The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the results of the 2023 round of the ERC Advanced Grants, which help leading researchers conduct ambitious, fundamental research projects. The grants are expected to create 2,480 jobs for postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and other staff at the selected host institutions.

Each grant is worth up to €2.5 million over a period of five years, as well as an additional €1 million to cover:

• Eligible ‘start-up’ costs for PIs moving to the EU or an Associated Country from elsewhere as a consequence of receiving the ERC grant.
• Purchase of major equipment.
• Access to large facilities.
• Other major experimental and field work costs, excluding personnel costs.

The 2023 round of funding launched in December 2022 and closed for applications on 23 May 2023. A total of 255 researchers received funding out of 1,829 applicants, a success rate of 13.9%, up from the previous year’s rate of 13.2%. Of these successful proposals:

• 75 were in the life sciences.
• 107 were in physical sciences and engineering.
• 73 were in social sciences and humanities.

Grants were awarded to researchers of 32 nationalities working in 20 countries, with Germany (50),  France (37) and the Netherlands (23) receiving the highest number of grants. While the European Commission and the UK Government have reached an agreement on the association of the UK to Horizon Europe, the association only applies for calls for proposals implementing the 2024 budget and onwards. For the Advanced Grants and other calls from the 2023 ERC Work Programme, the UK-based applicants who were eligible to apply under the transitional arrangement may receive EU funding only if they transfer their proposed project to an eligible host institution.

Further details of successful applicants are available on the ERC website.

(This Bulletin article was the subject of a ResearchConnect news alert.)