European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants provide an opportunity to established scientists and scholars to pursue frontier research of their choice. Being highly competitive and awarded on the sole criterion of excellence without restriction to particular areas of research, these grants will support the very best of research to be conducted in Europe, adding value to research investments at the national level.

Advanced Grants are intended to promote substantial advances in the frontiers of knowledge, and to encourage new productive lines of enquiry and new methods and techniques, including unconventional approaches and investigations at the interface between established disciplines.

The peer review evaluation of proposals will therefore give emphasis to these aspects, in full understanding that such research has a high-gain/high-risk profile, i.e. if successful the payoffs will be very significant, but there is a higher-than-normal risk that the research project does not entirely fulfil its aims.

The ERC Advanced Researcher Grant (ERC Advanced Grant) scheme intends to support research projects to be performed in any Member State or associated country to the Framework Programme. Team members, unlike Principal Investigators or Co-Investigators, may conduct the funded research outside the European Union or associated countries.

In adition to our useful documents section, further information about Call FP7 Health 2010, as well as relevant documents can be found at the Cordis website

Grant activities will be developed in three different fields: 

• Area 1: Physical Sciences & Engineering

Grants to advanced investigators on this field. 39% of the total budget

• Area 2: Life Sciences

Grants to advanced investigators on this field. 34% of the total budget

• Area 3: Social Sciences & Humanities

Grants to advanced investigators on this field. 14% of the total budget

The rest of the budget refers to an interdisciplinary domain (13%)

The Community provisional funding available for the call for proposals is:

• 590,05 Million EUR (Global Budget)

• 24 February 2010 - 15 years ago (The deadline for the presentation of proposals for area 1)
• 17 March 2010 - 15 years ago (The deadline for the presentation of proposals for area 2)
• 07 April 2010 - 15 years ago (The deadline for the presentation of proposals for area 3)

• ERC Work Programme 2010 (Work programme)
• ERC Advanced Investigators Grant (Legal base)

Opened to the following bodies or institutes with legal status established in the covered areas:

• Public authorities (all)
• Any legal organisation
• Enterprises
• SMEs

Bodies or institutes must have their registered legal seat in one of the countries taking part in the Programme which are:

• European Union (EU)
• Third countries

Directorate-General for Research

• Call for Proposals - ERC Proof of Concept
• Call for proposals - ERC Consolidator Grant
• Call for proposals - ERC Synergy Grant
• Call for proposals to support ERC monitoring and evaluation strategy (gender aspects) - Coordination and Support Action
• Call for Proposals - ERC Advanced Investigators Grant