Image: Leo Harrison for Research Professional News
European Research Council will use money to fund 48 more Advanced Grants
The European Research Council has been allocated an extra €125 million to hand out in 2024, which it will mostly use to fund more Advanced Grants.
Announcing the news on 17 May, the ERC (whose Brussels headquarters is pictured) said it was due to the UK joining the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme earlier this year. The UK pays a budget contribution in exchange for the competitive grants its researchers win.
The budget increase will be used to fund another 48 Advanced Grants, which provide up to €3.5m to experienced principal investigators for projects lasting up to five years.
The total amount available for Advanced Grants in 2024 is now an estimated €703m for 285 projects. This is still fewer than the 387 Starting Grants and 291 Consolidator Grants the ERC intends to allocate for less experienced researchers, although the budget for Advanced Grants is now the highest. The other two grants offer smaller sums.
An extra €1m was also allocated to support communication activities.