[euresearch.ch] Are you ready for the ERC?

In Focus: Are you ready for the ERC?   Horizon Europe will fully take off in a few weeks but the first ERC calls are already out. Typical ERC, you could say, always at the forefront of the Framework Programmes. The next ERC call, the Advanced Grant, is expected to open on 20 May with a deadline on 31 August. What are your ERC plans? 2021 is a special year for the ERC: It was not possible for the first calls to open in 2020 and there are no Synergy Grant or Proof of Concept Grant calls in the 2021 Work Programme. These two calls are expected back in the 2022 Work Programme. The Proof of Concept will even have 2 calls with a total of 4 cut-off dates, giving PIs for whom 2021 would have been the last chance to apply the possibility to submit a proposal. These plans as well as tentative opening and closing dates for the other calls were recently communicated by the ERC. In terms of call timelines, 2022 will be the last transition year. With Work Programme 2023, calls are expected to be back to the usual schedule (i.e. Starting Grant closing around October, Consolidator Grant in February, Advanced Grant in summer, and Synergy Grant in November). Make sure you consider the best time in your career for a proposal submission and schedule in sufficient time for proposal writing. For Starting and Consolidator Grant applicants, it is not necessarily towards the end of the eligibility window. Statistics show that the success rate does not increase substantially with additional years post PhD. To get started, talk with ERC grantees and your peers, and check out the "ERC classes" videos. Dear readers, these are my last recommendations as a National Contact Point for ERC. After 14 years, I am leaving Euresearch and taking off for new horizons. It was a great pleasure for me to support so many ERC applicants in Switzerland. To work with talented researchers and to see world class research projects develop was truly inspiring. Thank you for your trust and good luck with your ERC plans! Katja Wirth, National Contact Point for ERC / Member of the Euresearch Management Board Alexandra Rosakis, Illustration    more Impressum Euresearch Communication, com@euresearch.ch Euresearch, Belpstrasse 11, CH-3007 Bern, Tel +41 31 380 60 00 Disclaimer: We assume no responsibility for the content, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or completeness of the information, nor for references and links to third-party websites.© 2021 Euresearch