European Commission has issued a call for proposals which grants ERC (European Research Council) advanced investigators with the aim of supporting research projects to be performed in any Member State or associated country to the Framework Programme

The call for proposals ERC-2010-AdG ERC Advanced Investigators Grant is under the 2010 Ideas work programme of the 7th Framework Programme of the European Community for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities.

The 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.

The call, which has a total budget of 590 052 000 euros, refers to three different fields of research:

• Physical Sciences & Engineering: 39% of the budget
• Life Sciences: 34% of the budget
• Social Sciences & Humanities: 14% budget

Remaining 13% of the burget is for interdisciplinary domain.

Deadline for the submission of proposals is on February 24 for Physical Sciences and Engineering, on March 17 for Life Sciences and on April 7 for Social Sciences and Humanities.