Junior Scholar Symposium in PRIO
Researchers from PRIO, Masaryk University and the University of Helsinki gathered in Oslo for the CENTREPEACE Junior Scholar Symposium – an event spotlighting innovative work on peace research and European security.
RMA Breakfast: ERC CZ
What are the options for researchers who do not succeed in the ERC main call? Doc. Hana Macháčková presented her experience with the PACC project at the March RMA breakfast and introduced the ERC CZ grant scheme - ‘Plan B’ for high quality but unfunded proposals.
On Monday, April 7, as part of the regular RMA breakfast series, we had the pleasure of welcoming a special guest – Associate Professor Hana Macháčková. The topic of the meeting was the ERC CZ grant programme, which Dr. Macháčková received for her project PACC – Perceived Anonymity in Online Communication. She is also the head of the interdisciplinary research group Internet and Society.
During her lecture, Dr. Macháčková presented the ERC programme as a dream goal for any researcher. One of its main advantages is the freedom to define one's own research agenda and to pursue ambitious and high-risk projects that have the potential to significantly advance knowledge in a given field. It is precisely this freedom that makes ERC grants among the most attractive in the academic world.
At the same time, however, Dr. Macháčková emphasized the demanding nature of the entire process – from preparing the project proposal to the oral interviews that are part of the evaluation.
As an alternative, she introduced the ERC CZ scheme, which she referred to as a “backup plan.” It requires relatively little administrative preparation, but the key condition is to have received a positive evaluation of the original proposal within the European ERC call. If successful, the project may be:
- fully funded for the originally proposed duration,
- partially supported for up to two years,
- or not funded at all.
The PACC project received partial support in the form of a two-year grant. In her presentation, Dr. Macháčková described in detail how to adapt the original proposal to fit this shortened timeline – including practical tips, goal restructuring, and strategic focus.
The meeting concluded with an important takeaway: researchers should be aware that if they are not successful in the main ERC call, national backup schemes like ERC CZ can still offer valuable opportunities to bring strong project ideas to life.
