Guidelines for Collaborative Research Programs between the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Pakistan Science Foundation for the Year 2023
I. Program Description
(I) Funding Areas and Application Codes
1. Green Technologies
Development of green sources of energy generation, storage and transmission and distribution as well as promotion of the use of clean technologies for environmental protection and sustainable governance. promotion of the use of clean technologies). For application code 1, please select the application code under B09, E06 and F03.
2. Nanotechnology
For application code 1, please select the application code under B05, E02, E05, F01, F04.
3. Computing sciences
Augmented/Virtual reality, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing (Augmented/Virtual reality, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing). For application code 1, please select the application code under A24, B03, F06, F02.
Applications without the designated application code1 will not be accepted.
(II) Scale of Funding
The number of projects to be funded is about 10.
(III) Funding Intensity
The intensity of funding from the Chinese side is not more than 2 million RMB per project (direct cost), including research expenses and international cooperation and exchange expenses, and the PSF will provide the corresponding funding to the Pakistani scientists.
(IV) Funding Period
The funding period is 3 years, and the research period in the application should be from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2026.
II. Conditions for Applicants
According to the Measures for the Administration of International (Regional) Cooperative Research Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the following conditions shall be met in order to apply for this program:
(1) The applicant should have a senior professional and technical position (title), and be undertaking or have undertaken as a project leader a NSF project with a duration of three years or more.
(2) The Pakistani collaborator should meet the PSF’s eligibility requirements for national applicants and submit the application to the PSF in accordance with the requirements. Project applications submitted unilaterally will not be accepted.
(3) The number of domestic collaborating research units shall not exceed two.
(4) The two partners have a good foundation for cooperation, and the project application should reflect strong cooperation and complementary advantages.
(5) For more information about the conditions of applicants, please refer to the “2023 NSFC Program Guidelines”.
III. Rules for Limited Applications
The international (regional) cooperative research projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China include inter-organizational international (regional) cooperative research projects and key international (regional) cooperative research projects. This project is an inter-organizational international (regional) cooperative research project, and the applicant must follow the following rules when applying:
(1) Applicants can only apply for one international (regional) cooperative research project in the same year.
(2) The person in charge of an international (regional) cooperative research project shall not apply for this project as an applicant.
(3) Applying as an applicant and undertaking this project as a person in charge shall not be counted as part of the total number of projects applied for and undertaken by personnel with senior professional and technical positions (titles), which shall be limited to two in total.
(4) Other restrictions on the number of applications in the “2023 NSF Program Guidelines”.
IV. Filing Instructions
(I) Notes for Applicants
- Before filling in the application form, applicants should carefully read the program guide and the relevant contents of the NSFC Program Guide 2023, and applications not conforming to the program guide and relevant requirements will not be accepted.
- Applicants should log in the Science Foundation web system (https://grants.nsfc.gov.cn) and fill in the “Application Form for International (Regional) Collaborative Research Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China” (hereinafter referred to as the “Chinese Application Form”) online. The specific steps are as follows:
(1) Select the user group of “Project Leader” to log in the system, and then click “Online Application” to enter the application interface; click the button of “New Project Application” to enter the interface of applying for the project. Click on “New Project Application” button to enter the interface for selecting the project to be applied, and then click on “Apply for General Science Department Project” to enter the interface for selecting the project category.
(2) Click “International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Programs” to expand the drop-down menu by clicking the + sign on the left side or the “Expand” button on the right side.
(3) Click the “Fill in Application” button on the right side of “Inter-organization Cooperative Research (Inter-organization Cooperative Agreement Projects)” to enter the interface of “Please Select Cooperative Agreement”. In the drop-down menu, select “NSFC-PSF (China-Pakistan)”, and then enter the approval number of the fund project to be relied on according to the system requirements, through the qualification that is to enter the specific Chinese application form to fill in the interface.
- Budgeting requirements. Applicants should carefully read the “2023 NSF Program Guidelines” in the application instructions of the budgeting requirements, in strict accordance with the “NSF Funding Management Measures (Caijiao [2021] No. 177)” and the “Instructions for Preparation of NSF Program Funding Budget Form”, and carefully and truthfully prepare and report the “NSF Program Funding Budget Form”. The budget table of NSF project funds shall be compiled carefully and truthfully.
- Attachment Materials. The applicant and the Brazilian collaborator should jointly write an English application form (see Annex 1 for the template of the English application form), which should be uploaded and added to the “Attachments” column of the Chinese application form. The basic content of the Chinese and English applications must be consistent, in which the English name of the project and the English application should be identical.
- Application material requirements. After the applicant has finished writing the application form, the applicant shall submit the electronic application form and the attached materials online without submitting the paper application form. After the project is approved, the paper signature and seal page of the application form will be bound at the end of the Funded Project Plan and submitted together. The signed and stamped information should be strictly consistent with the electronic application.
- Collaboration Agreement. Upon approval of the project, the applicant shall sign a cooperation agreement (template in Annex 2) with the Brazilian collaborator, agreeing on the content of the cooperation and intellectual property rights and other issues of common concern to both parties.
(II) Acceptance of Project Application
The period for receiving online applications on the Web Information System of the Science Foundation is from July 17, 2023 to 16:00 p.m. on September 5, 2023 (Beijing time); the Brazilian collaborator shall submit the application to PSF before the deadline set by PSF.
Note: Applicants are requested to fill in the applications in strict compliance with the requirements of this program guide, and reminder to the science management departments of the supporting units to confirm and submit the electronic version of the applications before the online filing is closed by the online information system of the Science Foundation. Applications not meeting the above requirements will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please call the contact person of the program.
V. Announcement of Results of Proposed Approval
The results of funding will be notified in December 2023 through the Science Foundation Web Information System.
VI. Program Contacts
Chinese Contact Person:
Le Zhang, Yi-Wei Zhang
Tel: +86-10-6232 8404, 6232 7368
Email: zhangle@nsfc.gov.cn, zhangyw@nsfc.gov.cn
Information System Technical Support (Information Center): +86-10-6231 7474
Contact Person in Pakistan:
Dr. Zaiban Farooq
Principal Scientific Officer
International Linkages
Email: zaibanfarooq@gmail.com
Tel: 051-9206724; 051-9215067 (121)