Competition increases among applicants for European Research Council grants for multiple principal investigators
The European Research Council has reported an increase in the popularity of its Synergy Grants in 2023 compared with the previous year.
The 2023 call received 395 applications, the ERC announced on 6 February, compared with 358 applications in 2022.
With the funder expecting to award about 30 grants—similar to last year—this means the success rate is likely to drop below the 2022 figure of 8.1 per cent. The ERC has earmarked €300 million for the 2023 call.
Synergy Grants are the ERC’s only grant type given to teams rather than individual researchers. Between two and four principal investigators may apply for the grants, which are worth up to €10m over six years, with an additional €4m available for relocation and equipment costs.
The ERC said that of the 1,350 principal investigators applying to the 2023 call, the largest number came from German (197) and Italian (143) universities and research centres. Women make up 27 per cent of principal investigators in the proposed projects, the ERC said, which is similar to the level recorded in 2022.
Winners will be announced in the autumn.