Direção de Projectos (DP)

The chosen projects represent a diverse range of fields and questions, ranging from reducing carbon footprint of generative AI to developing a new way to mobilise bystanders on social media to reduce online hostility. Recipients use this type of funding to verify the practical viability of scientific concepts, explore business opportunities or prepare patent applications.

The Proof of Concept (PoC) grant competition is open only to ERC grantees. They are eligible to apply for funding if they have ongoing or recently completed research projects supported by Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy Grants. Today’s announcement is the second of three announcements in the 2023 call. The total annual budget is €30 million.

The winners of the first round of the competition were announced in May.

Out of the 183 proposals evaluated, 66 projects were selected for funding. The new grants will be awarded to researchers working in 14 countries. The highest number of grants will be hosted in Spain (12) followed by Germany (9), the UK (8), Italy (7), France (6), Belgium (5), Netherlands (5), Ireland (3), Israel (3), Denmark (3) and Sweden (2). Additionally, one grant has been given to researchers based in Czechia, Austria, and Portugal.

List of the 66 winners by country of the host institution

The selected researchers will delve into a wide spectrum of topics, with approximately 58% of the funded projects linked to physical sciences and engineering, 33% to life sciences, and 9% to social sciences and humanities.

How to apply for the next funding round?

Eligible ERC grantees can still apply for PoC funding in the third round of the 2023 call. The next deadline is 21 September 2023.

More information about applying for Proof of Concept Grants

Association to Horizon Europe

The statistics and final list of successful candidates are provisional. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom allows for associating the UK to the current EU research and innovation funding programme, Horizon Europe, subject to the adoption of a Protocol. As this Protocol has not been adopted so far, the UK is still considered “non-associated” to Horizon Europe. Therefore, the successful proposals of applicants based in a country in the process of associating to Horizon Europe will be eligible for funding only if the relevant Horizon Europe association agreement applies by the time of the signature of the grant agreement. However, successful applicants from UK host institutions can still be funded, provided they move to a host institution in an eligible country.

About the ERC

The ERC, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premier European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. It funds creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based across Europe. The ERC offers four main grant schemes: Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants, Advanced Grants, and Synergy Grants. The ERC is led by an independent governing body, the Scientific Council. Since 1 November 2021, Maria Leptin is the President of the ERC. The overall ERC budget from 2021 to 2027 is more than €16 billion, as part of the Horizon Europe programme.