National Foundation for Science and Technology Development

Funds Vietnamese science and technology advancement through competitive research grants, international cooperation, and academic capacity building.

The National Foundation for Science and Technology Development, known as NAFOSTED, is Vietnam's national research foundation under the Ministry of Science and Technology. It has operated since 2008 and serves as the main public channel for research support in basic and applied science, international S&T cooperation, and researcher capacity-building.

Its work is centered on two core tracks: basic research in the natural sciences and engineering, which began in 2009, and social sciences and humanities, which began in 2010. NAFOSTED has supported thousands of projects across those tracks and also manages joint programs with more than 10 foreign science agencies, including FWO in Belgium, DFG in Germany, UKRI in the United Kingdom, NHMRC in Australia, and SNSF in Switzerland.

The foundation's current program set includes the Basic Research Program, the Program for Excellence in Basic Research for 2026 to 2035, the International Cooperation Program, and the Outstanding Graduate Research Support Program for 2026 to 2030. Its sector coverage spans AI infrastructure, biotech, materials, energy, semiconductors, and hardware, which places it at the center of Vietnam's researcher pipeline rather than a narrow thematic fund.