[European Research Council](https://erc.europa.eu)

March 17, 2026 | September 17, 2026

Lump sum of €150,000 for up to 18 months per project; up to three PoC grants per main ERC grant (six for Synergy grants).

Supports ERC-funded researchers to explore the commercial or societal innovation potential of their frontier research.

Only ERC main grant holders (ongoing or ended on/after Jan 1, 2025) are eligible; single-stage, excellence-only evaluation.

--- ## Description The ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant is a targeted funding scheme designed to help current or recent ERC main grant holders (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy) bridge the gap between frontier research and innovation. The grant supports activities that verify the innovation potential of ideas arising from ERC-funded projects, such as proof-of-concept studies, market validation, stakeholder engagement, and development of intellectual property or knowledge transfer strategies. The ultimate aim is to facilitate the transformation of cutting-edge research into impactful commercial or societal applications. --- ## Due Dates - March 17, 2026: First cut-off submission deadline (17:00 Brussels time) - September 17, 2026: Second cut-off submission deadline (17:00 Brussels time) Applicants may submit at any time up to these deadlines, but only one proposal per PI is allowed per call year. --- ## Funding Amount - Each awarded project receives a lump sum of **€150,000** for a duration of up to **18 months**. - The lump sum covers all eligible direct and indirect costs; no cost breakdown is required in the proposal. - Up to **three PoC grants per main ERC grant** (six for Synergy grants) are allowed under the relevant ERC main project. --- ## Eligibility - **Who can apply:** Only Principal Investigators (PIs) with an ongoing ERC main grant, or whose ERC main grant ends on or after January 1, 2025, are eligible. - For Synergy grants, written consent of all PIs in the Synergy project is required. - **Host Institution:** Must be established in an EU Member State or an Associated Country (public or private legal entities, including universities, research organizations, undertakings, or international European research organizations). - Host Institutions must have a Gender Equality Plan or equivalent in place for the project duration (if required by their type). - **Submission restrictions:** - Only one PoC proposal per PI per call year (first eligible proposal is considered if multiple are submitted). - A maximum of three PoC grants per main ERC grant (six for Synergy grants). - PIs whose proposals were rejected for research integrity breaches in 2024 or 2025 are ineligible for the 2026 call. - **Nationality and career stage:** Open to researchers of any nationality and career stage. --- ## Application Process - **Submission:** Proposals must be submitted electronically via the [EU Funding & Tenders Portal](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ERC-2026-POC?order=DESC&pageNumber=1&pageSize=50&sortBy=relevance&keywords=ERC-2026-POC&isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502,31094503) before the relevant cut-off date. - **Proposal components:** - **Part A:** Administrative forms (including abstract, PI and host details, eligibility confirmations) - **Part B:** Technical annex (max. 10 pages, excluding certain headers and tables), covering: - The idea and its breakthrough innovation potential - Approach and methodology - Principal Investigator’s strategic lead and project management - **Supporting documents:** Host Institution support letter (mandatory), and if applicable, ethics or security documentation, and letters of support from stakeholders. - **Evaluation:** Single-stage, single-step remote peer review by independent experts. Excellence is the sole criterion, assessed across three elements: 1. Breakthrough innovation potential 2. Approach and methodology 3. PI’s strategic lead and project management - Proposals must receive a majority of "good" or "very good" marks on all three elements to be considered for funding. - If budget is insufficient for all fundable proposals, ranking is by evaluation element scores. - A Seal of Excellence is awarded to high-quality proposals not funded due to budget limits. --- ## Additional Information - **Eligible activities include:** testing, validation, demonstration, market analysis, stakeholder engagement, IPR strategy, and activities to bridge research and innovation. - **Open Science:** Immediate open access to publications is required; research data must be managed according to FAIR principles. - **Ethics and Security:** All funded projects undergo ethics review; security-sensitive work must be disclosed and reviewed as required. - **No minimum time commitment:** There is no minimum percentage of working time required for the PI, but the PI must be engaged by the Host Institution for the project duration. - **Reporting:** A final report is required at project end; time sheets are not needed for PoC projects. --- ## External Links - [ERC Proof of Concept Grant main page](https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept) - [Call details and submission portal (ERC-2026-PoC)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ERC-2026-POC?order=DESC&pageNumber=1&pageSize=50&sortBy=relevance&keywords=ERC-2026-POC&isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502,31094503) - [ERC Work Programme 2026 (PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/wp-call/2026/wp_horizon-erc-2026_en.pdf) - [Information for Applicants – PoC 2026 (PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/information-for-applicants_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [Application Form Templates (Part A & B)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/af/af_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [Guide for Peer Reviewers (PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/experts/guide-for-peer-reviewers_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [National Contact Points for ERC](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp?functions=45785764) --- ## Contact Information | Purpose | Contact | |-------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------| | General queries | erc-poc-applicants@ec.europa.eu | | Ethics support | ERC-ETHICS-REVIEW@ec.europa.eu | | Open Access / Data management | ERC-OPEN-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu | | National guidance | [Find your National Contact Point](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp?functions=45785764) | | IT helpdesk | [Portal IT Helpdesk](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/helpdesks/contact-form) | ---

Proof of Concept

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