ERC Consolidator Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Applicant Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

These grants are intended to finance principal investigators of any nationality, for a maximum of five years, who have obtained their doctorate between 7 and 12 years before January 1, 2023, and with an outstanding track record who are consolidating their group or research project. Ambitious and innovative scientific proposals will be financed in any field of the scientific area.

Applicants to the 2023 Starting and Consolidator Grant Calls should note that there has been a change in the reference date towards the calculation of the eligibility period, namely the reference date is the certified date of the successful defence (and not award) of the PhD.

The ERC's grants operate on a 'bottom-up' basis without predetermined priorities.

Research must be conducted in a public or private research organisation (known as a 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 (You can see the list in the call text).

Applications for an ERC grant must be submitted by a single Principal Investigator (PI) in conjunction with and on behalf of their Host Institution, called the applicant legal entity. The PI does not necessarily need to be working at the Host Institution at the time when the proposal is submitted. However, a mutual agreement and the Host Institution's commitment on how the relationship will be established are necessary, should the proposal be successful.

In case of interest, both as possible coordinator or partner, please click on "m'interessa" and we will contact you.