ERC Proof of concept 2024: the highest number of winners from English institutions

Of the 100 winners in the first wave of the ERC's Proof of Concept programme for 2024, 15 are attached to an English institution, followed by the Netherlands (14 grants) and Italy (12), according to the results published on 11/07/2024. France, Germany and Spain are in fourth place out of 17 countries, with ten winners each.

Valued at €150k each, the grants will "help researchers to bridge the gap between the discoveries stemming from their frontier research and the practical application of the findings, including early phases of their commercialisation".

The ERC Proof of Concept is only open to researchers who have received an ERC grant and they use it to explore the innovative potential of the discoveries they have made as part of their ongoing or recently completed projects funded by a Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy grant.

Over the three waves of 2023, Germany had the most POC grants (40), before Spain (30), the UK (26), Italy (25) and France (22).

It should be noted that in 2023, the UK was not yet formally associated with Horizon Europe. Applicants based in the UK…