The 2024 ERC Work Programme has been adopted by the European Commission and is available on the European Research Council (ERC) website.
As previously reported by UKRO, the 2024 ERC Work Programme includes a number of new elements including changes to the assessment of research proposals and candidates’ CVs, the evaluation process and the introduction of the lump sum funding pilot to the Advanced Grants.
The publication of the Work Programme also marks the opening of the Starting Grant 2024 call which has a deadline of 24 October 2023.
Main features of the 2024 Work Programme
- Scientific excellence remains the sole evaluation criteria, the panels will primarily evaluate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of the research project. The panel will also evaluate the intellectual capacity, creativity, and commitment of the Principal Investigator(s), with a focus on the extent to which the Principal Investigator(s) has the required scientific expertise and capacity to successfully execute the project.
- The Advanced Grant 2024 call will pilot the use of the lump sum funding model.
- A maximum of 44 proposals per panel will be assessed at step 2 of the evaluation for the Starting, Consolidator and Advanced Grants.
- A clearer distinction is made between proposals that score an A at step 1 and are invited to step 2 and those scoring an A at step 1 and not invited to step 2.
- The inclusion of new evaluation panels and panel descriptors.
- The Proof of Concept (PoC) grants will only have 2 cut off dates.
- Inclusion of the Public Engagement with Research Award.