The research institution in the Widening country will be the coordinator and submit a proposal as a single applicant (monobeneficiary). ERA Chair holders can be citizens of any country in the world.

Proposals should include a Curriculum Vitae in Europass form of the future ERA Chair holder and detail the scientific and technical support she/he will provide to the coordinator and how the proposed activities will upgrade from the current situation. The CV should be uploaded as an additional document to the proposal.

Proposals should also describe any relevant investments of the coordinator in research projects, facilities and infrastructures and how those will be achieved and/or a better use of the installed research capacity (in particular of EU co-funded research infrastructures & facilities). Existing or foreseen arrangements for compliance with ERA priorities including the European Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers are to be outlined in the proposal.

ERA Chair holders should be excellent researchers and/or innovators in the chosen field of research. They should establish a research team fully integrated in the coordinator’s institution to significantly improve its research performance in the scientific domain of choice and to be more successful in obtaining competitive funding. The selection of personnel to the research team is to be conducted by an international recruitment panel leaded by the ERA Chair and outlined in proposals. The ERA Chair holder should also have a position within the organisation/university, allowing her/him to make appropriate resource allocation decisions, supervise team members and freely apply for research funding. When this is compatible with the nature of the coordinator, he/she is expected to take on some teaching duties.

To allow for the assessment of the commitment of the future ERA Chair holder and of the coordinator institution, proposals must include:

• a letter signed by the prospective ERA Chair holder expressing his/her commitment to the proposal and willingness to take on the underlying tasks and obligations;
• a letter from the head of the coordinator institution committing to the proposal and stating that the ERA Chair holder will receive adequate support to take on her/his tasks and duties including, for example, access to research facilities, supervision of researchers, teaching duties (if any) and capacity to apply freely to national and international funding.

The ERA Chair research team should have conditions to thrive after the end of the Horizon Europe funding. This should be clearly demonstrated in the proposal and include the appointment of the leader of the newly created research group on a permanent basis within the coordinator organisation (to which the ERA Chair holder might apply) during the initial 3 years of the duration of the grant.

Specific attention should be paid to gender equality objectives, in line with the organisations’ commitments through their adopted gender equality plans, and in line with ERA objectives, as far as appropriate.