2024 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Royal Society Cooperation and Exchange Program Guide
1、 Project Description
（1） Funding areas
Mathematics and physics, chemistry, life science, earth science, engineering and material science, Information science, medicine.
Application code 1 must be selected from the subordinate application code of the Ministry of Science corresponding to the above-mentioned funding field, and it is recommended to choose the final level. Applications that do not fill in the specified application code 1 as required will not be accepted.
（2） Funding intensity
The funding intensity from the Chinese side shall not exceed 100000 yuan per project, and the funding intensity from the British side shall not exceed 12000 pounds per project.
（3） Funding content
The National Natural Science Foundation of China subsidizes the international travel expenses of Chinese researchers visiting the UK (the air ticket is economy class) and the accommodation, meals and inter city transportation expenses of British researchers in China. The Royal Society of Great Britain supports the international travel expenses of British researchers visiting China and the accommodation, meals and inter city transportation expenses of Chinese researchers in the UK.
（4） Funding period
The funding period is 2 years, and the research period in the application should be from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2026.
2、 Applicant’s conditions
According to the Management Measures for International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, applying for this project must meet the following conditions:
（1） Chinese applicants must be undertaking (host or participant) National Natural Science Foundation projects (excluding cooperative exchange projects) that are completed after December 31, 2024, with a duration of 3 years or more, and must rely on this project for application.
（2） British cooperators shall meet the qualification requirements of British Royal Society for domestic applicants.
（3） Both Chinese and British applicants need to submit project applications to the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Royal Society respectively, and unilateral applications will not be accepted.
（4） The purpose of this project is to encourage the establishment of new cooperative relationships between China and the UK and to involve young researchers.
（5） For more detailed explanations of the applicant’s conditions, please refer to the “2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guidelines”.
3、 Regulations on application limit
（1） This project belongs to international (regional) cooperation and exchange projects, and is not included in the total number of applied and undertaken projects.
（2） Not subject to the restriction of “applicants can only apply for one project of the same type in the same year”.
（3） As the applicant and the project leader, I am currently undertaking a total of one Sino British (NSFC-RS) cooperation and exchange project.
（4） It should comply with other restrictions on the number of applications in the 2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guidelines.
4、 Application instructions
（1） Notes for Applicants
The application for cooperation and exchange projects is written online, and the specific requirements for applicants are as follows:
- Before filling out the application form, the applicant should carefully read the relevant content in this project guide and the “2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guide”. Project applications that do not meet the project guide and relevant requirements will not be accepted.
- Chinese applicants must log in to the Science Foundation Network System（ https://grants.nsfc.gov.cn/ ）Fill out the “Application Form for International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China” online. The specific steps are as follows:
(1) Select the “Project Leader” user group to log in to the system, and click “Online Application” to enter the application interface; Click the “New Project Application” button to enter the selection interface of the science department to which the application belongs. Click “Apply for General Science Department Projects” to enter the project category selection interface.
(2) Click on the “+” sign on the left side of the “International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange Project” or the “Expand” button on the right side to expand the drop-down menu.
(3) Click on the “Fill in Application” button on the right side of “Cooperation Exchange (Inter organizational Cooperation Agreement Project)” to enter the “Cooperation Agreement” selection interface. Select “NSFC-RS (Chinese English)” from the drop-down menu, and then enter the approval number of the research fund project according to the system requirements. After passing the qualification certification, you will enter the specific application filling interface.
- Budget preparation. Applicants should carefully read the budget preparation requirements in the “2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Guidelines” application instructions, strictly follow the requirements of the “National Natural Science Foundation Funded Project Fund Management Measures (Cai Jiao [2021] No. 177)” and “National Natural Science Foundation Project Fund Budget Table Preparation Instructions”, and carefully and truthfully prepare the “National Natural Science Foundation Project Fund Budget Table”.
The project budget table only includes “international cooperation and exchange fees”, which should be included in item 4 of the serial number “business fees”. There are no indirect fees for this project. In the “Budget Specification” column, a detailed budget should be formulated for the international travel expenses of visiting personnel, accommodation and meal expenses of visiting personnel, and intercity transportation expenses according to the content of the “Project Execution Plan” and the exchange year.
- Instructions for filling out the application form. The project name, supporting units, and project leaders of both parties (the first person in the “Overseas Cooperation Personnel” column of the Chinese application is defaulted to be the project leader of the British side) in the Chinese and British application should be strictly consistent, otherwise it will not be accepted.
In the “Project Execution Plan” column, the names of visitors and visitors, dates of visits and visits, and the proposed research work content should be listed in detail according to the exchange year. The project participants must be the project leaders or participants of the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s research projects (excluding cooperative exchange projects) that have been completed for a period of 3 years or more after December 31, 2024.
- Requirements for application materials. After completing the application, the applicant submits the electronic application and attachment materials online, without the need to submit a paper application. Attachment materials include:
(1) Resume of the British applicant and visitors.
(2) Cooperation Agreement (see attachment for agreement template). Both Chinese and British applicants must reach an agreement on the cooperation content, exchange plan, and intellectual property rights, and sign a cooperation and exchange agreement.
（2） Precautions for Supporting Units
The supporting unit shall review the authenticity, completeness, and compliance of the application materials submitted by the applicant of this unit, as well as the relevance of the declared budget goals, policy compliance, and economic rationality. The project is included in the scope of Paperless office application, and the supporting unit shall submit its electronic application form and attachment materials before the specified deadline for project application. Please upload the project application list of our unit through the Science Foundation Network Information System, and there is no need to provide a paper version.
Regarding the submission of the commitment letter for scientific research integrity of the unit, please refer to the “Notice on the Application and Conclusion of National Natural Science Foundation Projects in 2023” (only needs to be uploaded once this year).
（3） Project application acceptance
The online application acceptance period for the Chinese information system is from August 2, 2023 to 16:00 on September 27, 2023 (Beijing time).
Note: Applicants are requested to strictly follow the requirements of this project guide in filling out their applications. Applications that do not meet the above requirements will not be accepted. If you have any questions, please call the project contact person.