The NSFC has initiated program application 2022. Details of requirements are as follows:

1.     Classification of programs

The program types of 2022 concentrated reception include General Program, Key Program, some specific Major Research Plan Program, Young Scientists Fund, Excellent Young Scientists Fund, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Science Fund for Creative Research Groups，Basic Science Center Program, Fund for Less Developed Regions, some specific Joint Funds, Program of National Major Research Instruments（free topics）,Tianyuan Fund for Mathematics, Key International (Regional) Joint Research Program, Research Fund for International Scientists.

※Project guides will be published separately for those program types which aren’t within the scope of concentrated reception listed above.

2.     Funding amount and duration

For more information, please refer to the link of 2022 NSFC Guide to Programs at  https://www.nsfc.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab1097/   

3.     Procedure of application

Online application

Applicants shall fill out application forms of all program types online in Chinese(excluding Research Fund for International Scientists) and upload relevant supplementary documents via the application system ( https://isisn.nsfc.gov.cn/pmpweb/login ). In accordance with program types,  applicant shall make correct choice of the “funding  category”, “subclass  introduction” and “annotation”. Some program’s annotation should be written strictly in accordance with the NSFC Guide.

※ For applicants who have no application account, please send your name, academic title, email address, telephone number to nikkichen@cuhk.edu.cn by Jan.26, 2022 to open account.

Paperless submission

In the stage of submission, applicants shall only submit reviewed application forms online, without submitting any hard copies.

4. Requirements on application

A. Category-specific application and review based on the four scientific natures of research will be implemented in 2022 unceasingly. When preparing proposals for General Program, Key Program and Young Scientists Fund, applicants shall choose one out of the four scientific natures according to the critical scientific problem they aim to solve and the research they hope to conduct, and justify their choice in the proposal. When the proposed research fits multiple scientific natures, applicants shall choose one that best describes the characteristics of their proposed research.

B. About participants

•Students shall not be listed as main participants in application form. Applicant only need to fill in the total number of students in the table of total headcount.

•Resumes of main participants will be collected online in the same way as applicant, which is, the applicant shall invite main participants to fill in their resume online through the application system, when completion, applicant shall upload the PDF version of the main participants' resumes which automatically generated by the system.

For the application for Excellent Young Scientists Fund and National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, applicants shall note that the limit between the mentioned programs and other National S&T Talent Plans. For more information, please refer the Annex 1-Handbook of 2022NSFC programs application.

C. About resume

• Applicant and main participants shall list all authors' signatures according to the real situation at the time of publication and shall not change the order of authors when filling in papers and other research results.

• Representative papers in the resume should be uploaded as full-text PDF version for public publication;  The cover, abstract, table of contents, copyright pages should be uploaded for representative monographs.

D. “Application Code 1”in application form is reference for deciding NSFC’s accepting department. “Application  Code  2” is supplementary. For some certain programs, applicant shall choose designated Application Code 1 or 2 in line with the guide. Meanwhile, applicant shall select the full code including the last digit (four digits).

E. With CUHK(SZ) tutor’s consent, in-site post-doctoral researchers can apply for General Program and Young Scientists Fund. Meanwhile, the duration of the project shall be chosen based on their remaining maturity in CUHK(SZ )(the research period of Young Scientists Fund can be chosen 1 to 3 years, and the General Program can be chosen 1 to 4 years).

F. Application limit

• For researchers with senior academic rank (title) , the total number of a  researcher applies for (including as applicant and main participant) and undertakes (including as applicant and main participant) shall not exceed two unless otherwise  specified by NSFC Guide:

•For researcher without senior academic rank (title), the total number of projects a researcher applies for or undertakes as the PI should not exceed one. Under the premise of adequate time, the total number of projects a researcher applies for or undertakes as main participant is not limited.

•Projects aren’t counted into the total number limit in the year of expiry unless otherwise specified

•For Excellent Young Scientists Fund and National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars: only one project can be undertaken at the same level, and no application can be made to the lower level

•Applicant shall first read the application guide carefully for more application limit.

G. For full-time applicants and main participants, we suggest he/she shall be engage in research work for no less than 6 months per year.

