Russian Foundation for Basic Research

About RFBR

Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) has been established following the decree of the president of Russian Federation as a self-governed non-profit state organization. The main goal of this organization is to provide financial and organizational support to scientific research proposals in all branches of fundamental sciences and on a strictly competitive basis.

RFBR currently supports research activities in the following fields:

  • Mathematics, mechanics, and information technology;
  • Physics and astronomy;
  • Chemistry and studies of materials;
  • Biology and medical sciences;
  • Earth sciences;
  • Humanities and social sciences;
  • Information technology and computer systems; and
  • Fundamental basics of engineering sciences.

Research projects funded by RFBR fall under 6 main groups:

1. Projects conducted by small research groups: These projects consume the main body of Foundation grants (70%) and are initiated by the researchers themselves and conducted by one researcher or a small group of researchers (at most 10 members).

2. Targeted Fundamental Research: These are research projects that have prospects for commercialization.

3. International Research: These types of projects are carried out jointly by Russian and foreign scientists from 26 different countries.

4. Regional Research: These types of research are carried out by Russian scientists from different regions of Russia.

5. Joint Research with CIS Countries: These researches are carried out jointly by scientists from Russia and the Commonwealth Independent States (CIS countries).

6. Researches carried out by Young Scientists: These types of projects are carried out by Russian scientists under 35 years of age. Travel grants for trips to conferences in Russia and abroad is amongst the financial support provided for the young scientists.

INSF-RFBR Collaboration

INSF-RFBR 2017 Joint Research Projects Call

The due date for this call is over.

To see the results of the call, please click here.

INSF-RFBR 2020 Joint Research Projects Call

In their second round of collaboration, Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) have announced their second Joint Call to provide support for up to 20 research projects in the following scientific fields:

  • Mathematics;
  • Physics and Astronomy;
  • Chemistry and Advanced Materials;
  • Biology, Bioinformatics and Neurosciences;
  • Earth Science (with Focus on Antarctic and Caspian Region);
  • History, Archeology, Ethnology, Anthropology;
  • Economics;
  • Linguistics and Cultural Studies;
  • Information Technology, Computer Systems and Artificial Intelligence;
  • Mechanics and Aerospace; and
  • Advanced Petroleum and Gas Studies.

 

Eligible Applicants

Iranian principal investigator (PI) must be a faculty member in one of the universities or research institutes in Iran and the Russian PI must be a faculty member in one of the universities or research institutes in Russia.

Matchmaking between Iranian and Russian PIs is not done by INSF or RFBR.

Those Iranian researchers who have an ongoing international research project funded by INSF, cannot submit proposals under this Call.

 

Proposal Criteria

Both parties shall submit their proposals to their due funding agencies under this call, i.e. INSF or RFBR.  Proposals submitted by only one of the two parties will not enter the review process.

Those research projects that are feasible to be conducted solely in Iran, shall not be supported under this call. Researchers have to justify the need for and added value of their international cooperation.

Completion of research projects supported under this call shall be achieved within three years.

The proposals’ review and assessment will be based on the selection criteria as follows:

  • Scientific excellence/merit of the project,
  • Mutual advancement of research through the transfer of knowledge and expertise,
  • Participation of young researchers, and
  • Ability of the teams to successfully complete the project.

 

Proposal Submission Details

Iranian researchers can submit their proposals to INSF Research and Technology Management System, while the Russian researchers submit their proposals to RFBR system.

To receive sample proposal form, please click here.

 

Call Timetable

Opening of the Call: January 14, 2020

Deadline for Proposal Submission: March 25, 2020

Final Results Announcement: August 15, 2020

Start of Projects: September 2020

 

Contact Details

Iranian Coordinator:

Zahra Ehsani

Officer of International Affairs and Scientific Studies, Iran National Science Foundation (INSF)

Phone: +98 (21) 82161112

Email: ehsani.s@insf.org 

 

Russian Coordinator:

Dmitry Mazin

International Relations Department, Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR)

Division of Multilateral International Programs and Cooperation on Post-Soviet Area

Senior Expert

Phone: +7 (499) 995-14-69 (ext.1612)

Email: mazin@rfbr.ru

To see the call announcement on RFBR website, please click here.