ERC Consolidator (CoG) supports individual researchers with and excellent track-record that are consolidating their own independent research team or programme. Applicants should have already shown evidence of research independence.
As of 2025, researchers in CH can participate as beneficiary to the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) calls. Their proposals are evaluated by the ERC Executive Agency. In case of approval, if the EU Programmes Agreement (EUPA) is not yet in force, SERI will fund the projects.
ERC funds frontier research in any discipline. It welcomes proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research, or introducing unconventional, innovative approaches and scientific inventions. Applicants must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their proposal.
Applicants must have successfully defended their PhD thesis between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018 included (ref. PhD defence/viva date). Both applicants with and without professorial position are eligible.
- Shorter proposal (Part I: <=5 pp, Part II: <=7 pp);- Feasibility won’t be evaluated in Step 1. It will only be considered in Step 2;- Additional funding (up to €1M) may be used to cover personnel costs;- Eligibility window extended for victims of gender-based or other violence.
Up to € 2M for a period of 5 years (pro rata for shorter duration) with an extra €1M possible for start-up costs, major equipment or facilities and other significant project-related costs (€2M for researchers moving to EU). Budget must include 25% overheads. Co-funding is not required.
Proposals are evaluated by selected international peer reviewers and by discipline-specific panels in a two-step evaluation.- Step 1: Part I + CV&Track Record (TR);- Step 2: Part I+II, CV&TR, resources & time commit.Applicants invited to Step 2 will have an online interview in autumn 2026.
Proposals are evaluated on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion that will be applied to both the evaluation of the project and the PI. Reviewers evaluate the ground-breaking nature, ambition, and feasibility of the project, as well as the intellectual capacity, creativity, and commitment.
Internal applicants with a professorial position must notify their expression of interest to servizio.ricerca@usi.ch by 3 November 2025 including provisional abstract and title of the project.The deadline for external applicants and applicants without a professorial position has passed.
Check the projects funded in the latest ERC call. The ERC database lets you filter by discipline and access project abstracts, a helpful way to identify the most suitable panel for your proposal.
Register now for the Euresearch info-event on the ERCConsolidator Grant call 2026. The event will be held on Monday, 13 October 2025, from 12:00 to 13:30. USI Research Service will participate in the Host Institution Q&A Sessions. Join our break-out room from 13:30 to 14:00.
