ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2027-PoC): upcoming call and cut-offs

ERC Proof of Concept Grant (ERC-2027-PoC): upcoming call and cut-offs

The European Research Council (ERC) Proof of Concept Grant funds a short, focused step from an ERC-funded research result toward commercial or societal use. It is a top-up for eligible ERC principal investigators (PIs), rather than a general early-stage business grant or a continuation budget for the original research project. A proposal must draw substantially on the PI’s ERC-funded work and explain how the proposed proof-of-concept activity will test the potential of an idea that emerged from it.

The 2026 round described in older summaries has closed. The ERC’s adopted Work Programme 2027 sets out the next call, ERC-2027-PoC. It is scheduled to open on 12 November 2026, with two application cut-offs: 10 March 2027 and 16 September 2027. The Work Programme marks these timetable dates as provisional and allows the call opening or deadline to shift. Applicants should confirm the live call and exact instructions in the Funding & Tenders Portal before submitting. As of this page’s update, the 2027 call has been announced but is not yet open.

Key details

The planned opening and cut-off dates, the call budget, and the estimated number of grants come from the adopted Work Programme. The timetable is provisional: the ERC Executive Agency may open the call up to one month earlier or later, or delay a deadline by up to two months. Use the Portal’s live call record for operational confirmation. The 2026 opportunity had two rounds too, but its second cut-off was 17 September 2026. That date is past; it is not an application deadline for the upcoming call.

What the grant is intended to support

A PoC project should move a promising result toward a practical test. ERC describes possible activities such as testing and validating an idea, resolving weaknesses exposed by those tests, assessing technical viability and direction, clarifying intellectual-property protection or knowledge transfer, involving relevant partners or stakeholders, and understanding likely end users. The proposed work should generate evidence for a decision about what to do next.

A proposal therefore needs a traceable connection between the original ERC research and the new work. Applicants should identify the finding, method, dataset, technology, or insight that came from the main grant; state what remains uncertain about its innovation potential; and design a bounded set of activities to reduce that uncertainty. A project may pursue commercial innovation, social innovation, or social value. A company formation or immediate market launch is not the only credible pathway, but the activity must lead toward application beyond the original research outputs.

The distinction from a research extension is important. Work already planned and funded under the original ERC grant is not the purpose of the PoC top-up. A further scientific study can fit when it is needed to test or advance the innovation pathway, but a proposal that simply adds research aims without explaining the route to use will have a weak fit. The work plan should make clear what result would support the next step, what result would stop or redirect it, and which users, partners, or transfer route matter to the decision.

Eligibility for the 2027 call

The 2027 Work Programme makes the call available to PIs whose ERC main grant is ongoing, or whose ERC main grant ends on or after 1 January 2026. The main grant can be a Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, Synergy, or ERC Plus Grant. The PI must show that the proposed PoC idea is substantially related to that ERC-funded research. Being employed by an ERC-funded team, collaborating with a grantee, or working in the same institution does not by itself establish PI eligibility.

Synergy Grant PIs may apply only with written consent from all PIs in their Synergy project. Each Synergy PI may submit one PoC application under the Work Programme. A maximum of three PoC grants can be awarded from a Starting, Consolidator, Advanced, or ERC Plus project; a maximum of six can be awarded from a Synergy project. The Work Programme also bars applicants whose proposals were rejected for breach of research integrity in calls under the 2025 or 2026 Work Programmes from applying to this PoC call. Other restrictions, including the applicable exclusion rules, should be checked in the official call documents.

The Host Institution must be a legal entity established in an EU Member State or an Associated Country, an international European research organisation, or another entity created under EU law. Public and private legal entities, including universities, research organisations, and undertakings, may host a PI. The PI may use a different host from the one that hosted the main ERC grant, provided the new host meets the call rules and commits to engage the PI for at least the duration of the PoC project. Eligible public bodies, research organisations, and higher education institutions in Member States or Associated Countries must have a Gender Equality Plan or equivalent strategic document meeting the Work Programme requirements for the project period. The work programme’s country-specific restrictions also apply.

Grant amount and project design

The planned award is a single lump sum of EUR 150,000 for an 18-month project. The 2027 Work Programme says the lump sum is intended to cover direct and indirect eligible project costs, including personnel, subcontracting, purchases, and other cost categories. The contribution is paid based on project work carried out and reported, rather than reimbursement of each actual cost. An extension may be granted when duly justified.

The amount is fixed, so the proposal should make its scope believable within the time and resources available. A useful plan identifies the key uncertainty, the test or development step that addresses it, the evidence the team will collect, and how that evidence informs a next-stage decision. Technical validation may be appropriate for a technology; stakeholder involvement, user research, implementation analysis, or an intellectual-property strategy may be central for other ideas. These are examples of possible project design, not a prescribed activity list. Tie each planned task to the proof point needed for the pathway you describe.

