Issue in Question
UKRO has received several queries about the ‘additional funding’ cost category for European Research Council (ERC) Starting, Consolidator, Advanced and Synergy grants.
Applicants to these schemes can request additional funding to support further eligible costs associated with establishing the research team and implementing the proposed ERC project. These funds are in addition to the maximum permitted for each grant type in the ERC Work Programme.
The ERC has recently announced changes to the amount of funding available and the eligible costs. This document aims to clearly outline these changes, the available funding, and how it can be utilised.
Key points
Applicants already based in an EU Member State or Associated Country (AC) are eligible for up to €1 million additional funding (see list of participating countries in Horizon Europe).
Applicants can claim additional funding up to €1million even if they remain in the same country or institution.
Researchers who are seeking to move to an EU Member State or AC (that is, participating in the ERC Work Programme under Pillar 1), but are currently based in countries that are not a part of Horizon Europe (i.e. non-Member states and countries outside of Europe that are not associated) will be able to request additional funding up to €2 million.
The increased level of funding aims to attract outstanding researchers from around the world and support them in establishing their laboratories or research teams in Europe.
The additional funding of up to €2 million is available for Starting, Consolidator or Advanced Grants, whereas the maximum amount of additional funding that can be requested by Synergy Grant applicants remains up to €4 million irrespective of where the PIs are based or if they have relocated as a consequence of getting an ERC.
With the 2026 Work Programme, additional funding may now also be used for personnel costs; therefore, staffing costs associated with the project’s implementation are now eligible costs.
As before, applicants are requested to define and justify the need for additional funding in their proposal. The decision to award the requested funding rests with the ERC Evaluation Panel.
Clarification
Cost categories
Under the 2026 ERC Work Programme, the categories eligible for additional funding have been removed. Thus, any applicant can request additional funding for any purpose
Cost Eligibility
Applicants should make the effort to include any costs within the normal project budget, and only where their inclusion would exceed the maximum funding limit should additional funding be requested. If necessary, the costs can be split between the corresponding categories within the normal budget and ‘additional funding’.
The costs included under ‘additional funding’ must fulfil the general eligibility conditions as set out in Annex 5 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement on pp112-116 (HE MGA). Only costs that are incurred after the project has started are eligible.
Conditions to request the €2 million in additional funding to facilitate relocation to Europe
Principal Investigators relocating to the EU or an Associated Country to the ERC part of the Horizon Europe programme to take up their ERC grant are considered eligible for the 2M request in additional funding as long as:
- At the time of the submission of their proposal, applicants have their habitual residence outside EU or AC and do not have an employment contract with an institution established in EU/AC (each case will be assessed individually),
- At the time of the grant signature, an eligible host institution (i.e., based in an EU Member State or eligible AC) commits to employ the Principal Investigator for the whole duration of the grant.
Therefore, moving within or between EU member states and ACs is not considered ‘relocation’ within the meaning of the definition above. Relocation to the EU/AC may, however, take place after the call deadline and before the outcome of the ERC evaluation.
Evaluation of additional funding
The request for additional funding will be evaluated during the peer review process, in line with the research needs of the project, and what the applicant proposes to deliver. It is very important to ensure that the correct costs are included under this cost category and that they are properly justified.
The Evaluation Panel may decide not to award the additional funding to successful PIs or recommend reductions to the amount requested if the Panel is in agreement that the proposed costs are not sufficiently justified. If the project is successful, the PI will be expected to complete the project as outlined in the proposal (without the additional funding provided by the ERC).
If additional ERC funding is awarded for any of the categories, it must only be used for the purpose stated on the proposal application.