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

March 17, 2026 | September 17, 2026

€150,000 lump sum per grant, for up to 18 months; up to 3 PoC grants per main ERC project (6 for Synergy Grants).

Supports ERC grantees to bridge research and innovation by developing the commercial or societal potential of ERC-funded results.

Only ERC main grant PIs (ongoing or ended after Jan 1, 2025) are eligible; single-stage submission and evaluation.

--- ## Description The ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) Grant is a complementary funding scheme for Principal Investigators (PIs) who already hold or recently completed an ERC main grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy). The PoC grant enables these researchers to explore and accelerate the commercial or societal application of their ERC-funded research, supporting activities such as testing, validation, demonstration, stakeholder engagement, and IP strategy development. The ultimate aim is to help bridge the gap between frontier research and innovation by verifying the innovation potential of ERC-funded ideas and facilitating their transition toward real-world impact. --- ## Due Dates - March 17, 2026: First cut-off (17:00 Brussels time) - September 17, 2026: Second cut-off (17:00 Brussels time) All dates are cut-off deadlines for proposal submission. --- ## Funding Amount - **Grant Size:** €150,000 (lump sum) - **Project Duration:** Up to 18 months (extensions possible if justified) - **Number of Grants:** Up to 3 PoC grants per main ERC project (6 for Synergy Grants) - **Budget Covers:** All direct and indirect eligible costs (personnel, subcontracting, purchases, other categories) --- ## Eligibility - **Who can apply:** Only Principal Investigators who are or were recipients of an ERC main grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy) that is ongoing or ended on/after January 1, 2025. - Synergy Grant PIs require written consent from all Synergy PIs in the same project. - Each PI may submit only one application per call. - Up to 3 PoC grants per main grant project (6 for Synergy Grants). - **Host Institution:** Must be established in an EU Member State or Associated Country (or be an eligible international European interest organisation). - **Proposal:** Must clearly relate to the ERC-funded research and not simply extend the original research project. --- ## Application Process - **Submission:** Online via the [EU Funding & Tenders Portal](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ERC-2026-POC?isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502&frameworkProgramme=43108390) - **Required Documents:** - Administrative form (Part A) - Technical annex (Part B, max 10 pages) - Host Institution support letter (mandatory template) - Ethics and security self-assessment (if applicable) - Letters of support or intent from stakeholders (optional, if relevant) - **Evaluation:** Single-stage, single-step; proposals are assessed by independent experts based on three elements: 1. Breakthrough innovation potential 2. Approach and methodology 3. PI's strategic lead and project management - **Selection:** Proposals must pass all three evaluation elements (rated "very good" or "good" by the majority of reviewers). - **Ethics:** All funded projects undergo an ethics review; proposals involving serious or complex ethics issues may require additional documentation. --- ## Additional Information - **Open Access:** Immediate open access to peer-reviewed publications is required; data management plans must be established for projects generating research data. - **Gender Equality:** Host Institutions that are public bodies, research organisations, or higher education institutions in the EU/Associated Countries must have a Gender Equality Plan in place for the project's duration. - **Restrictions:** PIs whose proposals were rejected for research integrity breaches in ERC 2024 or 2025 calls are ineligible for ERC-2026-PoC. - **No minimum PI time commitment** is required for PoC grants, but the total effort across ERC grants must not exceed 100%. --- ## External Links - [ERC Proof of Concept Grant main page](https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept) - [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) - [EU Funding & Tenders Portal – ERC-2026-PoC Call](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ERC-2026-POC?isExactMatch=true&status=31094501,31094502&frameworkProgramme=43108390) - [Application Form Template (PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/af/af_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [ERC National Contact Points](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp?prefLang=en) --- ## Contact Information | Purpose | Contact | |---|---| | General queries | [ERC PoC Call Coordination Team](mailto:ERC-PoC-APPLICANTS@ec.europa.eu) | | Ethics queries | [ERC Ethics Support](mailto:ERC-ETHICS-REVIEW@ec.europa.eu) | | Open Access/data | [ERC Open Access](mailto:ERC-OPEN-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu) | | National support | [Find your National Contact Point](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp?prefLang=en) | | Technical help (portal) | [F&T Portal IT Helpdesk](mailto:EC-FUNDING-TENDER-SERVICE-DESK@ec.europa.eu) | ---

Proof of Concept

Sign in to see full grant listing