The ERC Proof of Concept funding initiative provides additional funding for ERC-projects that are either ongoing or already completed. It is addressed to ERC grant-holders who want to commercialize an idea drawn from an ERC-project.
The ERC provides a maximum financial contribution of EUR 150,000 for a period of up to 12 months. In contrast to regular grants no research actions are financed but activities to be undertaken in terms of pre-commercial development, commercialization or marketing of an idea.
The funding can be used for:
- Market analysis
- proof of concept
- technical tests and validation
- clarification of the intellectual property rights position and strategy or
- for the outline of a business plan
The application for a Proof of Concept funding consists of a proposal with a maximum of 7 pages which will be evaluated in a one-step peer-review evaluation procedure.