ERC Starting, Consolidator and Advanced  Grant writing foundations course

At Whitehorne, as part of our ERC services, we share our many years of experience and expertise by coaching and mentoring future ERC applicants understanding the foundations of the ERC process and also what is required for a competitive ERC proposal.

It is the foundational preparation work that begins well before one starts with writing a grant proposal that is crucial to a well-rounded proposal - and it is this element that is so often underdeveloped, or even overlooked.

This online and live (not pre-recorded) course has been designed for ERC Starting, ERC Consolidator, and also more senior ERC Advanced grant applicants (however the elements of what you learn from this course can also be applied to most other grants).

The course is offered to individuals - and is a personalised course - suited to each individual. 

The course has been designed to be taken by individuals who are thinking of writing an ERC grant in the next 12-24 months and have have yet to develop up a strong proposal concept.

The standard version of this course is conducted over eight 1-hour sessions and includes (as below):

Note: We also offer a personalised, extended version of this course which is most suited to those planning to apply for an ERC grant, but do not have the required budget to undertake our full or truncated ERC writing support.

Session 1: ERC preparation overview
Content:  Introduction to ERC and ERC proposals; What are expected elements within an ERC grant, what are the ERC assessment criteria, what is involved in Stage 1 and 2, personal benchmarking, panel choice, strategies for when to best apply for an ERC (planning ahead).

Session 2: CV/Track record
Content: How to prepare a solid and well-presented ERC CV, how to maximise the information presented. How to assess what needs to go in and what to leave out. 

Session 3: ERC CV Research Achievements summary
Content: What is an ERC research achievements summary; why is it so important; how to write it and what to focus on. How to write up the 10 selected outputs.

Session 4:  Proposal concept introduction
Content:  How to work towards developing up a strong concept for an ERC proposal, and the general steps involved in refining and strengthening this, what proof of concept is needed and how long does it take to develop up a concept and what elements are needed for this. 

Session 5: Part I content and structure
Content: Coaching on relevant content and presentation needed for a strong Part I document, including introduction, aim, state of the art, recent underpinning work, innovative aspects and scientific impact, objectives and workplan overview. Also, what common mistakes to avoid in Part I.

Session 6: Part II content and structure
Content: Coaching on relevant content and presentation needed for a strong Part II document, including common approaches, workplan detail, collaboration, risk assessment, team, and outreach where applicable. Also, what common mistakes to avoid in Part II. 

Session 7:  Writing style for an ERC
Content: Focussing on the style needed for an ERC proposal, including how to best use references, avoiding bold, sweeping statements, keeping content to the point and direct, avoid writing a review paper etc. 

Session 8:  What are the common criticisms in reviewer reports and how to plan to avoid these
Content: Discussion on the common criticisms we see in reviewer reports and how to plan to avoid them.

• Depending on the support option chosen: personalised review and feedback on participant's drafts of specific course components ('homework').

We also offer ERC grant writing individual support and ERC interview support.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR SUPPORT

• Preparing for an ERC grant is a challenging and time consuming process - on top of the everyday challenges of academic life. Our focus is on making this process as enjoyable and as stress free as possible - for all individuals that we work with.

• When any of our clients interact with us, they will find us to be down to earth and approachable professionals, who have a real passion for what we do, and we understand and appreciate how busy the life of an academic can be.

• All of our work is based on a strong process-driven foundation.

• We believe in honesty and transparency, and in building strong and healthy relationships with our clients.
  

WHO WILL APPLICANTS BE WORKING WITH
You will work directly with us, either Fire or Willem, both qualified and highly experienced senior trainers. Both Willem and Fire have experience working with all panels and areas of research, and have worked with numerous applicants and institutions throughout around Europe and beyond.

We have over 15 years (specifically) working on European, Dutch, German, Swiss and international research grant proposals - and over 25 years experience with scientific promotion cases, research grants, interview training, review and editing of high impact research journal articles and writing nominations for prestigious prizes and awards. We specialise in what we do and offer – and ERC grant writing is no exception.