Synergy projects should enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge, stemming, for example, from the cross-fertilization of scientific fields, from new productive lines of enquiry, or new methods and techniques, including unconventional approaches and investigations at the interface between established disciplines. The transformative research funded by Synergy Grants should have the potential of becoming a benchmark on a global scale.

Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their scientific proposal. Principal Investigators must also demonstrate that their group can successfully bring together the scientific elements necessary to address the scope and complexity of the proposed research question.

Funding Information

• Synergy Grants may be awarded up to a maximum of EUR 10000000 for a period of 6 years.
• An additional up to EUR 4000000 in total can be requested in the proposal to cover:
  • Eligible ‘start-up’ costs for Principal Investigators moving to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere as a consequence of receiving the ERC grant
  • The purchase of major equipment
  • Access to large facilities
  • Other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs. As any additional funding is to cover major one-off costs it is not subject to pro rata temporis reduction for projects of shorter duration. All funding requested is assessed during evaluation.

Eligibility Criteria

• Principal Investigators may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application.
• Eligible Principal Investigators:
  • Principal Investigators may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application. A Synergy Grant Group must be composed of a minimum of two and a maximum of four innovative and active Principal Investigators and, as necessary, their teams.
• Eligible Proposals:
  • All proposals must be complete and submitted by eligible Principal Investigators before the relevant call deadline.
• Eligible Host Institution:
  • Any type of legal entity, public or private, including a university, a research organisation, or an undertaking can host a Principal Investigator and their team.
  • To participate in ERC frontier research actions the Host Institution must be established either in an EU Member State or an Associated Country35 as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an international European research organisation (such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), etc.), or any other entity created under EU law. In a Synergy Grant, one Host Institution, except the Corresponding Host Institution, may be an international organisation or a legal entity established outside the European Union or an Associated Country,
  • International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or an Associated Country shall be deemed to be established in that Member State or Associated Country.
  • It is also expected that the Host Institution will be the only participating legal entity in the case of a Starting, Consolidator, or Advanced Grant. In a Synergy Grant, up to four Host Institutions may engage Principal Investigators.
  • Legal entities outside the European Union or Associated Countries are eligible for funding in the following cases:
    • They are one of the Host Institutions in a Synergy Grant
    • Their participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action,
    • They host team members bringing added scientific value to the project.

Application Requirements

• Proposals that do not include some or all of the sections listed below may be declared inadmissible:
  • Part I of the Scientific Proposal: up to five pages;
  • Part II of the Scientific Proposal: up to seven pages (up to ten pages for Synergy Grant proposals);
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Track Record: up to four pages for each Principal Investigator;
  • Resources and Time Commitment: up to two pages (except Synergy Grant Proposals, where this section may exceed two pages).

For more information, visit European Commission.