International Sponsors

This page gives details of EU and international sponsors and funding opportunities.

European Union funding opportunities

The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is the main financial tool through which the European Union supports research projects and mobility of researchers. It covers a wide range of disciplines. FP7 started on 1 January 2007 and will end in 2013.

FP7 is composed of four Work programmes. The 'Cooperation' programme supports research cooperation in key thematic areas. 'Ideas' funds investigator-driven research through a newly created European Research Council (ERC). The 'People' programme (Marie Curie Actions) supports training and researchers' career development, while 'Capacities' funds research infrastructures, regional research clusters, international cooperation and closer ties between science and society.

If you have any specific questions regarding European Funding opportunities, please contact your appropriate Funding Development Manager or Amy Williams, our European Advisor at the UK Research Office (UKRO) in Brussels. Email: amy.williams@bbsrc.ac.uk. Tel: 0032 2 286 90 59.

Cooperation €32,4B¹	Supports collaborative research activities between universities, industry, research centres and public authorities throughout the EU and beyond. The programme is split into ten distinct themes. Health Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Biotechnology Information and communication technologies Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies Energy Environment (including climate change) Transport (including aeronautics) Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities Space Security Each theme is operationally autonomous but there are also joint activities cutting across different themes, through, for example, joint calls. Currently open calls
Ideas & European Research Council (ERC) €7.5B	The ERC has been established to implement the Ideas programme. The ERC supports investigator-driven (bottom up) ‘frontier research’. Scientists are encouraged to go beyond established frontiers of knowledge and the boundaries of disciplines. ERC grants will be awarded through open competition to projects headed by young (Starting Independent Researcher Grant) or established researchers (Advanced Investigators Grant), irrespective of their origins, who are working in Europe. Currently open calls
People Marie Curie Actions €4.7B	Supports training of early and mid-career researchers and aims to stimulate people to become researchers, encourage European researchers to stay in Europe, and attract researchers into Europe. Its five specific actions are: * 'Initial training of researchers to improve mostly young researchers' * 'Life-long training and career development' = Postdoctoral Fellowships * 'Industry-academia pathways and partnerships' * 'International dimension' * 'Specific actions' Currently open calls
Capacities €4.1B	This programme aims to enhance research and innovation capacities throughout Europe, complements the Cooperation programme and contributes to EU policies and initiatives. It has seven broad areas: * Research infrastructures * Research for the benefit of SMEs * Regions of knowledge * Research potential of Convergence Regions * Science in society * Support to the coherent development of research policies * International cooperation Currently open calls

Other International Opportunities

The Earthwatch Institute ($5M in 2008)	Supports scholarly research worldwide in the biological, physical, social and cultural sciences. It particularly supports scientists from developing countries, women in science, and long-term monitoring projects. Earthwatch has four target priority areas: sustainable management of natural resources, climate change, oceans and sustainable cultures.
Getty Trust (£63M in 2007)	Fellowships for non-residential researchers of all nationalities working in the arts, humanities or social sciences.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) USA ($28B/year)	NIH is the primary US federal agency supporting medical research. In general, foreign institutions and international organisations are eligible to apply for research project grants. However, there are a few restrictions for specific schemes (check website).
National Science Foundation (NSF) USA ($6.06B/year)	US Federal agency that offers support for all fields of fundamental science and engineering, except for medical sciences. The Foundation supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.

¹ all budgets stated are overall budgets over the course of seven years (2007-2013)