European Research Council's International "Proof of Concept" Grant 2016

Publish Date: Jul 06, 2016

Deadline: Oct 04, 2016

About program

The type of high-risk/high-gain research at the frontiers of knowledge that the ERC promotes often generates unexpected or new opportunities for commercial and societal applications. The ERC is committed to ensure the full exploitation of the excellent, useful ideas it funds. The Proof of Concept funding helps ERC grant-holders bridge the gap between their research and the earliest stage of a marketable innovation.

Eligibility

All Principal Investigators benefitting from an ERC Advanced, Synergy, Consolidator or Starting Grant that is either ongoing, or where the project has ended less than 12 months before the publication date of an ERC Proof of Concept call. The Principal Investigator must be able to demonstrate the relation between the idea to be taken to proof of concept and the ERC frontier research project (Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy) in question.

Funding:

up to € 150.000 per grant

Duration:

up to 18 months

For ERC grant holders only

The ERC Proof of Concept funding is made available only to those who already have an ERC award to establish proof of concept of an idea that was generated in the course of their ERC-funded projects.

The activities to be funded shall draw substantially on this scientifically excellent ERC-funded research. However the additional funding is not aimed at extending the original research or predominantly concerned with overcoming obstacles to practical application.
The funding will cover activities at the very early stage of turning research outputs into a commercial or socially valuable proposition, i.e. the initial steps of pre-competitive development.

The funding can be used to:

  • Establish viability, technical issues and overall direction
  • Clarify intellectual property rights position and strategy
  • Provide feedback for budgeting and other forms of commercial discussion
  • Provide connections to later stage funding
  • Cover initial expenses for establishing a company

How will proposals be assessed?

The Proof of Concept projects to be funded will have arisen from scientifically excellent ERC-funded research that has already been subject to rigorous peer review.

The grant will be evaluated on the basis of three evaluation criteria

  •  Excellence (Innovation potential): Proposals will have to demonstrate that the proposed Proof of Concept activity could greatly help move the output of research towards the initial steps of pre-commercialisation.
  • Impact: The proposed Proof of Concept is expected to generate economic and /or societal benefits.
  •  Quality and efficiency of the implementation (Quality of the Proof of Concept plan):  The proposed Proof of Concept is based on a sound approach for establishing technical and commercial feasibility of the project.

Application process:
Principal Investigators who wish to apply to one of the ERC calls will need to apply through the Electronic Submission Service of the Participant Portal which you can find in original link.

For Non-European Researchers

The European Research Council (ERC) is a funding organisation for frontier research. It aims to stimulate scientific excellence in Europe by funding the very best, creative researchers of any nationality and age, and supporting their innovative ideas. Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply for ERC grants provided the research they undertake will be carried out in an EU Member State or Associated Country.

ERC grants are becoming more and more internationally recognised as awards for scientific excellence.

Research projects funded by the ERC can last up to five years and can cover frontier research in any scientific domain, including social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary studies. The grants may help both emerging research leaders ('ERC Starting Grants' and 'ERC Consolidator Grants') and already well-established and recognised scientists ('ERC Advanced Grants'). Find out more about the different ERC grants.

If you are moving to Europe (EU Member State or Associated Country), you can apply for additional funding, which can total up to €2 million for a Starting Grant (instead of €1.5 million for those already established in Europe), €2.75 million for a Consolidator Grant (instead of €2 million) and €3.5 million for an Advanced Grant (instead of €2.5 million). 

How to apply

Applications can be submitted when an ERC call for proposals is opened. For successful applicants an agreement is then signed between the ERC and the institution that will host your research project ("Host Institution") in an EU Member State or an Associated Country.

In case you need to find a Host Institution in Europe for your future ERC project, please go to original link.

The selection of proposals is done by highly recognised international peer review panels.

Both the application, granting and reporting processes are very straightforward and user-friendly. Furthermore, you have the possibility to change host institution in Europe in the course of your project if useful, as ERC grants are "portable": the money follows the researcher and is not linked to the initial host institution.

Time to spend on the project

Researchers applying for ERC-funding must be strongly committed to the project and spend a significant amount of time on it. However, it is not obligatory to spend 100% of your time in Europe whilst carrying out the ERC-funded research.

For Starting and Consolidator Grants, the Principal Investigator should devote at least 50% of her/his total working time to the ERC-funded project, while spending at least 50% of her/his total working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country.

For Advanced Grants, the Principal Investigator should devote at least 30% of her/his working time to the ERC project and spend at least 50% of her/his total working time in an EU Member State or Associated Country.

Testimonials

Some testimonials from ERC-grantees of non-European nationality are featured in our brochure: ERC grants for top researchers from all over the world.

For more information click "Further official information" below.


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://erc.europa.eu/funding-and-grants/funding-schemes/proof-concept

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