Frequently asked questions

No, time sheets are not needed for the contractual obligations of an ERC 2023 Proof of Concept (ERC-2023-PoC) project. For more information, please refer to the Multi & Mono Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sum Grants.

There are no shares or quotas by domain or discipline for the ERC Proof of Concept) 2023 call. No domain or field is excluded and the possibility for innovation arising from the social sciences and humanities to apply for a PoC funding is fully recognised. As stated in the ERC Work Programme 2023: “Research proposals within the scope of Annex I to the Euratom Treaty, namely those directed towards nuclear energy applications, shall be submitted to relevant calls under the Euratom Research & Training Programme.”

According to the ERC Work Programme 2023, applications to the ERC-2023-PoC can be submitted at any time from the opening date of the call until its final deadline and will be evaluated and selected in three rounds, based on three specific cut-off dates. A Principal Investigator may submit only one eligible application per call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates of the ERC-2023-PoC call, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered (inadmissible, ineligible or withdrawn applications do not count against this limit).

Under the ERC 2023 Proof of Concept (ERC-2023-PoC) call, a maximum of three Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per main grant project, except for Synergy Grant, in which case a maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per ERC funded project. PoC projects can run in parallel, provided they comply with the eligibility conditions set out in the Work Programme under which they have been awarded. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2023, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the guide Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2023 call.

Yes, an applicant can submit to the ERC-2023-PoC call and at the same time to one of the four main ERC frontier research call (since the restrictions stated in the ERC Work Programme 2023 do not apply to PoC Grants). Nevertheless, a researcher can apply for a PoC grant ONLY if he/she is already the grantee in one ERC main frontier research grant. For more information, please refer to the eligibility criteria for PoC in the ERC Work Programme 2023.

Principal Investigators (PIs) with different profiles can apply to the ERC-2023-PoC call at any career stage. For ERC Proof of Concept grants, excellence is the sole criterion of evaluation. It will be applied in conjunction to the evaluation of both: the breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology of the project; and the strategic lead and project management of the Principal Investigator. PIs must demonstrate in their PoC Part B proposal, their ability to conduct the management of the project, the consolidation of information and data needed to take strategic decisions and implement the proposed plan, including risks and contingency measures. The PIs should describe their role in the PoC project, including how they will take the strategic lead of it. They should explain any experience or achievements in leading similar innovative projects (if applicable) and how this enables them to lead their PoC project to completion. If the PIs do not have any experience with similar projects, they should explain how they are fit to lead their proof of concept project (e.g. evidence of creativity, independent thinking, and taking strategic decisions). More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2023, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2023 Call, and Part B of the proposal template.

Yes. Unlike the main Frontier Research (StG, CoG, AdG, SyG) grant calls, there are no eligibility conditions to apply for a PoC linked to the results of proposals submitted to a previous PoC call. Therefore, the PI who applied to the call ERC-2022-PoC1 and/or ERC-2022-POC2 calls, and whose proposal was not selected for funding may apply to ERC-2023-PoC, provided they fulfil eligibility conditions as stipulated in the ERC Work Programme 2023.

Yes, under ERC 2023 Proof of Concept (ERC-2023-PoC) call, all Synergy Grant Principal Investigators (PI) from an ERC Synergy (SyG) funded project are eligible to apply to an ERC PoC proposal as Principal Investigator (PI), but only with the written consent of all Principal Investigators in the same Synergy Grant project. Principal Investigators may submit only one proposal under the Work Programme 2023 Proof of Concept call. If further submissions are made at different cut-off dates, only the first admissible and eligible proposal will be considered. A maximum of six Proof of Concept Grants may be awarded per ERC SyG funded project. More information on the submission and evaluation procedures can be found in the ERC Work Programme 2023, in the section relevant to the call, as well as in the Information for Applicants to the Proof of Concept Grant 2023 Call.

For the ERC 2023 Proof of Concept (ERC-2023-PoC) call, applicants submit the whole proposal that is evaluated in a single step by the independent external experts. The experts will review the Part B proposal and annexes with letters of support or intent. They will also have access to a simplified budget report based on the budget figures entered in Part A. For more information on the evaluation process, please refer to ERC Work Programme 2023.

According to the conditions of the ERC Starting Grant 2023 (ERC-2023-STG) call, it is the applicant’s responsibility to choose and indicate the most relevant ERC Panel (‘primary evaluation panel’) for the evaluation of the proposed research and to indicate one or more ERC keywords representing the research fields involved. The Principal Investigator (PI) may indicate a secondary relevant evaluation panel. The initial allocation of the proposal to a panel will be based on the preference expressed by the applicant. However, when necessary due to the expertise required for the evaluation, a proposal may be reallocated to a different panel with the agreement of both panel chairs concerned. The composition of the ERC evaluation panels are by nature multi-disciplinary. The primary allocated panel will determine if additional reviews by appropriate members of other panel(s) or additional remote experts are needed. The applicant should indicate when they believe that their proposal is of a cross-panel or cross-domain nature. Further explanations can be found in the Information for Applicants to the Starting and Consolidator Grant calls 2023.