The Work Programme gives an indicative total call budget of EUR 60 million and estimates 400 grants. That is a planning estimate for the call, not a promise that every passing application will be funded. The available budget is allocated between the two evaluation rounds under the rules in the Work Programme.

Preparing an application

The PI submits through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal on behalf of the Host Institution. The application must be complete and submitted before the chosen cut-off. The 2027 Work Programme specifies one proposal per PI for this call. Where proposals are submitted at separate cut-offs, only the first admissible and eligible proposal is evaluated; an ineligible, inadmissible, or withdrawn proposal does not count for that rule.

For ERC-2027-PoC, assemble the package from the live Portal forms and the call-specific Information for Applicants. The adopted Work Programme requires a short account of the idea and its link to the ERC main grant, its innovation potential and route toward use, a feasible plan with timescale and resources, the PI’s strategic leadership, and the participants’ qualifications. The required proposal elements include the Host Institution Support Letter and Ethics Issues Table. The proposal is limited to ten pages; material beyond that cap is not evaluated. Complete the administrative form and provide further ethics or supporting documents when the call documents require them. The Work Programme says not to submit a budget breakdown by cost category for each activity. Proposals may use any official EU language, but English is strongly advised; a proposal in another official EU language must include an English abstract.

A practical preparation sequence is:

1. Check PI eligibility. Confirm the main grant type, its current status or end date, and whether any integrity or other restrictions apply. For a Synergy project, obtain written consent from every PI before finalising the submission plan.
2. Define the idea and evidence gap. Name the ERC result on which the PoC depends, explain what is unknown about its potential use, and choose a test that can materially reduce that uncertainty.
3. Choose the pathway and participants. Identify the relevant end users, partners, or knowledge-transfer actors and explain their role. Include only activities and people that help demonstrate feasibility or assess the route toward use.
4. Secure host support. Confirm that the host is eligible, will engage the PI for the full project duration, and can supply the binding support letter at submission. Check that any required Gender Equality Plan or equivalent remains valid for the project period.
5. Build the plan within the cap. Present objectives, work packages, resources, timescale, milestones, risks, and decision points within the ten-page proposal limit. Ensure the proposed work can be completed in 18 months with the lump sum.
6. Complete the call materials. Fill in the administrative form and Ethics Issues Table, secure the Host Institution Support Letter, and prepare any additional ethics documentation or stakeholder letters required by the live call instructions. Check that the form, proposal, support letter, and supplementary documents agree. Do not add a budget breakdown by cost category for each activity.
7. Submit against the live call. Confirm the portal status and selected cut-off, follow its final document and formatting instructions, and submit with time to resolve validation errors.

How proposals are assessed

Excellence is the sole evaluation criterion, applied through the project’s breakthrough innovation potential, approach and methodology, and the PI’s strategic leadership and project management. Reviewers need to see a distinctive expected outcome, a credible route from ERC research toward innovation or societal value, and an effective plan that fits the time and resources. They also assess whether the PI can organise the work, gather information for decisions, and manage risks and contingencies.

For the 2027 Work Programme, ERC introduces a five-point numerical scale for Proof of Concept proposals. Each of the three evaluation elements is scored from 0 to 5 in half-point increments; a score below 3 is a fail mark, and a proposal needs a pass mark on every element from a majority of the experts to be considered for funding. If the available budget cannot cover every proposal that passes, the Work Programme ranks them using the experts’ marks. This makes it useful to address innovation potential, feasibility, and the PI’s leadership as distinct parts of the case rather than assuming strength in one will make up for a weak area elsewhere.

This makes clarity more useful than expansive promises. A strong proposal can explain why a particular experiment, prototype, stakeholder test, or implementation check will answer a defined question. It should show how the team will judge the evidence and what it will do if an important assumption fails. Claims about market demand, public value, technical performance, or adoption should be supported by evidence already available or by a specific method the project will use to test them.

Official sources and cycle status

The ERC’s Proof of Concept page explains the scheme, general eligibility, host requirements, award structure, and application route. The adopted ERC Work Programme 2027 contains the 2027 call identifier, provisional opening and cut-off dates, budget estimate, eligibility rules, proposal elements, and evaluation framework. Check the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for the live call record, forms, and any updates before preparing a submission.

The 2026 cycle’s final cut-off was 17 September 2026, and the next cycle has now been announced in the 2027 Work Programme. This entry therefore follows the upcoming ERC-2027-PoC call rather than serving as a historical-only page. The second cut-off is the latest date in the current published schedule; applicants considering the earlier round should work to the March cut-off instead and verify the Portal timetable when the call opens.