Article 1 – Introductory Provisions

1. The aim of this directive is to support and motivate the members of academic and research staff to submit top-quality applications for European Research Council (“ERC”) grants and to compensate them at least partially for the time spent on the preparation of the grant application.

2. The support will be funded from the resources allocated by the University in the breakdown of non-investment contributions and subsidies at Charles University (“the University”) in accordance with the Strategic Plan of the University.

Article 2 – Conditions for Granting Support

1. An application for support may be submitted by an applicant who:

   a.	At the time of submitting an application for an ERC grant has already been in contact with the University contact person for ERC and with a member of the Extended Rector’s Board for ERC at the University. The University contact person must be provided with access to the application submitted in the Funding and Tenders portal, see Rector’s Directive No. 9/2023.
   b.	At the time of submitting the application for support is a member of the academic or research staff of the University.

2. The maximum amount of support is CZK 50,000; if the grant application proceeds to the second round of evaluation (applicable to the StG, CoG, and AdG categories) the support may be increased to CZK 100,000. The mere submission of ERC grant application does not constitute a right to support.

3. Submission of an application for support under this directive excludes the concurrent submission of an application for support of the preparation of collaborative projects under Rector’s Directive No. 63/2017.

4. The support provided may be used by the applicant as he/she wishes, for example as remuneration, as reimbursement for travel expenses or otherwise in accordance with Act No. 130/2002 Sb., regulating support of research and development.

5. If an ERC grant is obtained by the applicant and then moved to an institution other than the University, the financial support provided must be returned by the faculty to the University Rectorate within one month of such transfer, however no later than by the end of the calendar year in which the grant was obtained.

Article 3 – Procedure for Submitting Applications

1. Applications for support may be submitted after submitting an application for an ERC grant on a continuous basis, however no later than on 30 September following the submission of the application for an ERC grant. The application for support including all appendices is submitted in electronic form to the ec@cuni.cz email address.

2. An application for support must contain:

   a.	The name of the principal investigator;
   b.	ERC grant category (StG, CoG, AdG, or SyG), for which an application was submitted; and
   c.	Grant application submission date.

Article 4 – Evaluation of Applications Submitted

1. Only applications complying with the conditions set in Articles 2 and 3 of this directive will be evaluated.

2. Support will be granted by a decision of the Vice-Rector for Research upon a recommendation from the ERC coordinator and depending on the budget. Decisions on applications will be issued no later than on 1 December of the given year.

Article 5 – Other Provisions

The applicant and the faculty or unit are responsible for the efficient, economical, and expedient use of the support in compliance with the relevant legal regulations, conditions laid down by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and this directive.

Article 6 – Final Provisions

1. The Rector’s Directive No. 36/2020 is hereby repealed.

2. This directive becomes effective on 1 March 2023.

In Prague on 21 February 2023

.pdf for download

.doc for download