ERC received 198 project proposals for the first ERC Plus Grant call

The European Research Council (ERC) announced on 09/09/2026 that it had received 198 project proposals for the first ERC Plus Grant call.

The competition closed for applications on 02/09/2026, and the selected projects are expected to be announced in spring 2027, the ERC said.

The Plus Grants are the ERC's new €7 million, seven-year grants and were launched under the Choose Europe for Science initiative to support researchers, particularly those facing challenging conditions abroad. The Scientific Council developed Plus grants to reinforce Europe as a premier destination for scientific research. This inaugural competition had a dedicated budget of €210m under the Choose Europe initiative.

Of the 198 applications, 13 came from applicants based in countries that are neither EU member states…