This page is a navigation guide to the questions that usually appear before and during an ERC Starting Grant application. Short answers are given here. The linked guides go deeper into the scientific and practical reasoning.
For current eligibility, budget, submission and evaluation rules, always use the official ERC documentation as the final authority.
Eligibility and scheme choice
1. Who can apply for an ERC Starting Grant in 2027?
Researchers of any nationality can apply if they meet the current Starting Grant eligibility conditions. For 2027, the eligibility window is 0-10 years from successful PhD defence, subject to the detailed rules and eligible extensions.
Read the 2027 eligibility guide →
2. Do I need a permanent academic position?
No. A permanent position is not an ERC requirement. The host institution must commit to hosting the PI and supporting the independence needed to execute the project if funded.
Read the Host Institution guide →
3. Do I have to be employed by the host institution when I submit?
No. ERC guidance allows the host relationship to be established for the grant if the proposal is selected, subject to the formal Host Institution commitments.
Read the Host Institution guide →
4. Should I apply for Starting or Consolidator Grant if I am eligible for both?
From 2027 the eligibility windows overlap. The choice should follow the maturity of the research programme, scientific independence and the scheme that best fits the proposal rather than a perceived prestige hierarchy.
Read Starting vs Consolidator →
5. Can I submit more than one ERC main-grant proposal in the same 2027 Work Programme?
The 2027 rules limit applicants to one main research-grant proposal under the same Work Programme. Check the current Work Programme and any resubmission restriction before committing to a call.
Scientific idea and ambition
6. How ambitious should an ERC Starting Grant be?
The project should contain a scientific question whose strongest outcome could materially change understanding, capability or research direction. Ambition is not the number of work packages or the size of the specification improvement.
7. Does an ERC proposal need a hypothesis?
Not every discipline uses formal hypotheses in the same way. The proposal does need a clear intellectual proposition, research question or conceptual uncertainty that can be challenged by evidence.
Read the scientific-question guide →
8. How risky should the research be?
There should be genuine scientific uncertainty. The preferred hypothesis may fail. The programme should still be capable of producing valuable knowledge across plausible outcomes.
Read the scientific-risk guide →
9. Is a technically difficult project automatically ERC-level?
No. Technical difficulty can exist without a large scientific payoff. The key question is what new understanding or capability becomes possible if the project succeeds.
10. How do I know whether I have an ERC idea rather than a good research project?
Ask whether the project could establish a recognisably new research direction and create important questions for the field beyond the grant itself. My own stress test is whether the programme could generate meaningful work for the field over the next 10-15 years.
Read the flagship scientific strategy guide →
Part I / B1
11. What should Part I do?
Part I should make the scientific case: current knowledge, major open question, objectives and overall research strategy. At Step 1 it is evaluated together with the CV and Track Record.
12. How long is Part I for Starting Grants?
For the current structure, Part I is limited to five pages. Always confirm page limits in the current Information for Applicants before submission.
13. How much methodology should go into Part I?
Enough to make the research strategy credible and understandable. Detailed methodology, work plan, risk and implementation belong primarily in Part II.
14. Should Part I include figures?
Yes, when a figure clarifies the scientific argument better than prose. A conceptual figure can be very powerful, but it must earn its space in five pages.
15. What is the biggest mistake in Part I?
Writing a methods paper instead of a scientific vision. The reviewer should see the importance, unknown, new idea and potential change to the field before the document becomes technically dense.
Part II / B2
16. What belongs in Part II?
Part II provides detailed implementation: methodology, work plan, risk assessment, mitigating measures and the logic needed to demonstrate that the programme can produce interpretable evidence.
17. How long is Part II for Starting Grants?
For Starting Grants under the current structure, Part II is limited to seven pages. Confirm the current call documents before submission.
18. How should risk be written?
Separate scientific risk from execution risk. Scientific risk concerns the answer. Execution risk concerns whether you can generate the evidence needed to obtain an answer.
Read the scientific-risk guide →
19. What should happen if my main hypothesis is wrong?
The proposal should show what can still be learned and how the programme redirects. A rejected hypothesis can identify boundary conditions, support an alternative mechanism or open a different line of research.
Evidence, team and PI
20. Do I need preliminary results?
No. Preliminary evidence can help establish plausibility, access or scientific tension, but it is not mandatory. Too much can make the core question look already answered.
Read the preliminary-results guide →
21. How much preliminary evidence is ideal?
Enough to justify taking the question seriously without pre-solving the programme. The right amount depends heavily on the field.
Read the preliminary-results guide →
22. How large should the ERC Starting Grant team be?
There is no universal team formula. Build the group from the scientific programme and country-specific costs. In some fields and countries a structure around two or three PhD researchers and one or two postdocs can be a reasonable starting model, but the science should determine the final mix.
23. How do I show independence?
Show that the central question and programme are intellectually yours. The proposal should make clear how your direction differs from simply continuing a former supervisor's research programme.
Read the CV and Track Record guide →
24. Does staying in the same institution weaken my application?
Not automatically. Independence is scientific, not only geographical. If you remain in the same environment, make the ownership of the new direction especially clear.
Read the CV and Track Record guide →
Budget and panel
25. How much can an ERC Starting Grant provide?
The standard Starting Grant is up to EUR 1.5 million for up to five years, with additional funding possible for justified eligible costs under the current rules.
26. How should I justify the budget?
Connect each major cost to the scientific architecture. The reviewer should understand which constraint a person, instrument, facility or other resource removes.
27. Which ERC panel should I choose?
Choose the panel most likely to understand the main scientific breakthrough. Do not choose only by department name, discipline label or perceived competition.
Evaluation and interview
28. How is an ERC Starting Grant evaluated?
The main grants use a two-step process. Step 1 evaluates Part I and the CV/Track Record. Step 2 evaluates the complete proposal with specialist input and includes the interview.
29. What happens at the ERC interview?
The exact format is panel-specific. ERC guidance says interviews typically last around 30 minutes and include a presentation and questions. The scientific task is to defend the central idea, assumptions, outcome space, team and resources clearly under challenge.
30. What should I check before submission?
Check the scientific question, ambition, Part I, Part II, risk, preliminary evidence, team, CV, host, budget, panel, submission requirements and interview readiness against one integrated checklist.
Use the final proposal checklist →
Where to start
If you are still shaping the idea, start with:
- How to formulate the scientific question
- How ambitious should the project be?
- ERC Starting Grant scientific strategy guide
If you already have a mature draft, start with:
If you have reached Step 2, start with:
Official source
For current rules and documents, use the official ERC Starting Grant page.