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

March 17, 2026 (1st cut-off) | September 17, 2026 (2nd cut-off)

Lump sum of €150,000 per grant, 18-month duration; up to 400 grants, €60M total call budget.

Supports ERC grantees to validate and develop the innovation potential of ERC-funded research for commercial or societal impact.

Only one application per PI per call; max 3 PoC grants per main grant (6 for Synergy); eligibility tied to ERC main grant status.

--- ## Description The ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant provides additional funding to Principal Investigators (PIs) who currently hold or recently completed an ERC main grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy). The aim is to bridge the gap between ERC-funded frontier research and early-stage innovation by enabling PIs to explore the commercial or societal potential of results emerging from their ERC projects. Eligible activities include testing, validation, demonstration, stakeholder engagement, and strategy development for knowledge transfer or intellectual property. The PoC grant is not intended to extend the original research but to support translational steps toward innovation and impact. --- ## Due Dates - March 17, 2026: Proof of Concept Grant — 1st cut-off / full application deadline - September 17, 2026: Proof of Concept Grant — 2nd cut-off / full application deadline Applicants may submit only one proposal per call; if multiple are submitted, only the first eligible proposal will be considered. --- ## Funding Amount - **Grant size:** Lump sum of €150,000 per project - **Project duration:** Up to 18 months (extensions possible only in exceptional cases) - **Call budget:** €60 million (approximately 400 grants) - **Eligible costs:** Lump sum covers all direct and indirect costs (personnel, subcontracting, purchases, travel, dissemination, etc.); no financial breakdown required in the proposal. --- ## Eligibility - **Who can apply:** Principal Investigators with an ongoing ERC main grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy) or whose grant ends on or after January 1, 2025. - For Synergy grants: Written consent from all Synergy PIs required; each PI can submit one PoC proposal per project. - **Host Institution:** Must be established in an EU Member State or Associated Country (public/private, including universities, research organisations, undertakings, or international European interest organisations). - **Restrictions:** - Max 3 PoC grants per main grant project (6 for Synergy grants). - Only one application per PI per call (across both cut-off dates). - PIs whose proposal was rejected for breach of research integrity in ERC 2024 or 2025 calls are not eligible. - Additional team members can be hosted by entities in non-associated countries if they bring scientific value. - Host Institutions (public/research/higher education) must have a Gender Equality Plan in place. --- ## Application Process - **Submission:** Electronic 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). - **Proposal structure:** - Administrative form (Part A) - Technical annex (Part B, max 10 pages): - 1a: Breakthrough innovation potential (max 3 pages) - 1b: Approach & methodology (max 6 pages) - 1c: PI strategic lead & project management (max 1 page) - Host Institution support letter (mandatory template) - Supporting documents (if relevant: ethics, security, stakeholder letters) - **Evaluation:** Single-step, remote peer review by independent experts. Sole criterion is excellence, assessed on: 1. Breakthrough innovation potential 2. Approach and methodology 3. PI’s strategic lead and project management - **Selection:** Proposals must receive a “good” or “very good” from a majority of reviewers on all three elements to be considered for funding. Proposals with equal marks are ranked by innovation potential, then methodology, then PI leadership. - **Feedback:** All applicants receive an evaluation report and ranking. Proposals passing all criteria but not funded may receive a Seal of Excellence. --- ## Additional Information - **Open science:** Immediate open access to peer-reviewed publications is required; research data must be managed according to FAIR principles. - **Ethics & security:** All projects undergo ethics review; security issues are assessed as needed. - **No minimum PI time commitment:** The PI must be engaged by the Host Institution for the project duration, but there is no minimum percentage of working time required. - **Portability:** Grants can be transferred to a new eligible host institution if needed. --- ## External Links - [ERC PoC main page](https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept) - [EU Funding & Tenders Portal – ERC-2026-PoC call details](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](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](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/information-for-applicants_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [Proposal template (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](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/experts/guide-for-peer-reviewers_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [ERC National Contact Points](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp) - [ERC PoC FAQs](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) --- ## Contact Information | Topic | Contact | |------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | General PoC queries | [erc-poc-applicants@ec.europa.eu](mailto:erc-poc-applicants@ec.europa.eu) | | Ethics support | [erc-ethics-review@ec.europa.eu](mailto:erc-ethics-review@ec.europa.eu) | | Open Access questions | [erc-open-access@ec.europa.eu](mailto:erc-open-access@ec.europa.eu) | | National Contact Points| [ERC National Contact Points directory](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp) | | IT helpdesk (Portal) | [Funding & Tenders Portal IT Helpdesk](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/helpdesks/contact-form) | ---

Proof of Concept

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