H. Collaborative research

• When main participants do not work at CUHK(SZ), the employer of the main participants shall be regarded as a collaborative research institution (overseas institutions are not regarded as such). Applicants shall select online or accurately fill in the employer information of the main participants. The information on collaborative research institution in the basic information section of the application form is automatically generated by the online application system. The number of collaborative research institution for each application shall not exceed two (unless otherwise specified)..Meanwhile, applicants shall make a description on allocate funds in the budget statement of application forms.

•The overseas researchers as the main participants shall be seen as individual participants and “Informed Consent Letter” (please refer Annex 3 for template) with the signature shall be uploaded to the application system as attachment;

I. The start time in application form shall be January 1, 2023 and the finish time shall be December 31, 20xx(depending on the funding periods).

J. Budget

•The management of project funding is divided into overall rationing system and budget system in 2022: 

For overall rationing system: Young Scientists Fund, Excellent Young Scientists Fund, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars adopted to this system, no need to prepare the project budget when applying 

For budget system: Applicant shall only fill in the budget for each item of direct funding in application form(Direct budget items are consolidated into three items: Equipment Expenses, Experimental and Operating Expenses, Allowance)

• No proportion is set for each budget item of direct expenses. The budget shall be completed based on the actual needs of research;
• For each item in the budget statement, applicants shall describe the purpose of expenditure and the basis for measurement.

K. The applicant and main participants shall use the same and only document of identity for application. Those who have received grants as applicants or main participants using other identification shall declare and provide details in the proposal.

L. Any required scientific research reviews, please refer to CUHK(SZ)’s research review process of each committee as attached (Annex 4) and send the required materials and forms to each committee’s email by Feb.26, 2022 for assessment.  Certificates of ethical or S&T security review shall be upload to application system.

Email address for each committee:

Institutional Review Board                                      irb@cuhk.edu.cn

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee        iacuc@cuhk.edu.cn

Institutional Biosafety Committee                           ibc@cuhk.edu.cn

• Applicants of CUHK(SZ)’s affiliated hospital shall firstly obtain relevant certificates of the ethical review of the hospital(signed and sealed) before submitting the ethical review items to the university.

M. Applicants shall use the latest version of proposal template which can be downloaded from the application system;

N. Researchers must fill out the information registration form (Annex 5) if he or she as main participant to participate in NSFC application which led by other domestic institutions. Please send the electronic version to kevingao@cuhk.edu.cn for registration.

O. When an applicant as a part-time staff member in CUHK(SZ) submits the application, he or she shall truthfully state his or her position in resume, and need to sign a contract with CUHK(SZ) and apply to the school/institution for approval (Please refer Annex 6 for the application form) before applying for creation the application account. The scanned copy of the signed application form should be sent to nikkichen@cuhk.edu.cn   

P. The second and third affiliated hospitals of CUHK(SZ) shall be responsible for the authenticity of application materials and the review work, including formality examination, ethical review, etc.

5. Deadline

(1)  Applicants shall login the application system ( https://isisn.nsfc.gov.cn/pmpweb/login  )  on or after January 19, 2022 to fill in application forms and upload required supplementary documents;

(2)  Applicants are required  to complete self-examination in line with the Schedule of formal review  (Annex 2) before March 1, 2022;

(3) Applicants shall submit the self-checked application forms online on March 3, 2022, the colleges/research institutions/ affiliated hospitals shall organize the preliminary review and feedback;

(4)  Applicants shall submit the revised application forms online by 18:00 on March 8, 2022, the Research Administration Office will re-examine and feedback;

(5) Applicants shall submit application forms( final version)  online by 18:00 on March 14, 2022, without submitting any hard copies.

Contact information

※For the convenience of communication, we have created 2022 NSFC application WeChat group. Due to the limitation on the number of participants, please contact us if you need to join.

Research Administration Office

The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Annex 1-Handbook of 2022 NSFC programs application

Annex 2-Schedule of formal review 2022

Annex 3-Informed consent letter

Annex 4-Review process and relevant forms

Annex 5-Information registration form

Annex 6- Only for part-time staff member