The Full Recipe for Developing Successful ERC Grant Applications — 2027

Summary

This practical ERC proposal development course takes researchers through the full process of preparing a competitive ERC grant application, from understanding the ERC landscape and 2027 rules to developing a compelling research idea and presenting it effectively to evaluators.

Led by Nikolaos Floratos, the training combines ERC intelligence, proposal-development frameworks, evaluator insights, real evaluation examples and practical guidance for developing both B1 and B2. Particular attention is given to what makes an ERC proposal appear genuinely breakthrough and ground-breaking, how generalist and specialist evaluators read the proposal, and how researchers can demonstrate scientific excellence, independence, creativity and leadership.

The course also addresses the major changes introduced in the ERC Work Programme 2027, including eligibility windows, application restrictions, grant schemes, evaluation procedures, panel selection and the role of keywords in the selection of external referees.

Rather than treating proposal writing as simply filling in a template, the course presents it as a structured development process: understand the ERC, build the right research idea, develop the proposal strategically, and communicate its value clearly to evaluators.

What You Will Learn

• How the ERC works and what it looks for in frontier research proposals.

• The key changes, eligibility rules, deadlines, grant schemes and restrictions introduced in the ERC Work Programme 2027.

• How ERC proposals are evaluated at Step 1 and Step 2 and how panel members and external reviewers interact with the proposal.

• How to use ERC Work Programme documents, Information for Applicants, evaluator guides, statistics, previous projects and panel information as sources of proposal intelligence.

• How to distinguish a breakthrough research idea from ground-breaking objectives and avoid incremental research.

• How to demonstrate scientific excellence, including novelty, importance, impact, interdisciplinarity and feasibility.

• How to demonstrate the Principal Investigator's independence, creativity, research achievements and leadership.

• How to select the appropriate primary ERC panel and use free-text keywords strategically.

• How to structure B1 for generalist evaluators and develop B2 for more specialised evaluation.

• How to develop a strong proposal storyline using frameworks such as VPS, POWER and CARTIO.

• How to formulate a clear abstract that answers the four key questions: why this project, why now, why this way, and why you.

• How to use figures, diagrams, tables and other visual elements to make complex research understandable.

• How to use AI tools appropriately while respecting ERC requirements concerning authorship, plagiarism, confidentiality and responsible use.

• How to plan the proposal development process backwards from the submission deadline and incorporate external feedback and evaluation.

Course Approach

The course follows a practical, step-by-step "recipe" for ERC proposal development built around three core stages:

1. ERC Intelligence
Understand the ERC before writing: its purpose, grant schemes, eligibility, evaluation criteria, panels, keywords, statistics, successful projects and key official documents.

2. I.C.R.E.A.T.E.™ Proposal Development System
Follow a structured process for turning a research idea into a coherent ERC proposal, including defining the research challenge, objectives, approach and overall proposal storyline.

3. C.R.I.T.E.R.I.A.™ Formula
Learn how to present the proposal in a way that addresses the aspects evaluators look for, with particular attention to scientific excellence, breakthrough potential, independence, creativity, leadership and impact.

The training combines explanations, practical frameworks, examples drawn from proposal evaluations and concrete recommendations that researchers can apply during their own proposal development.

The accompanying training materials are designed not only to support the course itself but also to serve as a reference manual that researchers can return to throughout the ERC proposal-development cycle.

Who Is It For?

This course is designed for researchers preparing, considering or developing an ERC grant application, including applicants for:

• ERC Starting Grant

• ERC Consolidator Grant

• ERC Advanced Grant

• ERC Synergy Grant

• ERC Plus Grant

It is suitable for both researchers who are new to ERC proposals and experienced applicants who want to strengthen their proposal-development strategy and better understand the evaluator perspective.

It can also be useful for research managers, proposal-support professionals and others involved in supporting researchers through the ERC application process.

