Three national programs aimed at enhancing research excellence, with the ultimate goal of increasing participation and success in the ERC Program of "Horizon Europe" with a total budget of €1.8 million, have been announced by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF).

Specifically, in its announcement, RIF mentions that the "VISION ERC" program is a new funding tool aiming to support research excellence of both young and experienced researchers through national funding so that they can participate at a later stage in the Calls of the flagship European Research Council program of the "Horizon Europe" Program. The funded projects should involve research activities that will form the basis for their proposal to the ERC.

The budget of the Program amounts to €1 million, and the maximum funding is €100,000.

Additionally, the "ERC Visiting Research Fellowship" Program, with a budget of €200,000 and maximum funding per project ranging from €25,000 to €50,000, provides researchers the opportunity to go abroad to ERC-funded researchers to enhance their research profile and exchange knowledge in an international environment.

The Program supports researchers in improving their work through national funding and resubmitting a proposal to an ERC program to secure funding. The budget of the Program is €600,000, and the maximum funding is €100,000.

According to RIF, all the above Calls remain open until December 17, 2024, or until the budget is exhausted.

As stated, the entities selected for funding will automatically have the opportunity to utilize the free innovation support services and knowledge transfer tools offered by RIF. The programs are co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the "THALEIA" Cohesion Policy Program 2021-2027.

For more information, interested parties can contact the RIF Partner Service Center at 22205000 or via email at [email protected].