The European research landscape is undergoing a historic shift with the launch of the ERC Plus Grants, a new funding instrument from the European Research Council designed to change the rules of the game for those aiming to lead truly transformative scientific projects.
The announcement comes directly from Brussels and was presented by the ERC team and further detailed by its President, Maria Leptin, as part of the Choose Europe initiative promoted by the European Commission to attract and retain top scientific talent. The proposal responds to a clear objective: to offer the brightest minds an exceptional funding framework capable of supporting research that goes beyond the limits of what is possible under a conventional ERC grant.
What are ERC Plus Grants?
The new ERC Plus Grants are individual grants designed for researchers with radical and transformative ideas—projects that go beyond the scope of traditional ERC funding schemes and that may open up entirely new scientific fields or fundamentally change established paradigms. These grants are intended for proposals that could not be carried out through a standard Starting, Consolidator or even Advanced Grant.
ERC Plus Grants stand out within the ERC funding portfolio due to their exceptional duration, scale and ambition:
- Exceptional duration. Grants are awarded for a period ranging from 4 to 7 years, allowing projects to reach the maximum duration of seven years and enabling long-term, large-scale research efforts.
- Unprecedented funding. The maximum grant amount is up to €7 million, provided as a single lump-sum contribution covering all eligible project costs over its full duration.
- A once-in-a-career opportunity. Each researcher can receive an ERC Plus Grant only once during their academic career. This makes the call a critical strategic milestone: choosing the right moment, the right project and the right narrative approach will be essential.
Who can apply for an ERC Plus Grant?
According to Maria Leptin, the answer is clear: any researcher at any career stage.
Researchers at Starting, Consolidator and Advanced levels are all eligible to apply. The evaluation panels are fully equipped to assess candidates in relation to their career stage, and the ERC has stressed that this will not disadvantage early-career researchers, who often bring the most adventurous and disruptive ideas.
Why is this call so competitive?
The ERC has been explicit about the level of ambition and selectivity of the ERC Plus Grants. This is an exceptionally competitive call, designed to identify only a very limited number of projects with truly transformative potential.
Each call is expected to fund around 30 projects in total, across all scientific disciplines and career stages. Compared to the roughly one thousand grants awarded annually through standard ERC schemes, this represents a level of competition far higher than that of any other ERC call.
In addition to presenting an ambitious idea, applicants must demonstrate that they have already achieved exceptional breakthroughs in their previous work. The ERC is seeking researchers who have shown they are capable of delivering highly innovative, high-risk projects—even at early stages of their careers.
The combination of extended duration, exceptional funding and extreme scientific ambition makes the ERC Plus Grants the most selective funding scheme ever launched by the European Research Council.
The vision: what sets an ERC Plus apart
While the general structure of an ERC Plus proposal follows the familiar ERC format—with Part 1 focusing on the scientific idea and Part 2 on methodology and implementation—this call introduces a key distinguishing element: the Vision Statement.
Vision Statement (approximately half a page, maximum two pages)
This concise yet strategic text requires applicants to go beyond the scientific description of their project and answer a fundamental question: why does this research deserve an ERC Plus rather than a conventional ERC grant?
In this section, the ERC expects applicants to clearly explain:
- Why the project is exceptional in terms of ambition and scope.
- What makes it more disruptive, transformative or risky than a standard Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grant.
- How it could substantially change an existing field or even give rise to a new one.
The Vision Statement is not a technical summary, but a core narrative component that must convey the magnitude of the idea and its long-term potential. As such, it becomes a decisive element in the evaluation process, particularly in the first stage, where the ERC seeks proposals that are truly out of the ordinary.
Official timetable of the call
The final dates are pending the update of the 2026 ERC Work Programme.
A strategic call for Europe and for those aiming to lead frontier research
Although the Choose Europe initiative—under which the ERC Plus Grants are launched—was partly conceived in response to the need to attract or facilitate the return of scientific talent from the United States and other countries, the ERC has made its position clear: this call is not limited to researchers relocating to Europe.
ERC Plus Grants are open both to researchers already established in Europe and to those currently working outside the continent. The objective is twofold and complementary: to attract global scientific talent while also retaining, consolidating and empowering existing European talent.
From a broader perspective, the launch of the ERC Plus Grants represents a strategic shift within the European R&I ecosystem. Through this new instrument, the ERC strengthens Europe’s global competitiveness, consolidates its capacity to attract elite scientific profiles and makes a strong commitment to high-risk, high-reward research. Beyond the funding volume, the call sends a clear signal of Europe’s ambition: to position itself at the forefront of disruptive research and to offer a stable, attractive and competitive environment for those willing to redefine the boundaries of knowledge.
This context has direct implications for research teams considering applying. With an unprecedented level of competition, an excellent idea alone is not enough. ERC Plus proposals require a solid, coherent and well-articulated vision capable of demonstrating why the project deserves exceptional funding. The Vision Statement becomes a central piece of the proposal; the applicant’s track record must credibly support the level of ambition; and long-term feasibility will be scrutinised with particular rigor. In this scenario, starting the preparation process early is not merely advisable—it is essential.
A two-step evaluation process with elite panels
ERC Plus Grant proposals will be evaluated through an international peer-review process, with excellence as the sole evaluation criterion, following a particularly rigorous procedure designed to identify only a small number of projects with truly transformative potential.
Both the research project and the scientific track record and leadership of the Principal Investigator are assessed jointly. Panels will evaluate the ambition and ground-breaking nature of the project, as well as the applicant’s capacity to deliver it. Compared to standard ERC calls, past achievements carry greater weight, always assessed in relation to the applicant’s career stage.
The evaluation process consists of two stages:
- Step 1
Proposals are assessed by standard ERC panels, which evaluate Part 1, the CV and track record of the applicant, and the Vision Statement. - Step 2
Proposals retained after Step 1 are assessed in full by a dedicated ERC Plus panel, composed, for example, of former ERC panel chairs, former members of the Scientific Council and leaders of organisations with extensive experience in evaluating research excellence. Independent external experts may also support the evaluation remotely. This stage includes face-to-face interviews with the candidates.
The highest-ranked proposals are recommended for funding, subject to budget availability. All funded proposals undergo an ethics review and, where relevant, a security appraisal. Overall, this is a demanding and highly selective process designed to identify only those projects capable of delivering truly disruptive scientific advances.
The role of Kveloce
Calls such as the ERC Plus Grants represent the highest level of ambition and complexity within the European research funding landscape. Preparing a competitive proposal requires not only an exceptional scientific idea, but also a clear strategy, a compelling narrative, and a deep understanding of how the ERC assesses ambition, feasibility and scientific leadership.
At Kveloce, we support researchers throughout the entire ERC proposal preparation process—from the initial definition of the project’s strategic positioning to in-depth proposal review and interview preparation. Our extensive experience with ERC calls allows us to integrate scientific excellence with the strategic and communicative dimensions that make the difference in highly competitive evaluations.
For ERC Plus Grants, this support becomes even more critical. We help researchers structure and refine their Vision Statement, align project ambition with a solid and credible track record, and build a narrative capable of conveying the transformative potential of their research to high-level, multidisciplinary evaluation panels.
Our goal is clear: to support researchers in turning their most ambitious ideas into robust, strategic and competitive proposals, contributing to the scientific impact that the ERC seeks to foster through instruments such as the ERC Plus Grants.
Source: This article is based on official information published by the European Research Council (ERC), including public communications and documentation related to the ERC Plus Grants. https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/erc-plus-grant and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU2ymXwm-Cw&t=16s.
ℹ️ More information about our ERC services: https://kveloce.com/erc-services/?lang=en
