The ERC’s mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-driven frontier research across all fields, on the basis of scientific excellence.
Being ‘investigator-driven’, or ‘bottom-up’, in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by priorities set by politicians.
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.
Indicative summary of calls: ERC Work Programme 2025
| Starting Grant | Consolidator Grant | Advanced Grant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call identifier | ERC-2025-StG | ERC-2025-CoG | ERC-2025-AdG |
| Call opens | 10 July 2024 | 26 September 2024 | 22 May 2025 |
| Call deadline | 15 October 2024 | 14 January 2025 | 28 August 2025 |
Proof of Concept
The ERC Proof of Concept is a top-up grant for existing ERC awardees (€150K), meant to explore the commercial or societal potential of their project.
This opportunity is open to ERC PI from all panels and disciplines.
In the video below, Professor Anna Davies talks about this opportunity in relation to SSH and Social innovation.
Proof of Concept 2024 Timeframe
Principal Investigators in an ongoing main grant, or Principal Investigators in a main grant that has ended after 1 January 2023, are eligible to apply.
| Deadline No: | Deadline date | Expected outcome dates | Grant Agreement date* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 March 2024 | June 2024 | 25 October 2024 |
| 2 | 17 September 2024 | January 2025 | 14 May 2025 |
| 3 | 13 March 2025 | June 2025 | October 2025 |
| 4 | 18 September 2025 | January 2026 | May 2026 |
* Dates are indicative. Project start dates must be after the Grant Agreement has been signed.
Useful links
ERC official website: https://erc.europa.eu/
ERC Work Programme 2024: ERC Work Programme 2025 (europa.eu)
Patrick Lansley (patrick.lansley@iua.ie) is the European Research Council National Contact Point (SSH) based at the Irish Universities Association.
The Irish Research Council holds the national support roles for ERC (SSH). The NCP service is carried out by the IUA under a partnership with the IRC, the national support agency for Horizon Europe Cluster 2 and joint NCP for ERC.
Dr Maria Nash is the ERC National Delegate and ERC National Contact Point (Life Sciences and Physical Sciences & Engineering), based in SFI.