Breaking down the reasons for non-competitive ERC applications

More than 10 years of ongoing work with ERC applicants have made it soundly clear that the proposal preparation period is a very gruelling and long process. Applicant after another has solidified for us the need to be wholly devoted to the ERC application and dedicate a considerable period of time and resources to meet an ERC deadline with a highly competitive proposal. Unfortunately, it happens quite often that applicants fail to fully realize beforehand the challenge in preparing such a highly competitive ERC proposal. As a result – they reach the deadline with a proposal that is not nearly competitive enough for the critical ERC review process. With valid risks of submitting non-competitive ERC proposals at hand (discussed below), we encounter incidents where applicants decide not to submit their proposal at the last minute. While it is certainly important to first understand exactly WHY this happens, it is much more pressing to know (ahead of time) how to overcome or avoid the exact issues leading to noncompetitive ERC applications. Therefore, if you are considering to apply to the ERC grant – keep reading to gain more context about how to avoid the ‘noncompetitive ERC proposal’ issue, and to discover applicable tips for managing your ERC application process successfully.