2023 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Macao Science and Technology Development Fund Joint Research Fund Cooperative Research Project Guideline
According to the agreement between the National Natural Science Foundation of China (hereinafter referred to as NSFC) and Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as FDCT) on the establishment of a joint research funding fund, both sides jointly fund the scientific and technical personnel of the Mainland and Macao to carry out cooperative research every year. The 2023 cooperative research projects of Natural Science Foundation of China and Science and Technology Foundation (hereinafter referred to as NSFC-FDCT project) are now collected.
I. Description of the project
(1) Funding areas
This project supports research projects in the field of natural science jointly proposed by scientists and technicians from the Mainland and Macao. The priority areas are information science, research on traditional Chinese medicine, marine science, environmental science, biological science, new material science and space science.
(2) Application code
Applicants should independently choose the application code of the corresponding discipline according to the research content of the project, and it is recommended to fill it in to the last level.
(3) Funding scheme
There are about 18 funding programs in 2023. The intensity of direct cost support shall not exceed RMB 2 million/project.
(4) duration of funding
The funding period is 3 years, and the research period in the application should be from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026.
(5) Review procedures
The funding agencies of both sides organize communication review respectively, and on this basis, organize joint meeting review.
(6) Application requirements
- Applicants from the Mainland and Macao shall submit project applications to the Natural Science Foundation and the Science and Technology Foundation respectively.
- The number of mainland cooperative research units shall not exceed 2.
- The project application should reflect strong alliance and complementary advantages.
II. Application conditions
(1) The applicant should have a senior professional and technical position (title), and should be the project leader who is undertaking or has undertaken the National Natural Science Foundation project of 3 years or above.
(2) The person in charge who is undertaking an international (regional) cooperative research project may not apply for this project as an applicant.
(3) the scientific and technical personnel employed by the supporting unit shall not apply for or participate in the application project in both domestic and overseas identities.
- Persons in charge of overseas, Hong Kong and Macao scholars’ cooperative research fund projects and partners of international (regional) cooperative research projects shall not apply as applicants or participate in applying for this project before the project funding expires.
- Project leaders and participants with domestic status shall not be overseas partners or participants of this project before the project funding expires.
(4) Researchers employed by academic institutions and scientific research institutions in Macao shall not apply for this project through mainland supporting institutions.
(5) The applicant has a good foundation for cooperation with partners in Macao.
(6) Please refer to the Project Guide of National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2023 for the detailed explanation of the application qualification.
III. Provisions on Application for Restrictions
International (regional) cooperative research projects of NSFC include inter-organization international (regional) cooperative research projects and key international (regional) cooperative research projects. The NSFC-FDCT project is an inter-organizational cooperative research project, and the applicant must follow the following restrictions when applying:
(1) Applicants (excluding major participants) can only apply for 1 international (regional) cooperative research project in the same year.
(2) This cooperative research project is not included in the scope where the total number of applications and undertaken projects is limited to two.
(3) Other restrictions on the number of applications in the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide.
IV. Explanation of application
(1) matters needing attention of the applicant
After the applicant logs in the network information system of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (https://grants.nsfc.gov.cn/pmpweb), he writes the Application Form for International (Regional) Cooperative Research Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (hereinafter referred to as the Application Form) according to the writing outline and relevant requirements. The specific steps are as follows:
- Select “Project Manager” user group, click “Online Application” to enter the application interface, and click “Add Project Application” to enter the project category selection interface.
- Click the “+”button on the left or “Expand” button on the right of “International (Regional) Cooperative Research Project” to expand the drop-down menu.
- Click “Fill in the Application” on the right side of “Inter-organizational Cooperation Research” to enter the interface of cooperation agreement, and select “NSFC-FDCT Project (Mainland-Macau)” from the drop-down menu, then enter the approval number of the fund project to be supported according to the system requirements, and then enter the specific application filling interface.
(2) Budget preparation and reporting
The applicant shall carefully read the contents of the budget compilation requirements in the application regulations of the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide, and compile the National Natural Science Foundation Project Budget in strict accordance with the requirements of the Measures for Fund Management of Projects Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation (Caijiao [2021] No.177) and the Instructions for Compilation of the National Natural Science Foundation Project Budget.
(3) Submit attachment materials online.
In addition to filling in and submitting the application online, the applicant shall upload the following attachment materials to the “Attachment” column of the application and submit them together:
- The cooperative research agreement signed by the applicant and the partners in Macao.
- A copy of the application submitted by Macao partners to FDCT.
(4) Matters needing attention of supporting units
The supporting unit shall be responsible for the applicant’s application qualification, and examine the authenticity, completeness and compliance of the application materials submitted by the applicant in this unit, the target relevance, policy compliance and economic rationality of the declared budget. This project is included in the scope of paperless application, and the supporting unit should complete the confirmation of electronic application and attachment materials item by item before the deadline for submission of application materials. Please refer to the Notice of 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Application and Completion and other related matters for the commitment letter of scientific research integrity of the unit and the submission of project list.
(5) Acceptance of project application
The online application and reception period of information system is from January 16th, 2023 to February 28th, 2023 at 16: 00.
Note: Applicants are requested to fill in the application strictly in accordance with the requirements of this project guide. Applications that do not meet the above requirements will not be accepted. If in doubt, please call the project contact person.
V. Project contact person
Project contact person: Li Yanqing Zhang Lin