The European Research Council (ERC) has recently announced 66 new Proof of Concept Grants in the second round of the 2023 competition. Worth 150.000 euros each, the grants help ERC grantees explore the commercial or societal potential of their research findings.
Part of the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon Europe, the ERC Proof of Concept (PoC) grant scheme is only open to researchers who are or have been previously funded by the ERC. Among them, the ERC selected 66 research projects which represent a diverse range of fields and questions, ranging from reducing the carbon footprint of generative AI to developing a new way to mobilize bystanders on social media to reduce online hostility.
Selected grantees will now have the opportunity to use the funding to explore the innovation potential of the findings they have made in the course of their Starting, Consolidator, Advanced or Synergy grant projects.
Together with the previous announcement, published at the beginning of May, this one (published at the end of July) is the second of three announcements in the 2023 call. The third and last announcement is expected on next September. The total annual budget is 30 million euros.
The Winners of the Second Round
Out of the 183 proposals evaluated, 66 projects were selected for funding. The new grants will be awarded to researchers working in 14 countries. The highest number of grants will be hosted in Spain (12) followed by Germany (9), the UK (8), Italy (7), France (6), Belgium (5), Netherlands (5), Ireland (3), Israel (3), Denmark (3) and Sweden (2). Additionally, one grant has been given to researchers based in Czechia, Austria, and Portugal.
List of the 66 winners by country of the host institution
The selected researchers will delve into a wide spectrum of topics, with approximately 58% of the funded projects linked to physical sciences and engineering, 33% to life sciences, and 9% to social sciences and humanities.
Eligible ERC grantees can still apply for PoC funding in the third round of the 2023 call. The next deadline is 21 September 2023.
Find more about ERC PoC funding here.
