ERC Advanced Grant
Funds investigator-led frontier research across disciplines, enabling high-risk discovery with strong scientific autonomy.
Eligibility · EU member states
The European Research Council Advanced Grant (ERC AdG) is awarded to established research leaders who have demonstrated exceptional scientific achievements in the past ten years and wish to pursue ambitious, investigator-driven frontier research. The grant is funded under Horizon Europe Pillar I and administered by the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) under DG RTD. The 2026 call opened 28 May 2026 with a deadline of 27 August 2026. Awards reach up to €2.5 million for a five-year project, plus up to €1 million additional funding for start-up costs, equipment, and experimental or field work as warranted. Principal Investigators relocating from non-EU, non-associated third countries may receive up to €2 million in additional relocation funding; from the 2026 Work Programme, these relocation funds can also cover personnel costs. The ERC's annual budget is approximately €2.2 billion, placing it among the world's largest competitive research funding agencies. Only scientific excellence is evaluated — there are no thematic restrictions and no requirements for applied or societal impact.
The applicant is the host institution (a university or research organisation established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country), acting on behalf of the PI. For-profit entities and individuals cannot apply directly. A single PI leads each project; the AdG has no consortium requirement. The evaluation follows a two-step process: Step 1 involves panel review of the five-page B1 section; Step 2 involves panel and external reviewers assessing the full B2 proposal plus an interview. The 2026 Work Programme introduced a compressed B2 structure (Part B limited to seven pages) and extended eligibility definitions for career-gap extensions, including gender-based violence and broader parental leave criteria.
Candidates with a substantial publication record, including papers in leading journals and a citation profile consistent with field-leading status, are the target pool. The AdG requires no prior ERC grant — unlike the ERC Proof of Concept, which mandates an existing ERC award. Researchers in any discipline, from natural sciences to humanities, may apply. The ERC evaluates proposed research on the quality and originality of the scientific vision and the PI's capacity to lead it; applicants should avoid framing their proposal around applied deliverables or societal benefit, as ERC panels explicitly assess fundamental research ambition.
Investigator-driven, curiosity-led frontier research in any scientific or scholarly domain, awarded to established research leaders with an exceptional track record, hosted at institutions in EU Member States or Associated Countries.
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