ERC Synergy Grants 2024

17 August 2023

“The ERC Synergy Grants aim to provide support for a small group of two to four Principal Investigators (PIs) to jointly address ambitious research problems that could not be addressed by the individual PIs and their teams working alone.

Synergy projects should enable substantial advances at the frontiers of knowledge, stemming, for example, from the cross-fertilization of scientific fields, from new productive lines of enquiry, or new methods and techniques, including unconventional approaches and investigations at the interface between established disciplines. The transformative research funded by Synergy Grants should have the potential of becoming a benchmark on a global scale.” Ref: ERC Synergy Grants 2024 on the European Commission website

The Call for ERC Synergy Grants 2024 is now open. If you are a researcher that wants to address a research problem that cannot be dealt with you and your team alone, the Synergy Grants could be for you.

Funding Agency: European Research Council (ERC) established by the European Commission

Deadline: 08 November 2023

Fund: Up to €10,000,000

Duration: Up to 6 years

Research Area: Any field of research

Note: The ERC’s grants operate on a ‘bottom-up’ basis without predetermined priorities. In the case of the ERC Synergy Grants, applications must demonstrate that the proposed research cannot be carried out by a single PI working alone.

Eligibility:

  • A group of two to maximum four PIs working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems. 
    • One will be designated as the corresponding PI (cPI).
  • PIs may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application.
  • No specific eligibility criteria regarding the academic training are foreseen for ERC Synergy Grants.
  • PIs must present an early achievement track-record or a ten-year track-record, whichever is most appropriate.
  • Research must be conducted by all PIs in a public or private research organisation (known as a Host Institution, HI).
  • The HI(s) (Applicant Legal Entity/ies) – up to four host institutions – must either be established in the European Union or Associated Country.
    • Any type of legal entity, public or private, including universities, research organisations and undertakings can host PIs and their teams.
    • One of these host institutions, with the exception the corresponding host institution, at any one time, may be a legal entity established outside the European Union or Associated Countries or an international organisation.
  • PIs can apply within the same HI or through different HIs.
  • One PI per Synergy Grant group at any one time can be hosted or engaged by an institution outside of the EU or Associated Countries.
  • ERC Synergy grants support projects carried out by a group of two to four individual researchers who can employ researchers of any nationality as team members.
  • PIs funded through an ERC Synergy grant shall spend a minimum of 30% of their working time on the ERC project and a minimum of 50% of their working time in the European Union or Associated Country except for a PI hosted or engaged by an Institution outside the European Union or Associated Country.

How to Apply?

Apply through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal with proposal submission made electronically.

For more information: