Programme: Horizon Europe
Priority: Excellent Science
Objective: European Research Council
Topic: Consolidator Grant
Budget: 673 M€
Opening Date: 25-09-2025
Deadline: 13-01-2026
Call Documents: Call ERC-2026-CoG
Link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/ERC-2026-COG
Objective of the European Research Council is to sustain excellence research, with a bottom-up approach, enhancing dynamism and creativity of European frontier research, by financing ground-breaking, high-risk and ambitious projects led by Principal Investigators with internationally relevant curricula.
All scientific fields are eligible. ERC encourages interdisciplinary proposals that cross the boundaries between different fields of research, pioneering proposals addressing emerging areas of research or introducing innovative and unconventional approaches and scientific inventions.
The Consolidator Grant action is addressed to researchers that have successfully defended their first PhD degree more than 7 and up to 12 years on 1 January 2026, able to demonstrate a consolidated research independence appropriate for their research field and career stage.
Proposals are submitted by the Principal Investigator on behalf of the host institution, normally the sole legal entity participating in the project. Nevertheless it is foreseen that, if they bring scientific added value to the project, the team may involve researchers from other organizations, established anywhere, legal entities that, in turn, can benefit from the EU contribution.
The researcher is required to spend at least 40% of his/her total working time on the financed project and to conduct overall his/her activity in an EU Member State or Associated Country for at least 50%.
The budget allocated by the European Commission for this deadline is 673 M€, with a number of granted projects foreseen in 341.
The maximum amount expected per Grant is 2 M€ for a period of 5 years [to reduce pro rata in the event of projects of a shorter duration]. The maximum additional funding amount [for further eligible costs e.g. major equipment, access to large facilities, …] of 1 M€ will be doubled in case the applicant relocates to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere, to take up the ERC Grant.
For this action the EC contribution corresponds to 100% of the eligible costs directly linked to the project activities on which a 25% share is recognised to cover indirect costs [excluding direct costs incurred for subcontracting].
The host institution must be a legal entity located in an EU Member State or Associated Country.
The grant agreements will be signed by the European Research Council Executive Agency and the host institution, which guarantees to the PI the scientific responsibility for the project.
Normally, the Principal Investigator will be employed by the host institution for at least the duration of the project. Moreover, a Supplementary Agreement between the Principal Investigator and the host institution will be signed for the regulation of rights and obligations of the parties.
As a novelty of 2026 WP, changes have been made to the length and structure of the research proposal, which is now composed as follows:
Part I of the Scientific Proposal: setting out the envisaged original and creative research, the background, the scientific question and the objectives of the project, the overall approach or research strategy and how the project will advance the frontier of knowledge;
Part II of the Scientific Proposal: focusing primarily on the detailed explanation of the project implementation, feasibility, research methodology and justification for the requested budget and resources;
Curriculum Vitae and Track Record;
Resources and Time Commitment.
The proposals will be evaluated by peer review panels of experts based on the sole criterion of scientific excellence, with a focus, greater than previous calls, on the quality of the research project, in particular in relation to its ground-breaking nature and ambition, always considering two evaluation steps.
At Step 1 of the evaluation, only Part I and the CV and Track Record are assessed. Part I forms the basis for the panel’s decision whether to evaluate the proposal in the next step. Feasibility of the scientific approach will no longer be assessed at Step 1.
To participate in the ERC calls 2026 [Starting, Consolidator, Advanced and Synergy Grants], some restrictions have been introduced for PIs that applied under ERC WP 2025 and 2024.