ERC General Information

All information concerning the European Research Council (ERC) can be found on the ERC website https://erc.europa.eu/

Please see the following excellent instructional videos produced by the European Research Council which explain the general procedures behind the preparation of a proposal to the Starting Grant, Consolidator grant, or Advanced Grant calls.

Video 1: Step by Step Guide to the ERC Application Process

Step by Step to the ERC application process

This is a quick and simple video explaining which researchers are eligible to apply for European Research Council grants, at what points in their career, what type of grants we offer, how ERC grant proposals are evaluated - plus all the basics to help you decide when and how you could apply!

Video 2: How to get started with your ERC proposal

In this video, we will walk you through 7 things to consider before applying for an ERC grant. You need to be strategic in your career, and writing an application takes a lot of time and effort. However, an ERC grant offers independence and recognition. You can research a topic of your own choice, with your own team. It will increase your visibility, help you access large facilities, buy the necessary equipment, attract the best team members and collaborators and bring additional funding.

Video 3: How to write Part 1 of your ERC proposal

In this video, we will be talking about the more research-focused part of the ERC application. If you’re considering applying for an ERC grant, you may already know that an application is made up of three parts: part A, part B1 and part B2. Here, we will look into the 3 sections that make up the second part of your application, part B1, and give you some practical tips.

Video 4: How to write part B2 of your ERC proposal

In this video, we will talk about the scientific part of the proposal that is referred to as part B2. This is the part where the panel dig deep into your proposal. In this video, we will cover what to consider when writing part B2.

Video 5: How are ERC proposals evaluated?

In this video we will walk you through the ERC evaluation process. You might think that this is not very relevant, but it actually indirectly impacts on how you write your proposal. Imagine that you have sent your proposal. What happens next? What’s going on behind the scenes while you are waiting for a decision? Let’s go through the 7 phases of the ERC evaluation process.

Video 6: ERC Interview Process

In this video, we will walk you through the ERC interview process, so that you can feel a little more prepared. At the end of the video, we will also give you 8 top tips for a good ERC interview. ERC interviews have quite a reputation and can be nerve-wracking. If you watch this video, you’ll have a much better appreciation of what you will be faced with.

PalaeOrigins - Tracing the Epipalaeolithic origins of plant management in southwest Asia

Specific programme: ERC-2021-STG - HORIZON ERC Grant
UPV/EHU Partner Status: Coordinator
UPV/EHU PI: Amaia Arranz

Project start: 01/04/2023
Project end: 31/03/2028

Brief description: The transition from foraging to farming represents one of the most transcendental shifts in the history of humanity. Decades of research in southwest Asia have shown that this process culminated with the development of Neolithic agricultural systems c. 10 ka cal. BP. Yet, how it started, that is, how hunter-gatherers became, for the first time, engaged with the management of plants, continues to be largely undetermined. Palaeorigins aims to fill this major gap of knowledge. Benefiting from the exceptional Epipalaeolithic archaeobotanical materials that are now available (c. 23-11 ka cal. BP), it will ask: To what extent were Epipalaeolithic hunter-gatherers managing the land and the plant resources around them? Did climatic factors trigger plant resource intensification, or were cultural dynamics, like the need for specific foodstuffs, that first motivated plant-food production? To achieve such an ambitious aim PalaeOrigins will pioneer a holistic and high-resolution approach to study the plant-based subsistence. It will use a unique combination of traditional and most novel archaeobotanical materials, state-of-the-art stable isotope analyses, computational science, and theoretical models to: 1) Reconstruct the distribution and availability of plant resources during the environmental shifts of the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene; 2) Determine how plant procurement strategies, land uses and management activities articulated during the Epipalaeolithic period; and 3) Define hunter-gatherers' food culture, assessing their plant-food selection, processing and consumption practices. Taken together, PalaeOrigins will move beyond traditional Neolithic-centred paradigms to explain the origins of plant-food production. It will open up new research horizons, merging science and theory, to elucidate the nature of the human-environment interactions that paved the way to agriculture, and ultimately, changed the course of our history.

EHUrOPE - International R&D Office