European Research Council to make more than €2.4 billion available in 2022 for frontier research

Today, the European Commission has adopted the work programme of the European Research Council for the year 2022. This is the second work programme of the European Research Council (ERC) under Horizon Europe, following the first calls announced in February. It includes over €2.4 billion of funding that will be granted to an estimated 1,100 scientists and scholars in the EU and associated countries, in a series of grant competitions. The funding will support projects that push the frontiers of human knowledge in all scientific domains, encourage interdisciplinary research and help ERC grantees explore the social or commercial potential of their discoveries. Thanks to these grants, some 8,000 jobs for post-doctoral fellows, PhD students and other research staff are expected to be created in the ERC grantees’ teams. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “This work programme is backed by the biggest ever annual budget for ERC grants – a powerful sign of Europe’s continuing support for frontier research. I am also delighted to see that most of the financial support is earmarked for grants for early and mid-career researchers. It is vital that we support this new generation of European talent.” Researchers of any nationality or scientific domain are eligible, as long as they work in Europe or are willing to do so. The programme includes among others the second edition of the ERC Public Engagement with Research Awards, whose purpose is to recognise grantees engaging with audiences outside their domain and communicating their EU-funded research. More information is available in the ERC press release.