Organizational Spotlight: The European Research Commission (ERC)

The European Research Commission (ERC) oversees the funding for scientific research conducted within the European Union. Set up by the European Union in 2007, the ERC is independently governed by the Scientific Council. The Scientific Council sets the ERC’s strategy, while the Executive Agency enacts it¹.

Despite being a relatively ‘young’ funding institution, the ERC has awarded the largest grant currently archived on Peeref’s funding database. These funds were provided to Swedish researchers working on the digitalization and automation of integrated tool chains².

If you are a researcher in the EU or an associated country, you are likely eligible for one of the ERC’s five major grant categories³. The ERC funds projects from all fields and disciplines, making it especially appealing for those participating in interdisciplinary projects.

Across the five main grant categories offered by the ERC (note there are other funding opportunities outside these major categories), approximately 1072 grants were awarded in 2022⁴. Funding rates rose for those applying to the starting and consolidator grants as compared to 2021, but dropped for the advanced grants.

* These numbers are estimated by the ERC at the time of their news releases.

Since its inception, the ERC has supported over 10,000 researchers by funding over 12,000 projects. These research projects have resulted in over 200,000 published papers and 2,200 patents to date, as well as numerous awards⁵.

References

1. https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/erc-glance
2. https://www.peeref.com/awarded-funding/1884272
3. https://erc.europa.eu/funding
4. https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news
5. https://erc.europa.eu/about-erc/erc-glance