Information for ERC applicants

Conditions for hosting ERC grants at CERN

Contract of the PI CERN preliminary conditions
CERN staff with LD contract The department hosting the PI and HR will need to agree on the possible contract extension (limited to 8 years).  The salary costs that will be charged to the grant and/or covered by the department need to be agreed with the Department Planning Officer (DPO) and the External Grants Section of the Finance Department (FAP-EF-EG). 
CERN staff with IC contract The department hosting the PI (Department Head & DPO) will need to agree on what fraction (if any) of the PI salary will be charged to the grant and what fraction will be used for all other costs. 
If the PI does not hold a staff contract (e.g. CERN user status), the candidate will need to apply to a dedicated CERN staff position for ERC grant applicants. The procedure is described below. 
Starting & Consolidator Grants
  • The PI will have to apply to the dedicated ERC vacancy notice, available on the CERN jobs website, after discussion with the Department Head concerned and prior to the completion and submission of the EDH document, as well as prior to the proposal submission to the ERC. The decision to host the ERC at CERN will be taken before the submission of the grant, following a selection board with the participation of the Department Head concerned. If successful and if in the interest of CERN, the selection board will recommend to the Director-General that the PI be granted a Staff Member contract. However, the award of a staff position (limited to the duration of the grant) will be contingent upon the PI's proposal being retained for funding by the European Commission. 
  • The salary of the PI will be fixed by HR according to the years of experience of the candidate and will be covered by the ERC funding. The remaining budget of the grant may be used to cover other direct or personnel costs (e.g. PhD students, postdocs).
Advanced Grants
  • The PI will have to seek approval of a Guest Professor status through the Director of the Sector, prior to the completion and submission of the EDH document, as well as prior to the proposal submission to the ERC. Guest Professor contracts are awarded by the Director-General.
  • During the grant, the PI will keep the employment contract with his/her host institute and will receive a subsistence allowance from CERN, subject to the following ceilings: 4,128 CHF for a PI with no spouse; 4,628 CHF for a PI with spouse; 5,128 CHF for a PI with dependent children. 

European Commission budget restrictions and cuts occur frequently and can adversely affect the funding of external grants at any time. Therefore, the External Grants Section (FAP Department) shall assess at the proposal stage, together with the applicant, appropriate budgetary optimization should the funding for an external grant be adversely affected.

Actions required from the PI before the proposal submission

 It is highly advisable to start the proposal preparation early and no later than 3 months before the submission deadline. 

The EDH project summary document can be found in the EDH Submission and Approval of EU Projects form. Please choose the template for ERC grants. 

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