European Research Council (ERC)

About this programme

The ERC’s mission is to encourage the highest quality research in Europe through competitive funding and to support investigator-initiated frontier research across all fields of research, on the basis of scientific excellence. Being ‘investigator-driven’, or ‘bottom-up’, in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by priorities set by politicians.

Five ERC frontier research grants will be available under the ERC Work Programme 2020.

  • Starting Grants
  • Consolidator Grants
  • Advanced Grants
  • Synergy Grants
  • Proof of Concept Grants

The ERC Scientific Council has analysed the pilot phase of the ERC Synergy Grant (calls were made under Work Programmes 2012 and 2013) and decided to reintroduce the call for Synergy grants under the Work Programme 2018.

ERC Principal Investigators will also continue to be able to apply for the Proof of Concept Grant, first introduced under the revised Work Programme 2011.

 

 

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Your NCP contact for this programme

Image of Margot Beereboom

Margot Beereboom

margot.beereboom@fwo.be

+32 2 550 15 76

Your PC contact for this programme

Find the contact info on the site of WEWIS

The National Contact Points (NCPs) provide support, guidance, and practical information to potential applicants, helping them navigate funding opportunities and application processes.

The Programme Committee (PC) members represent their country in decision-making about the work programmes, evaluate implementation, and provide strategic input on priorities and calls.

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Infosheets

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Testimonial

image of Miricle - Mine Risk Clearance for Europe

Miricle - Mine Risk Clearance for Europe

The Miricle project, ‘Mine Risk Clearance for Europe’, obtained funding under the European Defence Industrial Development programme call ‘Underwater control contributing to resilience at sea’. The main objective of the project was to achieve a European and sovereign capacity in future mine warfare and create a path for the next generation ‘made in Europe’ countermeasure solutions. In order to realise this objective, Miricle addressed various stages: studies, design, prototyping and testing. These stages inter alia included the successful testing of an XL Unmanned Underwater Vehicle, a protototyped mine disposal system and multiple innovative systems to detect buried mines. Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), was one of the five Belgian partners in the consortium. Within the project, VLIZ was able to forward its research on the acoustic imaging of the seabed to spatially map and visualize buried structures and objects - in this case buried mines - in the highest possible detail. VLIZ also led the work on ‘Port and Offshore Testing’, building on the expertise of the institute in the field of marine operations and technology.