1. European Research Council │ 1 ERC Advanced Grant Call 2 EPSS Changes / Improvements Section A1: Proposal and PI Information ► Linking of the 1st Keyword to identified in the A1 form to the target panel ► Addition of a field requesting from the applicant to state whether it is a ‘Co-Investigator project’ or not ► Reduction of abstract length to 1800 characters from 2000 ► Self declaration / certification from the applicant that she/he is aware of and abides by all applicable resubmission and multiple applications rules Section A1T: The 10 Year Track Record of the PI ► All A1T fields are no longer mandatory (which should lead to fewer submission problems) ► 2 new sections have been added: “Invitations as Keynote or Plenary Speaker at International Conferences” & “PhD Supervising”

2. European Research Council │ 2 ERC Advanced Grant Call 2 EPSS Changes / Improvements PART B & Annexes There are 3 mandatory uploads: B1, B2 and the HI Letter. Differences with AdG1: 1. Separate uploading of B1 and B2 (to allow only B1 to be sent to reviewers in Step 1): with their corresponding templates being provided. 2. ► B2: Inclusion of a simple Budget Table to allow description of resources. ► B2: Inclusion of an Ethical Issues Table to determine if further details on Ethical Issues are needed. If the answer to any of the questions in the Ethical Table is ‘YES’, the applicant is required to complete and upload a "B2_Ethical Issues Annex" (template provided).

3. European Research Council │ 3 ERC Advanced Grant Call 2 EPSS Changes / Improvements In the Ethical Issues Annex, the applicant must provide a brief explanation of the ethical issues involved and how they will be dealt with appropriately. They need to specify any authorizations or permissions they already have for the proposed work and include copies which can be uploaded, along with the Ethical Issues Annex, in the 'Extra Annexes Upload' section included in the EPSS tab 'Part B & Annexes'. This will allow a proper Ethical Screening if the proposal is chosen for possible funding. 3. The template for the HI letter of support is provided. Note: exact templates need to be used or proposals risk being declared ineligible

4. European Research Council │ 4 ERC Advanced Grant Call 2 EPSS Changes / Improvements Submission ► A Validation Check can be performed: check if required attachments are included Applicants should ensure that the proposal is “submitted” well before the call closure to allow correction of validation errors. Applicants can re-submit the proposal, before the deadline, as many times as they like. The latest version available at the deadline is considered as the one submitted. When resubmitting, the previously submitted proposal is replaced by the new version. Please encourage applicants to submit ‘early and often’.

5. European Research Council │ 5 ERC Advanced Grant Call 2 Guide for Applicants The Guide for Applicants is being revised to reflect the changes and improvements implemented in EPSS. The section ‘ERC Advanced Grant Administrative Submission Forms’ has been included in the section ‘Preparing an ERC Advanced Grant Application’ ► The section ‘Preparing an ERC Advanced Grant Application’ now gives the applicant an overview of what needs to be submitted: 1. The administrative forms (part A) 2. The research proposal (part B) 3. The supporting documentation ► All novelties previously described in the EPSS section have also been included in the Guide for Applicants