Guide to cooperative research projects between the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the United Nations Environment Programme in 2023
According to the consensus reached by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Chinese and foreign scientists will be jointly funded to carry out cooperative research, with special attention to cooperation with developing countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region.
I. Project Description
(1) Funding field and application code
- Ecosystem (application code 1: C0306 or D01);
- Climate Change (application code 1: C0308 or D01, D05);
- Resource Efficiency (application code 1: G0412);
- Environmental Governance (application code 1: G0411).
Applications that fail to fill in the specified application code 1 as required will not be accepted.
(2) the scale of funding
The number of projects to be funded is about 4.
(3) funding intensity
Not more than 3 million yuan/item (direct cost).
(4) Funding period
The funding period is 5 years, and the research period in the application should be filled in from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2028.
II. Applicant conditions
According to the Measures for the Administration of International (Regional) Cooperative Research Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, the application for this project must meet the following conditions:
(1) the applicant should have a senior professional and technical position (title), as the person in charge of the project is undertaking or undertaking projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China for three years or more.
(2) Both parties have a good foundation for cooperation.
(3) Please refer to the Project Guide of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2023 for a detailed description of the application qualifications.
III. Provisions on application for restricted items
International (regional) cooperative research projects of NSFC include inter-organizational international (regional) cooperative research projects and key international (regional) cooperative research projects. This project belongs to an inter-organizational cooperative research project, and the applicant must abide by the following restrictions when applying:
(1) the applicant (excluding the main participants) can only apply for one international (regional) cooperative research project in the same year.
(2) the person in charge of the international (regional) cooperative research project shall not apply for this project as an applicant.
(3) as the applicant and as the person in charge of this project, it is included in the scope of the total number of projects applied for and undertaken by personnel with senior professional and technical positions (titles).
(4) other restrictions on the number of applications in the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide.
IV. declaration instructions
(I) Matters needing attention of the applicant
- Before completing the application, the applicant shall carefully read the relevant contents in this project guide and the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide, and the project application that does not meet the project guide and relevant requirements will not be accepted.
- The applicant logs into the Network Information System of the National Science Foundation of China (https://grants.nsfc.gov.cn/egrantweb/) and writes the Application for International (Regional) Cooperative Research Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (hereinafter referred to as the “Chinese Application”) according to the outline and relevant requirements. The specific steps are as follows:
(1) Select the “Project Leader” user group to log into the system, and then click “Online Application” to enter the application interface; Click “Apply for New Project” to enter the selection interface of the science department to which the applied project belongs, and click “Apply for the project of General Science Department” to enter the selection interface of project category.
(2) Click the+sign on the left or the “Expand” button on the right of “International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Projects” to expand the drop-down menu.
(3) Click the “Fill in Application” button on the right side of “Inter-organization Cooperation Research (Inter-organization Cooperation Agreement Project)” to enter the interface of selecting cooperation agreement, select “NSFC-UNEP (International Organization)” in the drop-down menu, and then enter the approval number of the fund project to rely on according to the system requirements. After passing the qualification certification, the specific Chinese application filling interface will be entered.
- Budget compilation requirements. The applicant shall carefully read the contents of the budget compilation requirements in the application provisions of the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide, and carefully and truthfully compile the National Natural Science Foundation Project Fund Budget Table in strict accordance with the requirements of the Measures for Fund Management of Projects Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation (Cai Jiao [2021] No.177) and the Instructions for the Compilation of Project Fund Budget Table of the National Natural Science Foundation.
- Requirements of application materials. After the applicant finishes writing the application, he/she will submit the electronic application and the attached materials online without submitting the paper application. Attachment materials include:
(1) Chinese applicants shall jointly file an application with UNEP partners and fill in an English application form (see Annex 1).
(2) Both parties shall reach an agreement on the cooperation content and intellectual property rights, and sign a cooperation agreement (see Annex 2 for the agreement template).
(II) Acceptance of project application
The online application and acceptance period of the network information system of the National Science Foundation is from February 14, 2023 to 16: 00 on April 14, 2023.
Note: Applicants are requested to fill in the application in strict accordance with the requirements of this project guide. Applications that do not meet the above requirements will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please call the project contact person.
V. Announcement of approval results
In October 2023, the funding results will be notified through the network information system of NSFC.
VI. Project Contact Person
Contact: Tang Keshuang, Rong Nianhe.
Tel: +86-10-6232 8404, 6232 6998
E-mail: tangks@nsfc.gov.cn, rongnh@nsfc.gov.cn
Information System Technical Support (Information Center): +86-10-6231 7474.