The European Research Council (ERC) stands at the forefront of scientific research in Europe, providing robust support for groundbreaking studies across diverse disciplines. Established in 2007 by the European Union, the ERC’s mission is to foster scientific excellence by encouraging high-quality research in Europe through competitive funding.
NB: you have reached ERC.support a professional ERC grant writing service, provided by GRANTS.support B.V.. More information about our services can be found on our homepage. For formal information from ERC, please refer to their website.
Background and history of the European Research Council (ERC)
The inception of the European Research Council marked a significant milestone in the European Union’s commitment to scientific research and innovation. Before the ERC’s establishment, European research funding for fundamental research was often fragmented and lacked a unified framework. Recognising the need for a more cohesive and competitive research environment, the European Commission proposed the creation of the ERC as part of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological Development.
The ERC officially launched on February 27, 2007, with a vision to support investigator-driven, frontier research across all fields, based on scientific excellence. Over the years, the ERC has evolved and expanded, becoming a cornerstone of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programs. Its independent Scientific Council, composed of distinguished scientists and scholars, ensures the ERC’s strategic priorities and the fair evaluation of proposals.
Grant opportunities provided by the European Research Council (ERC)
The European Research Council offers a range of funding opportunities designed to support researchers at different stages of their careers. These grants are highly competitive and are awarded based on the sole criterion of scientific excellence. The primary funding schemes provided by the ERC include:
- ERC Starting Grants (StG): Aimed at early-career researchers who have demonstrated significant potential, ERC Starting Grants support principal investigators (PIs) who are at the stage of establishing their own research team or program. Applicants must have 2-7 years of experience since completing their PhD and show a promising track record.
- ERC Consolidator Grants (CoG): These grants target mid-career researchers who are consolidating their own independent research team or program. Applicants should have 7-12 years of experience since their PhD and have already produced several important publications.
- ERC Advanced Grants (AdG): Designed for established researchers who have a track record of significant research achievements in the last 10 years, ERC Advanced Grants provide substantial funding to conduct pioneering work. These grants are open to leading researchers across all fields of science, engineering, and scholarship.
- ERC Synergy Grants (SyG): Encouraging collaborative research, ERC Synergy Grants enable small groups of two to four principal investigators to jointly address ambitious research questions. This scheme is designed to bring together complementary skills, knowledge, and resources to tackle complex challenges.
- ERC Proof of Concept Grants (PoC): These grants are available to ERC grant holders who want to explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC-funded research. Proof of Concept Grants help bridge the gap between research and the market, facilitating the practical application of scientific discoveries.
An overview of upcoming deadlines can be found in our ERC deadline calendar.
How we help in preparing your winning ERC grant
Designing and writing an ERC grant is a challenging (and possibly intimidating) endeavour: you are forced to craft a clear scientific vision, well beyond what you have done and achieved so far. This is exciting, but may (or even should) also be a little bit uncomfortable.
For example, you may intuitively know where exciting new insights await. You may have a majestic vision of an exciting future. But putting these in a coherent plan that fits ERC and a scientifically mind-tickling narrative is not easy. That is where we as ERC.support come in: to co-design and write your winning ERC grant.
How our
grant writing services
work
Writing an ERC grant is a unique and intimate experience. To be successful, we need to bring together your scientific personality, leadership capacity and vision into a coherent and convincing ERC project. A winning ERC grant conveys a narrative that inspires a broad range of high-profile researchers while convincing top-tier experts.
1
Explore
First we will clarify what excites you scientifically. What is it that you really want to explore as part of your ERC Grant? What is needed to stand out in your field? How is your track record perceived by the community and how do we leverage that in the ERC grant application?
2
Strategise
Secondly, we will establish the overall research strategy for your ERC grant. This includes phrasing the core scientific questions and objectives for the ERC grant. In addition, we will build your profile to make sure your strengths are leveraged while the ERC project is still clearly novel for you and the world.
3
Detail
Finally, we will bring together your profile, your vision and your ERC plan into one inspiring, accessible and convincing narrative. For this, we will leverage key writing and storytelling skills. What results is an ERC grant application that breaths you and your excellence.
Our comprehensive grant writing services include:
Benchmarking, gap analysis and experimental plans for the preliminary data that will be needed for the ERC grant application.
Workshops to build the work plan, detail your profile and construct the narrative for the ERC grant application.
Co-writing of the grant application, multiple rounds of review and submission of your winning ERC grant application.
In addition, we provide reviews, coaching and training.
UPDATE: Unfortunately our capacity for the 2026 deadlines has been completely filled.
We’ll let you know when things change!