1. Macquarie University
  2. Research
  3. Our research
  4. Funding and grants
  5. EU funding
  6. The European Research Council funding
Dr Jo Chipperfield
Grant Development Team Contact the research managers for faculty-specific processes Workshops and online resources about funding applications Macquarie research management system Pivot Research Professional (Pivot-RP)

ERC funding information

Find out more about the opportunities, application process and key dates for European Research Council Funding.

The ERC offers four core grant schemes:

  • Starting Grants, Consolidator Grants and Advanced Grants support individual researchers from anywhere in the world.
  • Synergy Grants support small teams and allow one investigator (and their team) to be based outside Europe.

Applications must be led by institutions in the EU or Associated Countries1.

Under the ERC Work Programme, third country institutions (e.g. Macquarie) are eligible for funding when:

  • they are one of the host institutions in a Synergy Grant at any one time, or
  • they host additional team members bringing scientific added value to the project, or
  • their participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action.

1 Canada and NZ are not associated to Pillar I and cannot lead applications to the ERC.

Synergy Grants fund team projects for groups of 2-4 Principal Investigators. The core team and research is hosted at institution(s) in EU/Associated Countries, but one PI may be hosted full-time by an institution in a non-EU/Associated Country ('third country').

  • Funding is up to EUR10 million over 6 years
  • Principal Investigators must spend a minimum of 0.3FTE on the project
  • Researchers from anywhere in the world may be employed on the project
  • If team members from a third country wish to move to Europe, additional 'start up' funding is provided to support relocation.

Click  here to visit the ERC Synergy Grants web page,

Starting grants fund projects of up to 5 years for an individual applicant with 2-7 years post-PhD experience (eligibility can be extended for reasons such as parental leave, illness, national service, clinical training, natural disasters, asylum, or for victims of violence).

  • Applicants do not need to be employed by the lead institution at time of application
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 50% of their total employment time dedicated to the project
  • Awardees must be engaged by the lead institution for the duration of the grant, at least at the percentage they will dedicate to the project
  • Awardees can retain association or employment with another institution for the percentage of their time not dedicated to the project
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 50% of their time (over the duration of the grant) in an EU/Associated Country
  • Eligible budget expenses include salary, travel and direct project costs
  • Additional relocation funding is provided for non-EU/Associated Country applicants and their families.

Click here to visit the ERC Starting Grants information page

Consolidator grants fund projects of up to 5 years for an individual applicant with 7-12 years post-PhD experience (eligibility can be extended for reasons such as parental leave, illness, national service, clinical training, natural disasters, asylum, or for victims of violence).

  • Applicants do not need to be employed by the lead institution at time of application
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 40% of their total employment time dedicated to the project
  • Awardees must be engaged by the lead institution for the duration of the grant, at least at the percentage they will dedicate to the project
  • Awardees can retain association or employment with another institution for the percentage of their time not dedicated to the project
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 50% of their time (over the duration of the grant) in an EU/Associated Country
  • Eligible budget expenses include salary, travel and direct project costs
  • Additional relocation funding is provided for non-EU/Associated Country applicants and their families.

Click here to visit the ERC Consolidator Grants information page

Advanced grants fund projects of up to 5 years for an individual applicant with an excellent track record over the previous 10 years (eligibility can be extended for reasons such as parental leave, illness, national service, clinical training, natural disasters, asylum, or for victims of violence).

  • Applicants do not need to be employed by the lead institution at time of application
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 30% of their total employment time dedicated to the ERC project
  • Awardees must be engaged by the lead institution for the duration of the grant, at least at the percentage they will dedicate to the project
  • Awardees can retain association or employment with another institution for the percentage of their time not dedicated to the project
  • Awardees must spend a minimum of 50% of their time (over the duration of the grant) in an EU/Associated Country
  • Eligible budget expenses include salary, travel and direct project costs
  • Additional relocation funding is provided for non-EU/Associated Country applicants and their families.

Click here to visit the ERC Advanced Grants information page

ERC grants have annual calls, which are at around the same time each year:

  • Synergy Grant: opens July and closes November
  • Starting Grant: opens July and closes October
  • Consolidator Grant: opens September and closes January
  • Advanced Grant: opens May and closes August.

They have a two-stage assessment process, and applicants are notified at each stage whether their application will proceed to the next stage.

Calls are announced on the ERC Funding and Tenders Portal. You can also bookmark and be notified when calls are announced using Pivot-RP.

You must book a mandatory compliance and eligibility check at least 2 weeks before the lead institution's internal deadline, to provide time for the application to be approved internally and any certifications or letters of support signed. Bookings can be made here.
  1. Complete the MQ Notification of Intent (NOI)
    Complete a Notification of Intent to inform the Grant Development Team of your intention to submit an application. This will create a Pure record for you, through which we will provide feedback and obtain internal approval.
  2. Discuss with your HoD/HoS
    You must discuss your participation with your HoD/HoS, especially travel plans. For the Starting, Consolidator and Advanced grants, there may need to be significant changes to your contract that should be discussed well before application.
  3. Book your compliance and eligibility check
    This is not a meeting, but the date by which you need to submit the application documents via Pure for compliance checking and internal approval.
    We generally do not offer strategic review of externally led applications, but do check the Macquarie component of the budget for accuracy. Make your booking here.
  4. Develop the application with your colleagues from the host (lead) institution.
    Work with us early to develop your side of the budget, and also for any certifications or letters of support required from Macquarie.
  5. Submit application in PURE for internal review and approval
    Submit the draft application, or a summary and budget, via Pure at least two weeks prior to the lead organisation's internal deadline.
  6. Submission to funder
    Once internal approvals are completed, the application can be submitted. If you need any signed certifications or letters of support (Synergy grants require these), they will be provided when internal approvals are complete.

The individual pages for each grant in the ERC website also have helpful 'Step by Step' guides.

ERC/Horizon resources

Macquarie resources