ERC Starting Grant

The ERC Starting Grant is designed for talented early-career scientists who have already produced excellent supervised work, are ready to work independently, and show potential to be research leaders. The grant supports researchers of any nationality with 2-7 years of experience since completion of PhD who have a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal. Starting Grants may be awarded up to €1.5 million for a period of 5 years, with an additional €1 million available to cover further eligible costs such as start-up costs, major equipment, access to large facilities, and major experimental and field work costs when necessary. For Principal Investigators currently based in non-associated third countries relocating to the EU or an Associated Country, the maximum additional funding may be up to €2 million. The ERC operates on a 'bottom-up' basis without predetermined priorities, accepting applications in any field of research. Proposals are evaluated by international peer reviewers on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion.