The European Research Council (ERC) has announced its 2017 grant competitions, with a budget of €1.8bn, its highest since the ERC’s inception in 2007.

Outlined in the ERC Work Programme 2017, the figure also includes the record ERC annual funding reserved for young researchers (starting grants) with between two and seven years of post-PhD research experience.

ERC President Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, said: “The ERC Scientific Council consistently gives a high priority to supporting young researchers by awarding them more than two thirds of its annual budget through its starting and consolidator grants. Giving early independence to ambitious researchers contributes significantly to making their creativity flourish … Thanks to these five-year grants, more early-career researchers across Europe will have a midterm perspective. This is one more step forward to back young researchers.”

The budget has remained at €1.75bn since 2013, but with over 1,000 new grantees expected to benefit from ERC funding next year across all schemes, and with expected estimates of 6,500 postdocs, PhD students and other members as part of their research teams, the commission and the ERC felt that pushing limits involves breaking records.

Science Commissioner Carlos Moedas, in attendance with PEN and Portal at EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) 2016 in Manchester, UK, said: “The ERC is one of the best success stories for Europe, in terms of scientific impact, researchers’ careers and innovation. This is why the EU has decided to invest growing resources into this very successful programme that is highly praised by scientists around the world. With this record budget, the ERC grant competitions can provide even more researchers with the opportunity to pursue their careers and ambitions in Europe.”

The ERC grants, as part of the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020, support researchers who are ready to carry out their research projects, regardless of where they’re from.