Achieving a highly competitive grant proposal

About the “ERC Beyond” workshop: objectives & added value

The “ERC Beyond” workshop conveys to participants information that is beyond the ERC guide for applicants. From experience, we have come to understand and strongly believe that what sets apart less competitive ERC grant proposals from the highly competitive ones is a firm grasp of the programme’s elusive and unwritten conceptual rules.

Therefore, during this workshop we accelerate to the counterintuitive, elusive and conceptual parts of the ERC grant.

If you read the work program carefully you will surely notice the sole criterion is excellence. This is exactly where we come in. We decipher “excellence” for you, which is considered by many as ‘counter-intuitive’, based on our hands-on experience working with thousands of projects in the last decade. Alongside this criterion, we’ll uncover additional “unwritten” rules for success.

Note: To achieve a competitive proposal, it is imperative to acquire a firm grasp at the funding scheme’s basic requirements and rules, as well as its more conceptual and “unwritten” expectations. To ensure this, we offer our “ERC Basics” workshop (which we recommend for first-time ERC applicants), as an important prerequisite to this complementary “ERC Beyond” workshop.

The topics of the workshop include:

• The competitive PI profile – who is “ERC Material”? 
• The evaluation process
• What constitutes the required Scientific Excellence?
• The unique nature of ERC: High risk, high gain, non-incremental work
• Hypothesis for ERC – how to do it right
• How to write a convincing methodology chapter
• Review Panel selection and the panel-application reciprocal effect
• The ERC interview
• ERC Synergy
• Application and submission process
• Ethical issues
• And more…

As we discuss the above, we always keep in mind the most important grant writing aspect – the point of view of the reviewers. Since we know what reviewers are looking for, we know exactly what researchers should focus on and what they should avoid, and make sure to focus on such tips and insights throughout the entire workshop.

At the end of this workshop, participants will have acquired a thorough and deep understanding of the ERC’s elusive and unwritten requirements and should feel better prepared to prepare competitive applications that meet the expectations of the reviewers.

Important considerations about the “ERC Beyond” workshop

• When is a good time to participate in this workshop? We recommend attending a workshop as soon as possible, and no later than 3 months before the relevant ERC deadline to allow considerable time for the proposal preparation phase.
• Who is this workshop relevant for? Participants are first-time ERC candidates, applicants who have submitted to ERC in the past, and Research managers & Funding Advisers who wish to deepen their understanding about the ERC grant.

  Keep in mind, to achieve a competitive proposal, it is imperative to acquire a firm grasp at the funding scheme’s basic requirements and rules, as well as its more conceptual and “unwritten” expectations. To ensure this, we offer our “ERC Basics” workshop (which we recommend for first-time ERC applicants), as an important prerequisite to this complementary “ERC Beyond” workshop.

• What ERC calls are covered during the workshop? Our workshop covers the Starting, Advanced, Consolidator, and Synergy calls . We can put additional emphasis on specific calls during our live workshop formats (more information on workshop formats below).

Workshop formats: how to participate in the “ERC Beyond” workshop

For your convenience, the “ERC Beyond” workshop is available in several formats. To find the format that is best suited for you – begin by choosing either “single participant” (if you are signing up for yourself) or “closed-group” (if you would like to book a workshop for a group of participants from your institution). Inside you’ll discover the relevant formats.