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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

Single, clear statement of grant's core objective: Support small groups of 2-4 Principal Investigators (PIs) to jointly address ambitious, interdisciplinary research problems that individual PIs could not tackle alone, leading to transformative, ground-breaking scientific advances.
Explicit identification of target recipient type and size: Research groups led by 2-4 Principal Investigators.
MUST state if grant is 'SECTOR-SPECIFIC' or 'SECTOR-AGNOSTIC': SECTOR-AGNOSTIC
Geographic scope and any location requirements: Host institutions must be established in EU Member States or Associated Countries. PIs can be of any nationality and reside anywhere globally at the time of application.
Key filtering criteria for initial grant screening: Focus on scientific excellence, ground-breaking nature of the research, and the necessity of a synergistic, multi-PI approach.
Grant frequency and program context: Recurring grant, part of the annual ERC Work Programme within Horizon Europe.

Financial Structure

Total budget for the ERC-2026-SYG call: EUR 500,000,000.
Maximum grant amount per project: Up to EUR 10,000,000 for a period of 6 years.
Additional funding: An additional amount of up to EUR 4,000,000 in total can be requested for:
Eligible 'start-up' costs for Principal Investigators moving to the EU or an Associated Country as a consequence of receiving the grant.
The purchase of major equipment.
Access to large facilities.
Other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs.
Pro-rata temporis reduction: The EUR 10,000,000 maximum award is reduced proportionally for projects of a shorter duration. The additional EUR 4,000,000 funding is not subject to this pro-rata temporis reduction.
All funding requested is assessed during evaluation.
Currency: EUR.
Financial capacity: Applicants should refer to the ERC Rules of Submission and evaluation under Horizon Europe, section 4, 'Award Decision and Preparation of Grant Agreements'.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Types

Eligible host institutions: Any type of legal entity, public or private, including universities, research organizations, and undertakings can host Principal Investigators and their teams.

Geographic Location

Host institution(s) must be established in an EU Member State or an Associated Country.
One Principal Investigator (PI) per Synergy Grant Group (excluding the Corresponding PI) can be hosted or engaged by an institution outside the European Union or Associated Countries.
Additional team members may be hosted by legal entities established anywhere (including outside EU/Associated Countries) if they bring scientific added value to the project.

Principal Investigator (PI) Requirements

The 'Synergy Grant Group' applying must consist of a minimum of two and a maximum of four innovative and active Principal Investigators.
PIs may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of application.
PIs funded through an ERC Synergy Grant shall spend a minimum of 30% of their working time on the ERC project.
PIs shall spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in the European Union or an Associated Country, except for a PI hosted or engaged by an institution outside the EU or Associated Countries.
Each PI must present a Curriculum Vitae and Track Record using the single template available for all career stages.
No specific eligibility criteria regarding academic training are required for PIs.

Consortium Requirements

A consortium (Synergy Grant Group) composed of 2-4 Principal Investigators is required.
The ERC expects the composition of a Synergy Grant Group to remain unchanged throughout the grant's lifetime.

Proposal Admissibility

All proposals must be complete and submitted by eligible Principal Investigators before the relevant call deadline.
A complete proposal must include all required parts/sections as detailed in the 'Proposal page limits and layout' section and the ERC Work Programme 2026.
The content of the proposal must relate to the objectives and to the grant type set out in the call, as defined in the ERC Work Programme 2026.

Resubmission Restrictions

Restrictions on submissions apply based on the outcome of evaluation in previous calls; applicants should consult the section 'Restrictions on submissions of proposals' of the ERC Work Programme 2026 or the Frequently Asked Questions (ERC - FAQs).

Application Process

Application Deadline

The submission deadline for proposals is 2025-11-05 00:00:00+0000.

Submission Process

A single submission of the full proposal is required.
Proposals must be submitted via the submission tool available through the EU Funding & Tenders opportunities Portal.
Registration to the EU Funding & Tenders opportunities Portal is required prior to submission.

