Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.

The ERC Starting Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are starting their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their research proposal.

Starting Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of €1.500.000 for a period of 5 years. However, additional funding up to €1.000.000 can be requested in the proposal to cover the following eligible costs when these are necessary to carry out the proposed work:

• “start-up” costs for Principal Investigators moving to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere as a consequence of receiving the ERC grant; and/or
• the purchase of major equipment; and/or
• access to large facilities; and/or
• other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs.

Eligible project costs will be reimbursed at a funding rate of 100% for direct costs plus a flat-rate of 25% for indirect cost. Reimbursements will be budget-based and will cover actual costs or unit costs depending on the cost category.

The estimated number of grants is 483.

All Principal Investigators funded through an ERC Starting Grant must spend a minimum of 50% of their working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country and a minimum of 50% of their working time on the ERC project.

• Education and training
• Research, Technological Development and Innovation

• Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions

The Principal Investigators shall have been awarded their first PhD at least 2 and up to 7 years prior to 1 January 2025. Cut-off dates: PhD awarded from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022 (inclusive).

A competitive Starting Grant Principal Investigator should have already shown evidence of the potential for research independence, for example by having produced at least one important publication as main author or without the participation of their PhD supervisor.

When submitting their proposal, the CV and Track Record should include personal details, education, key qualifications, current position(s) and relevant previous positions, a list of up to ten research outputs that demonstrate how the applicant has advanced knowledge in their field, with an emphasis on more recent achievements, and a list of selected examples of significant peer recognition. A short explanation of the significance of the selected outputs, the role of the applicant in producing each of them, and how they demonstrate the applicant’s capacity to successfully carry out their proposed project may be included, as well as a short explanation of the importance of the listed examples of significant peer recognition.

Research and Innovation Foundation
Address: 29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia, P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/

Contact Persons:

Dr Kalypso Sepou
Head of European Programmes Department
Telephone: +357 22 205 066
Email: kalypso@research.org.cy

Dr Ioannis Theodorou
Scientific Officer
Email: itheodorou@research.org.cy

Katerina Karakasidou
Scientific Officer
Email: kkarakasidou@research.org.cy

https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/contact-us

• Funding&Tenders
• ERC Work Programme 2025
• ERC Rules of Submission