Horizon Europe

European Research Council (ERC) Budget 2022

Established by the ERC Scientific Council, the ERC work programme was the first approved under the 2021-2027 European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe. In this page, you will find information on the ERC Budget.

ERC Programme

The fundamental activity of the ERC is to provide attractive, long-term funding to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue groundbreaking, high-gain/high-risk research. Research funded by the ERC is expected to lead to advances at the frontiers of knowledge and to set a clear and inspirational target for frontier research across Europe.

ERC Budget

€2 billion will be made available by the European Research Council (ERC) in 2022 to allow some 1,000 top researchers to pursue frontier research as ERC Budget. As in previous years, most of the funding (66%) is earmarked for early- to mid-career scientists and scholars. The funding will also support jobs for an estimated 6,860 postdoctoral researchers, PhD students and other research staff employed in ERC-funded teams from the ERC budget.

Starting grant

Total budget: €749 M

Subsidy: Projects applying to Starting Grants may be awarded up to €1.5 million for a period of 5 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). However, an additional €1 million can be made available to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs. An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs.

Deadlines: 13 January 2022; (expected) 25 October 2022

Scope: Support for 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 scientific proposal.

ERC Consolidator grant

Total budget: €776M

Subsidy: Projects applying for Consolidator Grants may be awarded up to €2 million for a period of 5 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). However, an additional €1 million can be made available to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs. An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs.

Deadlines:17 March 2022; (expected) 2 February 2023

Scope: Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they may still be consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

ERC Advanced grant

Total budget: €555M

Subsidy: The ERC budget breakdown for Advanced Grants may be awarded up to €2.5 million for a period of 5 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration). However, an additional €1 million can be made available to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs. An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs

Deadlines:28 April 2022; (expected) 23 May 2023

Scope: Support for excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are already established research leaders with a recognised track record of research achievements. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal.

About ERC

The European Research Council, set up by the European Union in 2007, is the premiere European funding organisation for excellent frontier research. Every year, it selects and funds the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age, to run projects based in Europe. To date, the ERC has funded over 9,500 top researchers at various stages of their careers, and over 70,000 postdocs, PhD students and other staff working in their research teams. The ERC programme strives to attract top researchers from anywhere in the world to come to Europe.

The fundamental activity of the ERC programme is to provide attractive, long-term funding to support excellent investigators and their research teams to pursue groundbreaking, high-gain/high-risk research. Research funded by the ERC budget is expected to lead to advances at the frontiers of knowledge and to set a clear and inspirational target for frontier research across Europe