The European Commission today adopted the European Research Council’s (ERC) Work Programme for 2027, which sets out the grant opportunities, budgets for individual schemes, the timetable for calls for proposals and the rules for submitting applications for the coming year. The programme, prepared by the ERC Scientific Council, introduces several changes to the grant schemes and application rules, which were announced earlier this year to give researchers sufficient time to prepare for them.
Key changes include, in particular, the extension of the age and career windows for Starting and Consolidator Grants and a limit on the number of proposals a single researcher may submit under a single work programme. The aim of these adjustments is to better reflect the diversity of today’s research careers whilst maintaining a fair and effective evaluation process.
We have already described all the key changes in detail as soon as they were announced – you can find a summary in our article Important changes to the ERC Work Programme for 2027.
The first grant scheme to be launched under the new work programme is the ERC Starting Grant 2027. The call was launched today, 22 July 2026, and will be followed by further calls – the Consolidator Grant, Synergy Grant, Advanced Grant and ERC Plus Grant.
ERC Starting Grant 2027
ERC Starting Grants support researchers at the start of their scientific careers in carrying out independent research or establishing their own research team. Principal investigators must demonstrate the potential for independence in research, for example by publishing significant work as lead author without the involvement of a supervisor. Applications are open to researchers of any nationality who obtained their PhD between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2026 (in justified cases, such as parental leave, long-term illness or clinical practice, the eligibility window may be extended). A researcher may be the principal investigator (PI) of only one ERC Starting Grant throughout their career.
The grant offers funding of up to 1.5 million EUR over 5 years, and in justified cases, with the possibility of an increase of up to a further 1 million EUR (e.g. for costs associated with the start-up of activities, major equipment or access to research infrastructure). For principal investigators relocating from third countries outside the associated states, additional funding of up to 2 million euros may be available. An ERC grant covers up to 100 per cent of eligible direct costs and, in addition, 25 per cent of indirect costs. The research must be carried out at a public or private research institution based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe associated country. Proposals must be submitted via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; the sole evaluation criterion is scientific excellence – both of the proposal itself and the profile of the principal investigator.
The deadline for submitting a proposal under call ERC-2027-StG is 14 October 2026.
Anyone interested in assistance with submitting a grant application may contact staff at the Project Service of Palacký University in Olomouc. We look forward to working with you!