Are ERC starting grant preparation courses worth it? Has someone here an opinion or already experience (and recommendations) with online preparation courses for writing ERC grant proposals, or for other kinds of funding?
Yes, but this is strongly dependent on the course. For example, will the teachers give you personalized feedback on your proposal, or is it simply a course that offers general guidelines and tips? Usually the &quot;tips&quot; type courses are helpful if you're a first-time grant applicant without a strong external network. However, if you have colleagues who have been awarded these grants or have served on review committees and are willing to look over your proposal, their feedback will be more valuable. Especially because they will be more similar to your actual reviewers (pressed for time, not in your field, etc.).
If it's a course that includes specific feedback on your proposal, or if it's a private grant preparation service, these can be more helpful because they are more tailored. I have some colleagues who run this kind of grant editing/grant preparation service, and they usually offer some statistics in their promotional materials. For example, of those whose grants went through this process, how many were funded? My colleagues' success rate is about 80% at the moment, so clearly these kinds of services can really improve your chances. However, they also require substantially more money that may not be reimbursable by your university.