ERC Synergy Grants fund frontier interdisciplinary research that requires the joint effort of 2–4 researchers tackling ambitious problems that cannot be solved individually, demonstrating the added value of synergistic collaboration (know-how of the group + combination of scientific approaches).

• Team of 2–4 Principal Investigators (PIs), at any career stage, with complementary skills
• Host Institutions in EU or Associated Country
• 1 PI can be based outside EU/AC
• PIs can be in the same or different institutions
• Min. 30% working time dedicated to the ERC
• Min. 50% working in EU/AC

• ERC grantees with projects ending after 2028
• Applicants with an eligible ERC application under the 2027 Work Programme
• Applicants who received B or C score in the previous calls.

Further restrictions may be added at the opening of the call in July 2026.

Internal candidates w/o a professorial position & external ones must submit their candidature to servizio.ricerca@usi.ch by 30 April:

• eligibility form
• CV + publication list
• motivation letter
• letter/s of support from USI professor/s
• team composition.

The procedure lasts approx. 2 months.

• Up to € 10M + up to € 4M possible for start-up costs, major equipment or facilities and other significant project-related costs (including personnel costs)
• Budget covers 100% of the project costs, incl. 25% OHs
• Co-funding is not required
• Duration: up to 6 yrs, pro rata for shorter duration.

Proposals are evaluated by selected international peer reviewers in a three-step evaluation:
• Step 1: Part I + CVs & Track Records (TRs) by Apr. 2027
• Step 2: full proposal by Aug. 2027
• Step 3: PIs’ interview in person with the Panel by Oct. 2027.

Success rate: ~9,3% (call 2025).

Proposals are evaluated solely on the basis of excellence, considering both:
• the project (groundbreaking nature, potential impact, scientific approach, synergetic aspects)
• the team of PIs (each PI assessed according to their career benchmarks, intellectual capacity, creativity, commitment).

Is ERC Synergy the right call for your original and exciting idea?
Have a look at projects approved at the last call, moreover, the ERC database allows you to filter by discipline and grants you access to the abstracts.