitted for review via the EU Funding & Tender Portal. According to the various phases of the project lifecycle, the correct actors (HIs and/or PIs) will be informed via email that certain tasks must be performed in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. In case of the Synergy grants, the corresponding HI and PI are the main contacts with the Agency. Notwithstanding the above and in an effort to keep on offering a high level service, we strongly encourage both the HIs and the PIs to contact the respective Agency staff for discussion in an informal way about any changes in their respective action. This is of utmost importance in order to avoid cancellation of documents or requests that are incomplete or incorrect. The name and surname of the ERC officer responsible for the PI's grant can be found in the EU Funding & Tender Portal. The officer can be easily contacted via the messaging tool embedded in the EU Funding & Tender Portal, allowing the PI (corresponding PI for the Synergy grants) to communicate directly with the officer without having to use emails, and providing Principal Investigators with assistance and guidance throughout the lifetime of the project.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon Europe.

Yes, Principal Investigators submitting a proposal to any ERC call (e.g. for ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG; ERC-2025-ADG; ERC-2025-SYG; ERC-2025-POC) must have, at the time of submission, the written consent of all participants on their involvement and on the content of the proposal, as well as of any researcher mentioned in the proposal as participating in the project (either as team member, collaborator, other PI or member of the advisory board), should the proposal be funded. The ERC Executive Agency may request PIs to provide proof of the written consent (email, letter) at any time. See also the ERC Rules of submission and evaluation under Horizon EuropePDF.

For the ERC 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, applicants submit the whole proposal that is evaluated in a single step by the independent external experts. The experts will review the Part B proposalPDF and annexes with letters of support or intent. They will also have access to a simplified budget report based on the budget figures entered in Part A. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

The Proof of Concept grant proposal 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 2027 Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) call, and mark it on a scale from 0 to 5 for each of the three evaluation elements. Scores below 3 are considered fail marks. 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 an overall "pass" or "fail" status for each of the three evaluation elements, the ranking range of the proposal, and the written assessment of the evaluation elements by each external independent expert. More information on the evaluation procedure can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, in the section relevant to the call.

To be eligible for calls with deadlines in 2027, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. Please be aware that it is not necessary for the Host Institution to have the gender equality plan or an equivalent strategic document in place already at the time of the submission. The absence of a GEP will not affect the evaluation of the project. However, if the project is successful, a GEP or an equivalent is required before grant agreement signature. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. If the host institution has a GEP, this will appear during submission in the online administrative form, in the “Participants” section. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC). See Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.PDF

For ERC 2027 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC; ERC-2027-PLUS), to be eligible, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. In the Part A online submission form, there is a ‘yes/no’ tick box question that the host institution’s contact person must fill in. Only public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This answer and the absence of Gender Equality Plan (GEP) at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the proposal. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement See guidelines on Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.

For ERC 2027 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2027-STG; ERC-2027-COG; ERC-2027-ADG; ERC-2027-SYG; ERC-2027-POC; ERC-2027-PLUS), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the Principal Investigator (PI) will not be provided to the reviewers and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF.

The Proof of Concept grant proposal 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 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, 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 an overall "pass" or "fail" status for each of the three evaluation elements, the ranking range of the proposal in the final ranked list of all evaluated proposals, and the written assessment of the evaluation elements by each external independent expert. More information on the evaluation procedure can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, in the section relevant to the call.

For the ERC 2026 Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) call, 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. They will also have access to a simplified budget report based on the budget figures entered in Part A. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

For ERC 2026 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC; ERC-2026-PLUS), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the Principal Investigator (PI) will not be provided to the reviewersl and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF.

To be eligible for calls with deadlines in 2026, legal entities from an EU Member State (MS) or Associated Country (AC) must have a gender equality plan (GEP) or an equivalent strategic document in place for the duration of the project. This information will not be provided to the reviewers, and it will not be evaluated. In the Part A online submission form, there is a ‘yes/no’ tick box question that the host institution’s contact person must fill in. Only public bodies, research organisations or higher education institutions (including private research organisations and private higher education institutions) must answer this question. This answer and the absence of Gender Equality Plan (GEP) at submission stage will not affect the evaluation of the proposal. The GEP or equivalent must fulfil the mandatory requirements listed in Annex 5 to the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF and will be necessary before the signature of the grant agreement (e.g. for ERC-2026-STG; ERC-2026-COG; ERC-2026-ADG; ERC-2026-SYG; ERC-2026-POC). See guidelines on Horizon Europe Guidance on Gender Equality Plans.

The Proof of Concept grant proposal 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 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, 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 an overall "pass" or "fail" status for each of the three evaluation elements, the ranking range of the proposal in the final ranked list of all evaluated proposals, and the written assessment of the evaluation elements by each external independent expert. More information on the evaluation procedure can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, in the section relevant to the call.

For the ERC 2025 Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) call, 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. They will also have access to a simplified budget report based on the budget figures entered in Part A. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

For ERC 2025 calls under Horizon Europe (e.g. for ERC-2025-STG; ERC-2025-COG; ERC-2025-ADG; ERC-2025-SYG; ERC-2025-POC), the information requested in Part A on the career stage of the PI will not be provided to the reviewers of your proposal and will not be part of the evaluation. This data is gathered for statistical purposes and used to evaluate the Horizon Europe Programme as a whole. See also the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF.

Yes, under the ERC Work Programme 2027PDF, ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grants can be transferred to a new beneficiary, as described in Article 41 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum Grants.PDF

Under the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2027-PoC) grant call, given the shorter length of the project (in comparison to ERC main frontier research grants), the project report is required only once, at the end of the project, and will combine the technical and financial aspects in one single document. Article 21 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF defines the reporting requirements. The ERC PoC report must be prepared and submitted online via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Under the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2026-PoC) Grant call, given the shorter length of the project (in comparison to ERC main frontier research grants), the project report is required only once, at the end of the project, and will combine the technical and financial aspects in one single document. Article 21 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF defines the reporting requirements. The ERC PoC report must be prepared and submitted online via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Yes, under the ERC Work Programme 2026PDF, ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grants can be transferred to a new beneficiary, as described in Article 41 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.

Under the ERC Proof of Concept (ERC-2025-PoC) Grant call, given the shorter length of the project (in comparison to ERC main Frontier Research Grants), the project report is required only once, at the end of the project,and will combine the technical and financial aspects in one single document. Article 21 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF defines the reporting requirements. The ERC PoC report must be prepared and submitted online via the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Yes, under the ERC Work Programme 2025PDF, ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grants can be transferred to a new beneficiary, as described in Article 41 of the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum GrantsPDF.