ERC Synergy Grant

About the ERC Synergy Grant

The ERC Synergy Grant is the only ERC scheme that funds collaborative research, designed for exceptionally ambitious projects that cannot be accomplished by a single Principal Investigator. Groups of 2 to 4 PIs combine their complementary skills, knowledge, and resources to tackle problems at the frontier of their fields under Horizon Europe. The base research budget is up to €10 million over 6 years for the full group, with up to €4 million in additional start-up costs requestable on top, covering relocation of PIs from third countries to the EU/associated area, purchase of major equipment, access to large research infrastructures, or other major experimental and field-work costs, bringing the absolute ceiling to €14 million. Like all ERC schemes, Synergy is bottom-up: no thematic priorities, no requirement for applied outputs, no obligation to involve industry. The sole criterion is scientific excellence judged by international peer review. The Corresponding PI must be hosted at a legal entity in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country, and a maximum of one additional PI (with their team) may be hosted outside the EU or an associated country, all remaining PIs must also be at EU or associated-country institutions. Each PI must independently meet the bar of an ERC Starting, Consolidator, or Advanced applicant, Synergy is not a vehicle for one senior PI to bring along less established collaborators. The research must demonstrate genuine synergy: not parallel work streams stitched together, but tightly integrated research where the whole is demonstrably greater than the sum of the parts. The evaluation is a three-stage process: Stage 1 is a panel review of the extended synopsis (Part B1, ~10 pages plus PI CVs and track records); Stage 2, for groups passing Stage 1, is a full panel review of the complete proposal (Part B2, ~30 pages, joined with per-PI CVs, resources, and the integrated budget); Stage 3 is a panel interview in Brussels with all PIs present. Success rates are very low, around 7-9%, and the bar for synergy is the highest in the ERC portfolio. Synergy Grants typically fund research questions that span disciplines, methods, or scales in ways a single PI could not credibly deliver.

Who is eligible?

• •2 to 4 Principal Investigators, each independently meeting ERC Starting/Consolidator/Advanced excellence bar
• •Corresponding PI hosted in the EU or a Horizon Europe associated country, and at most one of the other PIs (with their team) may be hosted outside the EU/associated countries; all remaining PIs must also be at EU or associated-country institutions
• •No nationality requirement for any PI
• •Demonstrated synergy, complementary expertise that enables ground-breaking research impossible alone
• •Each PI at least 30% time commitment to the project

How to apply

1. 1. Form the PI group

   Identify 2-4 PIs whose combined expertise enables research none could deliver alone. Synergy panels reject groupings where PIs could plausibly work on the same question independently. Cross-disciplinary, cross-method, or cross-scale combinations score strongest.

2. 2. Confirm host institutions for each PI

   Each PI's host signs a commitment letter. The Corresponding PI's host must be in the EU or a Horizon Europe associated country, and at most one other PI may be hosted outside the EU/associated countries; the rest must also be at EU or associated-country institutions. Hosts often need internal review well before the funder deadline.

3. 3. Draft Part B1 (extended synopsis, ~10 pages)

   Stage 1 evaluation reads only B1. It must convey the central question, the ground-breaking nature, why this specific group is needed, and how the synergy delivers results none of the PIs could achieve alone. This is the highest-leverage writing in the proposal.

4. 4. Submit via the EU Funding & Tenders portal

   Single submission window per year, no extensions. Portal closes at the deadline minute. Submit Part B1 + B2 + per-PI CVs + per-PI track records + a joint group track record at this stage.

5. 5. Stage 1 panel review of B1 (~4-5 months)

   Remote panel reads only Part B1 plus the PI CVs and track records. Scores A (proposal retained for Stage 2), B (will not be funded this call but may reapply next year), or C (cannot reapply to any ERC Synergy call for 2 years).

6. 6. Stage 2 full-proposal panel review (~5-7 months after Stage 1)

   Groups scored "A" at Stage 1 advance to Stage 2, where panellists read the complete Part B2 (~30 pages) together with per-PI CVs, resources, host commitments, and the integrated joint budget. Stage 2 narrows the field further, only the strongest groups are invited to interview.

7. 7. Stage 3 interview in Brussels with all PIs (~10-12 months in)

   Shortlisted groups travel to Brussels together. All PIs must attend in person. The interview is typically 30-45 minutes: each PI presents their part briefly, then the panel grills the group on integration, synergy, and joint deliverables. Group dynamics are visible to panellists.

What sets winning proposals apart

• ✓Lead with the question, not the team. Synergy panels want "this question requires this combination of expertise", never "these PIs decided to work together".
• ✓Make the integration concrete. Joint deliverables, shared experimental platforms, datasets that flow between PIs, not parallel chapters of a thesis stitched together.
• ✓Use the per-PI track records to demonstrate independence first, then complementarity. Each PI must read as a credible Starting/Consolidator/Advanced applicant in their own right.
• ✓Group size of 3 is the sweet spot. 2-PI groups struggle to demonstrate synergy beyond standard collaboration; 4-PI groups must justify why each is essential.
• ✓Test the synergy claim on a previous Synergy winner before submitting. Insider perspective on whether your "synergy" reads as genuine matters more than generic grant-writing advice.
• ✓Rehearse the joint interview as a group at least 5 times. Group dynamics are visible to panellists and can sink even a strong proposal if PIs talk past each other.

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