Required Documentation and Materials

Administrative proposal forms: These include the Ethics Review Table and are available online via the submission tool.
Research Proposal (Parts I and II): Must be uploaded as PDF files.
Proposal Part I: Maximum 5 pages (references do not count towards the limit). This part includes the extended synopsis of the scientific proposal.
Curriculum Vitae and Track Record: Up to 4 pages for each Principal Investigator. This is part of Proposal Part I.
Proposal Part II: Maximum 10 pages (references do not count towards the limit). This part details the complete research proposal.
Resources and Time commitment section: This section is within Part II but is not limited to 2 pages and does not count towards the 10-page limit for Part II. It includes a separate Budget table annex listing costs for each PI and their teams.
Host institution(s) binding statement(s) of support template: Must be uploaded as PDF files.
In the case of Synergy Grants with multiple host institutions, each host institution must offer their support to the Principal Investigator(s) hosted by them for the grant duration.
Each host institution letter must be uploaded at the time of submission.
Ethics review self-assessment (if applicable) and supporting documentation: If relevant, this must be attached as a separate annex to the proposal.

Evaluation Timeline

An indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is provided in the ERC Work Programme 2026.

Application Assistance Availability

ERC Synergy Grant Applicants' Mailbox: For queries related to the call.
ERC 2026 Synergy Grant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Available on the ERC Website.
ERC National Contact Points (NCPs): Provide assistance in national languages.
Online Manual: Guides on procedures from proposal submission to grant management.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide: Detailed guidance on Horizon Europe structure, budget, and political priorities.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ: Addresses common questions on submission, evaluation, and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service: For general questions about European research.
IT Helpdesk: For technical issues with the Funding & Tenders Portal.
European IPR Helpdesk: Assists with intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk: Advise on standardisation.
Partner Search Services: Help in finding partner organizations.

Evaluation Criteria

Sole Criterion: Scientific Excellence

For all ERC frontier research grants, scientific excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation.

Evaluation Elements

The panels will primarily evaluate the ground-breaking nature and ambition of the research project.
At the same time, the panels will evaluate the intellectual capacity, creativity, and commitment of the Principal Investigators.
Emphasis is placed on the extent to which the Principal Investigators have the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project.
The peer reviewers will assess whether the collaborative working arrangements between the Principal Investigators, as described in the research methodology, can ensure scientific excellence.

Evaluation Procedure

A single submission of the full proposal is followed by a three-step evaluation.
Evaluation includes interviews of all Principal Investigators.
The evaluation is conducted by dedicated panels, potentially assisted by independent external experts.
At Step 1: Panels assess the extended synopsis of the scientific proposal (Part I only) and the Principal Investigators' CVs and track records.
At Step 2: Panels assess the complete version of retained proposals (Parts I and II).
At Step 3: Interview panels assess the complete version of the most competitive retained proposals, and all PIs are invited for an interview.
Applicants can request that up to four specific persons should not act as evaluators for their proposal during electronic submission.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Proposals must adhere to the admissibility and eligibility conditions described in the ERC Work Programme 2026 and the ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation under Horizon Europe.
Financial capacity and security requirements are outlined in the ERC Work Programme 2026 and ERC Rules of Submission and Evaluation.
Projects must comply with the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used for ERC actions under Horizon Europe (HE General MGA).

Open Science Requirements

Open science is a core principle of the ERC.
Beneficiaries must ensure open access to all peer-reviewed scientific publications relating to their results.
Beneficiaries or authors must retain sufficient intellectual property rights to comply with open access requirements.
Beneficiaries are covered by provisions on research data management as set out in the MGA, supporting the basic principle of open access to research data and data-related products.

Ethical Standards

An Ethics Review Table is part of the administrative form, and an ethics self-assessment (as a separate annex) may be required depending on the project's nature.

Principal Investigator Commitment

Principal Investigators (PIs) are required to spend a minimum percentage of their working time on the ERC project and in the EU or Associated Countries (with specific exceptions for PIs hosted outside these regions).
The ERC expects the composition of a Synergy Grant Group to remain unchanged throughout the grant's lifetime. Continuation if a PI leaves is exceptional and contingent on scientific evaluation and continued eligibility.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Synergistic Approach: The grant specifically targets ambitious research problems that cannot be addressed by individual PIs and their teams alone, necessitating a highly collaborative and synergistic approach.
Transformative Potential: Projects should enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge, stemming from cross-fertilization of scientific fields, new productive lines of enquiry, or new/unconventional methods and techniques.
Global Benchmark: The funded research is expected to have the potential to become a benchmark on a global scale.
Collaborative Design: Applicants must demonstrate how their group will successfully integrate scientific elements to tackle the proposed research question's scope and complexity.
Innovation Focus: Encourages investigations at the interface between established disciplines and unconventional approaches.

Grant Details