ERA Chairs

Forthcoming

This is the status published by the official source.

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Expected Outcome:
Progress in strengthening links between research and innovation actors across the European Research Area (ERA) is essential for Europe to capitalize on excellence. ERA Chairs aim to attract outstanding scientists and innovators to universities, research organisations or research infrastructures in Widening countries, fostering brain circulation and creating pockets of excellence that enhance institutional culture and performance.
The ERA Chair holder’s leadership and the establishment of a permanent, high-quality research group will boost excellence, visibility, and integration within the ERA, improving competitiveness in research and promoting institutional reforms aligned with ERA priorities.
Projects are expected to contribute to some of the following outcomes:
At system level:

• Increased international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral mobility of R&I talent towards Widening countries;
• Institutional reforms in research institutions and national R&I systems;
• Strengthened human capital with more entrepreneurial and well-trained researchers;
• Better communication of R&I results to society;
• Enhanced research capacity, competitiveness, and economic growth. At organisation level:

• Strengthened research excellence in ERA Chair fields;
• Increased attractiveness to top international researchers;
• Establishment of a lasting, high-performing research group with institutional benefits;
• Improved success in EU and global competitive funding. Scope:
Research organisations or research infrastructures in Widening countries seeking to establish an ERA Chair should submit a proposal with a prospective ERA Chair holder - an outstanding researcher or innovator in any scientific domain. The research institution will act as the sole applicant (mono-beneficiary), and ERA Chair holders may be from any country, but may not already have a contractual relationship with the coordinating entity.
Proposals should include a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in Europass form[1] of the prospective ERA Chair holder, detailing their scientific and technical contributions to the coordinating institution. The CV should be uploaded as an Annex to the proposal.
Proposals should also describe any relevant investments of the coordinator in research projects, facilities and infrastructures and how those will be achieved and/or a better use of the installed research capacity (in particular of EU co-funded research infrastructures & facilities). Existing or foreseen arrangements for compliance with ERA priorities[2] including the European Charter for Researchers & Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers[3] should be outlined in the proposal.
ERA Chair holders should be excellent researchers and/or innovators in the chosen field of research[4]. They should establish a research team fully integrated in the coordinator's institution to significantly improve its research performance in the scientific domain of choice and to be more successful in obtaining competitive funding. The recruitment of the research team must follow an open, transparent and merit-based process and should be conducted by an international panel chaired by the ERA Chair. The ERA Chair holder should have a position within the organization enabling them to drive institutional reforms within the organisation, ensure resource allocation, and to submit funding applications. Teaching duties may be included where appropriate.
ERA Chair holders may relocate permanently or temporarily to the coordinating institution, with secondments, sabbaticals, or part-time arrangements also possible. A minimum 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) commitment, including on-site presence, must be ensured, at least until the appointment of a research group leader on a permanent basis. A description of the transition phase between the team leader and the ERA chair holder should be provided in the proposal, explaining also their share of tasks and their role in the remaining years of the project, in case the appointed research group leader is not the ERA Chair holder. In this case the ERA chair should remain committed (at least 20%) for the remaining duration of the project in support to the research leader to ensure efficient reforms and improved research performance.
All contractual arrangements, time commitment and the timeline of the ERA Chair’s on-site presence at the coordinator should be indicated in the proposal, as well as the salary (gross amount), travel and daily allowances and/or other perks to be offered. If employment is the preferred option, contractual details must be provided.
The leader of the newly created research group should be appointed on a permanent basis within the institution within the first three years of the project through an open recruitment process monitored by the European Commission, and to which the ERA Chair holder may apply.
To ensure long-term sustainability, the ERA Chair research team should be structured for continuity beyond Horizon Europe funding. The proposal should clearly describe and detail the team composition in terms of the profiles, the researcher levels, the salaries, and the recruitment timelines. Since the research group will be newly established, the names of the researchers who will be recruited cannot be known at the proposal stage and therefore should not be indicated. In addition to the research group leader, at least 20% of the newly appointed research group members should have permanent positions and no more than 50% should have any prior contractual links to the host institution.
The grant covers salaries, recruitment[5], travel and administrative expenses related to the ERA Chair holder and research team. It also covers consumables and equipment (up to 10% of the EU contribution). The proposed structural reforms should be outlined in the proposal, such as improving working conditions, career prospects, HR policies, research governance, grant management and knowledge transfer. Gender equality should be addressed in alignment with ERA objectives and institutional commitments.
Proposals should quantify expected impacts, including new research partnerships, institutional changes, increased research output enhanced, research knowledge and practice, innovative research. These should be supported by periodic impact indicators.
The expected duration of the actions is 5 years.
[1] https://europa.eu/europass/en/create-europass-cv.
[2] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2012:0392:FIN
[3] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reco/2005/251/oj
[4] Corresponding to profiles R3 or R4 of researchers careers as set out in the “European Framework for Research Careers” provided at https://cdn5.euraxess.org/sites/default/files/policy_library/towards_a_european_framework_for_researc h_careers_final.pdf
[5] that can be considered under the category of "other goods, works and services

Status

Forthcoming

Deadline

14 September 2027 (time not stated)

Opens

6 April 2027

Published

12 December 2025

Total budget

€175,000,000

Grant range

€1,500,000 – €2,500,000

Country

European Union (EU-wide)

Programme

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Funder

European Commission

Official page

Open at the source portal

What applying involves

13 steps, all of them taken from this call's own documents.

Understand the call

• Read the call on the source portal and download its documents
• Write the proposal against the award criteria and thresholds

  Seals of Excellence will be awarded to applications exceeding all of the evaluation thresholds set out in this work programme but which cannot be funded due to lack of budget available to the call. The following rules for dealing with ex-aequo applications apply: in the first place, ex-aequo proposals will be prioritised according to geographical diversity criteria, defined as proposals with coordinators established in a Widening country, not otherwise represented as … — conditions §5a

• Check the grant's legal and financial set-up standard for this programme

  Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) . described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work … — conditions §6

• Note the opening date — a proposal cannot be submitted before it
• Check the amount you plan to request against the call's range

Check you are eligible

• Check every partner is established in an eligible country standard for this programme

  described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide — conditions §2

• Meet the call's other eligibility conditions

  To achieve the expected outcomes, participation as coordinators to the call is limited to legal entities established in Widening countries, as defined in the Horizon Europe regulation. Applications may only be submitted by one legal entity (mono-beneficiary). The following additional eligibility criteria apply: To allow for the assessment of the commitment of the future ERA Chair holder and of the coordinator institution, proposals must include: 1) a letter signed by the … — conditions §3

• Be able to show financial and operational capacity standard for this programme

  described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §4

• Check the conditions for financial support to third parties

Prepare the documents

• Prepare Part B of the Application Form standard for this programme

  Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. — conditions

• Complete the detailed budget table standard for this programme

Submit

• Check the submission and evaluation process standard for this programme

  are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual — conditions §5b

• Submit before the closing date shown above

  The source states the closing day but no closing time — check the portal before the last day. — calls.deadline

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