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

March 17, 2026 | September 17, 2026

Lump sum of €150,000 per grant for up to 18 months; ~400 grants; total call budget €60M.

Supports ERC grantees to explore the commercial or societal potential of ERC-funded research results.

Only ERC main grant holders (ongoing or ended after Jan 1, 2025) are eligible; one application per PI per call.

--- ## Description The ERC Proof of Concept Grant is a complementary funding scheme under Horizon Europe, designed exclusively for Principal Investigators (PIs) who currently hold, or recently completed, an ERC main grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy). The grant aims to bridge the gap between pioneering research and early innovation by supporting activities that explore the commercial, societal, or policy potential of ideas generated during ERC-funded projects. Funding can be used for tasks such as testing, validating, and demonstrating innovation potential, clarifying intellectual property rights or knowledge transfer strategies, and engaging stakeholders to facilitate the translation of research outcomes into real-world applications. --- ## Due Dates - March 17, 2026: 1st cut-off / submission deadline (17:00 Brussels time) - September 17, 2026: 2nd cut-off / submission deadline (17:00 Brussels time) Applicants may submit at any time up to the relevant cut-off, but only one proposal per PI per call is allowed. --- ## Funding Amount - **Grant size:** €150,000 (lump sum) per project - **Duration:** Up to 18 months (extensions possible if duly justified) - **Total call budget:** €60 million (approximately 400 grants available) - The lump sum covers all direct and indirect eligible costs (personnel, subcontracting, purchases, other costs). --- ## Eligibility - **Principal Investigator:** Must be or have been a PI on an ERC main frontier research grant (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or Synergy) that is ongoing or ended on or after January 1, 2025. - Synergy Grant PIs require written consent from all Synergy project PIs; each Synergy PI may submit one PoC application per call. - A maximum of three PoC grants per main grant project (six for Synergy grants). - **Host Institution:** Must be established in an EU Member State or Associated Country, or be an international European research organisation or entity created under EU law. - Any public or private legal entity (including universities, research organisations, undertakings, or spin-offs) can act as host. - Host institutions that are public bodies, research organisations, or higher education institutions must have a Gender Equality Plan in place. - **One application per PI per call** (if multiple submissions are made at different cut-offs, only the first eligible proposal will be evaluated). - PIs whose proposal was rejected for research integrity breaches in ERC 2024 or 2025 calls are not eligible. --- ## 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 requirements:** - Administrative form (Part A). - Proposal (Part B, max 10 pages excluding cover, references, and risk mitigation table), structured as: 1. Breakthrough innovation potential (max 3 pages) 2. Approach and methodology (max 6 pages) 3. PI’s strategic lead and project management (max 1 page) - Host Institution support letter (mandatory template). - Ethics self-assessment and supporting documents if applicable. - Letters of support/intent from stakeholders (optional but encouraged). - **Evaluation:** Single-step, remote peer review by independent experts. Proposals are scored as "very good", "good", or "fail" on each of three elements; must pass all to be considered for funding. - **Excellence is the sole evaluation criterion**, covering: - Breakthrough innovation potential - Approach and methodology - PI’s strategic lead and project management - **Seal of Excellence** is awarded to fundable proposals that cannot be funded due to budget constraints. --- ## Additional Information - **Open Access:** Immediate open access to peer-reviewed publications is required; data management in line with FAIR principles. - **Reporting:** Only a final project report is required. - **No minimum time commitment** for the PI, but the PI must be engaged by the Host Institution for the grant duration. - **No timesheets required** for PoC projects. - **Ethics & Security:** All funded projects undergo ethics review and, if applicable, security review. - **Parallel PoC grants**: Multiple PoC grants may run in parallel per main grant, within the maximum allowed. --- ## External Links - [ERC Proof of Concept Grant main page](https://erc.europa.eu/apply-grant/proof-concept) - [EU Funding & Tenders 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 template (PDF)](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/temp-form/af/af_he-erc-poc_en.pdf) - [ERC Guide for Reviewers – PoC 2026 (PDF)](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 Q&A for 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) --- ## Contact Information | Contact Type | Details | |------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ERC PoC Applicants Mailbox | erc-poc-applicants@ec.europa.eu | | ERC National Contact Points (NCPs) | [Find your NCP](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/ncp) | | ERCEA (ERC Executive Agency) | [Contact page](https://erc.europa.eu/support/contact-us-page) | | IT Helpdesk (Portal) | [Contact form](https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/helpdesks/contact-form) | ---

Proof of Concept

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