Fragmented Projects in ERC

ERC grant funds frontier research which distinctly focuses on challenging novel concepts. The
typical expectation in ERC is to present large-sized projects. Such projects justify a fairly high
budget for a typical duration of 60 months (or 72 months for Synergy Grants). In this context, we
wish to highlight a recurring phenomena regarding ERC projects that are rejected by the
reviewers on the basis of being “fragmented projects”. “Fragmented projects in ERC” is an issue
that tends to be overlooked. This is especially true when it comes to conceptualizing the
narrative and scope of the ERC project. This article shines a spotlight on ERC project proposals
which are rejected on the basis of fragmentation. Further, it explains how to avoid such project
presentations.