ERC Proof of Concept Grant - ERC-2019-POC

Deadline: Sep 19, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

Scope:

Eligible Countries­

1. Eligible countries: The conditions specific to the ERC are described in the ERC 2019 Work Programme under the heading Eligibility criteria and in Annex 3. An overview is provided below:

The ERC actions are open to researchers of any nationality who intend to conduct their research activity in any EU Member State or H2020 Associated Country. Principal Investigators may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country in the world at the time of the application. ERC Principal Investigators do not have to be based full-time in Europe.

The host institution must either be established in an EU Member State or H2020 Associated Country as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an International European Interest Organisation (such as CERN, EMBL, etc.), the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) or any other entity created under EU law.

Eligibility and admissibility conditions

2. Eligibility and admissibility conditions:

The conditions specific to ERC grants are described in the ERC Work Programme 2019 under the heading Eligibility criteria and in the ERC Rules for Submission and Evaluation under Section 2.4. An overview is provided below:

Eligible proposals: All proposals must be complete and submitted before the relevant call deadline. A complete proposal needs to include all parts or sections (see “Proposal submission and description” below). Incomplete proposals may be declared ineligible. The content of the proposal must relate to the objectives and to the grant type set out in the call, as defined in ERC Work Programme 2019. A proposal will only be deemed ineligible on grounds of ‘scope’ in clear-cut cases.

Eligible Principal Investigator: All Principal Investigators in an ERC frontier research project, that is either on going or has ended less than 12 months before 1 January 2019, are eligible to participate and apply for an ERC Proof of Concept Grant.
Principal Investigators may submit only one proposal under the Work Programme 2019 calls. If multiple submissions are made at different cut-off dates under the Work Programme 2019 only the first eligible proposal will be considered. 
A Principal Investigator whose proposal was rejected on the grounds of a breach of research integrity in the calls under Work Programmes 2017 or 2018 may not submit a proposal to the calls under Work Programme 2019.

Eligible Host Institution: The host institution (Applicant Legal Entity) must engage the Principal Investigator(s) for at least the duration of the project, as defined in the grant agreement. It must either be established in an EU Member State or H2020 Associated Country as a legal entity created under national law, or it may be an International European Interest Organisation (such as CERN, EMBL, etc.), the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) or any other entity created under EU law. Any type of legal entity, public or private, including universities, research organisations and undertakings can host Principal Investigators and their teams.
In a Synergy grant up to four Host Institutions could engage a Principal Investigator. Where they bring scientific added value to the project, additional team members may also be hosted by additional legal entities which will be eligible for funding, and which may be legal entities established anywhere, including outside the European Union or H2020 Associated Countries, or international organisations. Legal entities established outside the European Union or Associated Countries are eligible for funding provided that their participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action.

Restrictions on submission of proposals: The restrictions for submission are related to the outcome of the evaluation in previous calls and are designed to allow unsuccessful Principal Investigators the time necessary to develop a stronger proposal. For further details please consult pages 19-20 of the ERC Work Programme 2019 or the Frequently Asked Questions.

Proposal page limits and layout

Proposal page limits and layout: A complete proposal is composed of:

• Administrative proposal forms (including Ethics Review Table): available in section 5 of the topic conditions and in the submission tool below. To access the submission tool, you need to register to the Participant Portal first.

• Proposal (Part B) and any supporting documentation should be uploaded and submitted via the submission tool below as PDF files.
• Host Institution Binding Statement of Support (available as a word-template in the submission tool below). Only the host institution of the Corresponding Principal Investigator must confirm its association with and its support to the project and the Corresponding Principal Investigator, listing the other participating Principal Investigators.

• Ethics review self-assessment (if applicable) and supporting documentation.

Proposal Part B:

Idea and justification on innovation potential: max. 2 pages
Expected impact of the proposed innovation: 2 pages 
Proof of concept plan: 2 pages 
Budget table and justification: 1 page (+ Budget Table)

Evaluation criteria and process

Evaluation

The conditions specific to ERC are described in the ERC Work Programme 2019 under the heading 'Evaluation procedure and criteria' and in the ERC Rules for Submission and Evaluation. An overview is provided below:

Evaluation procedure

A single-stage submission and single-step evaluation procedure will be used. The evaluation will be conducted by independent experts. These experts may work remotely and may if necessary meet as an evaluation panel as set out below on the application of the evaluation criteria.

Evaluation criteria

Proof of Concept Grants are awarded in relation to an existing ERC-funded project which has already been evaluated on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion. The evaluation criteria for selection of proposals for Proof of Concept Grants are excellence in innovation potential, impact and quality and efficiency of the implementation. The detailed evaluation elements applying to the proof of concept project and the Principal Investigator are set out in the ERC Work Programme 2019.