What You Will Take Away

By the end of the course, you will have a clearer roadmap for developing your ERC proposal and a set of practical tools to guide the process.

You will take away:

• A structured understanding of the ERC 2027 funding landscape and evaluation process.

• Practical frameworks for developing and positioning your research idea.

• Guidance for developing a strong B1 and B2.

• A strategy for researching successful ERC projects and gathering relevant ERC intelligence.

• Tools for defining your proposal's challenge, objectives, activities, results and impacts.

• Guidance on demonstrating your independence, creativity and leadership through your track record.

• A clearer approach to selecting your panel and keywords.

• Practical recommendations for writing for both generalist and specialist evaluators.

• A proposal-development timeline that encourages early preparation, collaboration and external feedback.

• Examples of common weaknesses identified through ERC evaluations and ways to address them.

• Training materials that can be used as a practical reference throughout your ERC proposal-development cycle.

Who Runs It?

The course is led by Nikolaos Floratos, founder of Funding Expert Academy and an experienced European research funding trainer, coach and evaluator.

Nikolaos has been active in the European research funding field since 1997 and has worked as an European Commission expert/evaluator since 2003. He has trained and coached researchers and organisations across Europe and specialises in breaking down complex European funding processes into practical, step-by-step approaches.

His training combines perspectives from the applicant, evaluator and trainer sides of European research funding, with a particular focus on helping researchers understand not only what the ERC documents say, but how proposals are actually developed and read during evaluation.

Recorded e-Course | Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks 2026

Prepare your MSCA Doctoral Networks 2026 proposal for the final submission stage with practical, evaluator-focused guidance from Dr. Nikolaos Floratos, an experienced European Commission expert evaluator.

Based on the live webinar, The Final Month: What Still Moves Your Score Before 24 November, this recorded e-course explains how to identify and address common proposal shortcomings that can cost valuable evaluation points. With the MSCA DN 2026 deadline approaching, discover how to strengthen your proposal's Excellence, Impact and Implementation sections through targeted improvements, clear evidence and careful consistency checks.

What you will learn:

• Understand the 2026 call changes: Review key updates affecting eligibility, evaluation thresholds, secondments, formatting and the application process.

• Strengthen your Excellence section: Audit mandatory template subheadings, sharpen research objectives, define measurable KPIs and demonstrate scientific ambition and integration between doctoral candidate projects.

• Improve your training and supervision plans: Make network-wide training activities concrete, clarify supervisory responsibilities and demonstrate the contribution of academic and non-academic partners.

• Make your Impact section convincing: Define measurable career outcomes, demonstrate non-academic sector involvement, strengthen dissemination and exploitation plans, and explain the magnitude and importance of expected impacts.

• Build a credible Implementation plan: Align work packages, deliverables, milestones, risks, person-months and doctoral candidate projects across the application.

• Avoid common evaluation shortcomings: Learn how evaluators assess proposals and identify vague claims, missing information, inconsistent figures and formatting errors before submission.

• Apply a final-month checklist: Prioritise practical improvements that can make your proposal clearer, more consistent and more competitive.

Who should take this course?

This recorded e-course is designed for MSCA Doctoral Networks 2026 coordinators, proposal writers, research managers, university support teams and consortium partners preparing or reviewing an application for the 24 November 2026 deadline.

Your trainer: Dr. Nikolaos Floratos

Dr. Nikolaos Floratos has been a European Commission expert evaluator since 2003, covering MSCA, Cluster calls, the EIC and Widening. He is the founder of Funding Expert Academy and the OpenCosmos community platform.

Learn at your own pace

Access the recorded session and revisit the practical recommendations as you refine your MSCA Doctoral Networks proposal. Use the guidance to identify weaknesses, prioritise final improvements and prepare a more coherent, evaluator-ready application.

Please note: This course provides practical proposal-development guidance. It does not guarantee funding or a successful evaluation.

Questions?

Email info@keyinnovations.eu