ERC Synergy Grants (SyG) fund frontier, interdisciplinary research by supporting teams of 2 to 4 Principal Investigators (PIs) who jointly address ambitious research problems that cannot be tackled individually. Projects must demonstrate the added value of the synergistic collaboration.
As of the 2025 call, the team of PIs can involve 1 or more researchers based in CH, provided the team involves at least 1 PI based in a EU Member State or Associated Country.
A team of 2-4 PIs, each bringing complementary skills to address ambitious research challenges. No specific academic qualifications are required, but each PI must have a competitive track record relative to their career stage. Each PI must dedicate min. 30% of the working time to the ERC project.
- Applicants, who received a score B in Step 1 of the evaluation for the Synergy 2025 call, are ineligible for this call, but they may reapply in 2027;- Shorter proposal: max. 5 pp for Part I, max. 7 pp for Part II;- Feasibility won’t be evaluated in Step 1. It will only be considered in Step 2.
Up to € 10M for a period of 6 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration) with extra € 4M possible for start-up costs, major equipment or facilities. Budget covers 100% of the project costs including 25% OHs. Funding is awarded as real costs.
Proposals are evaluated by selected international peer reviewers, without predefined panels, in a three-step evaluation.- Step 1: Part I + CVs & Track Records (TRs) by 13.04.2026;- Step 2: full proposal by 14.08.2026;- Step 3: PIs’ interview with the Panel by 27.10.2026.
Proposals are evaluated solely on excellence, considering both the project and the team of applicants, taking into account the synergetic aspects of the proposed research.
Internal and external applicants, who want to apply with USI as their host, must notify their expression of interest to servizio.ricerca@usi.ch by 1 September 2025 including:- CV;- composition of the team of PIs (name & host institutions);- provisional abstract and title of the project.
With a success rate of around 10%, ERC Synergy grants are highly competitive. Have a look at some examples of projects approved for an idea of the type of projects supported.
Register now for the Euresearch info-event on the ERC Synergy Grant call 2026. The event will be held on Tuesday, 19 August 2025, from 11:30 to 13:00.
