The Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) on Wednesday announced three new national funding programmes aimed at enhancing research excellence and increasing participation and success in the European Research Council (ERC), in the context of Horizon Europe. According to the announcement, the total budget allocated for these schemes amounts to €1.8 million.
Vision ERC
The foundation explained that the first programme, titled the Vision ERC, is a new funding tool designed to support both emerging and experienced researchers through national funding, enabling them to later participate in ERC calls under the Horizon Europe programme. The funded projects must focus on research activities that will form the basis of their ERC proposal. The programme’s budget is €1 million, with a maximum funding of €100,000 per project.
ERC Visiting Research Fellowship
The second initiative, dubbed the ERC Visiting Research Fellowship programme, has a budget of €200,000 and maximum funding per project ranging from €25,000 to €50,000. This programme offers researchers the opportunity to visit ERC-funded researchers abroad. This aims to enhance their research profile and facilitate knowledge exchange in an international environment.
Horizon Europe – 2nd Chance ERC
Finally, the ‘Horizon Europe – 2nd Chance ERC’ tool aims to provide a second opportunity for researchers whose proposals for ERC Starting Grant, ERC Consolidator Grant, or ERC Advanced Grant were of high quality but did not receive funding. This programme supports researchers in improving their projects through national funding and resubmitting their proposals to the ERC for funding. The budget for this programme is €600,000, with a maximum funding of €100,000 per project.
Application and Support Services
All calls for these programmes are open until December 17, 2024, or until the budget is exhausted. The foundation noted that selected entities will automatically gain access to free innovation support services and knowledge transfer tools provided by the RIF. These programmes are co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Thaleia 2021-2027 cohesion policy programme.
For more information, interested parties can contact the RIF partner support centre at 22-205000 or via email at
