National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) are calling for proposals for Collaboration and Exchange Programs.

You could visit their official website for more information: 2024年度国家自然科学基金委员会与法国国家科学研究中心合作交流项目指南 (nsfc.gov.cn)

Budget Total:

• No more than RMB 150,000/proposal from NSFC.
• No more than EUR 20,000/proposal from CNRS.

Priority Areas:

• Evolution and dynamics of biodiversity under different natural and anthropogenic constraints. 自然和人为制约不同条件下的生物多样性的演变和动态
• Natural hazards and extreme events. 自然灾害和极端事件

For specific descriptions of the fields, please refer to Attachment 1(https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portals/0/fj/fj20240624-01.docx). Applications that do not fill in the designated Application Code 1 as required will not be accepted.

What to Fund: International travel expenses for Chinese researchers visiting France (economy class airfare) and accommodation, meals, and intercity transportation costs during their stay in France, as well as expenses for organizing small bilateral seminars.

Project Period: 2 years, from May 1^st, 2025, to February 28^th, 2027.

Eligibility:

1. Chinese applicants must be the PI or a participant for an active National Natural Science Foundation project with the project end date no later than December 31^st, 2025; such an active project should be at least three years and should be research projects. The active NSFC project should be the base for this collaboration/exchange proposal, and the collaboration and exchange should closely relate with the research of the base active project.
2. French applicants shall follow the guideline: https://noa.cnrs.fr/. Unilateral applications will not be accepted.

Quota Requirements:

1. This program will not count into total quota of proposal and active projects
2. This program is subject to the regulation that “an applicant can only apply for one project of the same type in the same year.”
3. An applicant can only apply for or lead 1 NSFC-CNRS cooperation and exchange project in total.
4. Other quota requirements listed in <2024 NSFC Guidelines>

Application Process:

1. Apply online through https://grants.nsfc.gov.cn. Detailed steps, please refer to: 2024年度国家自然科学基金委员会与法国国家科学研究中心合作交流项目指南 (nsfc.gov.cn)
2. Prepare the budget. The project budget should only include “International Cooperation and Exchange Expenses,” which should be entered under item number 4, “Operating Expenses,” in the budget form. This project has no indirect costs. In the “Budget Justification” section, based on the “Project Implementation Plan,” detailed budget planning should be provided for international travel expenses for visiting personnel, accommodation, meals, intercity transportation costs during the stay in France, and expenses for organizing small bilateral seminars according to the exchange year.
3. Prepare the application form. The project name, sponsoring institutions on both sides, and project PIs (the first person listed under “Overseas Collaborators” in the Chinese proposal is considered as the French project leader) must strictly match in both the Chinese and French proposals. Proposals will not be accepted if this requirement is not met.
4. Proposal Supplementary Materials Requirements: upon completion of the application form, applicants should submit the electronic application form and supplementary documents online. There is no need to submit a hard copy application. The supplementary materials include:

• • An English proposal jointly written by both Chinese and French parties (template provided in Attachment 2, template link:  https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/Portals/0/fj/fj20240624-02.docx).
  • Resumes of the French applicant and visiting personnel.

Language: Chinese for proposals submitted to NSFC system

Internal Deadline: 4:00 pm, Monday 16^th September 2024

If you are interested in applying for this research project, please submit your proposals via NSFC system by the internal deadline.

See attachment 1

See attachment 2