Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission

Supports Shanghai innovation through research grants, startup programs, and enterprise commercialization pathways.

The Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission is Shanghai's city-level science and technology authority, operating under the municipal government and implementing the city's Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan. It is the main local funder for a market-size innovation hub that runs in parallel with national bodies such as MOST and NSFC.

Its portfolio spans the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, the Rising-Star Plan, the Pujiang Talent Plan, the Sci-Tech Co-Research Program, the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Program, the Explorer basic-research line, the Key Technology R&D Plan, the Soft Science Research Program, a special program for large models, the Sci-Tech Little Giant rebate, and the Innovation Voucher scheme. Award sizes in the record range from small research awards around CNY 200,000 to larger technology calls at CNY 7 million, with enterprise-facing rebates and voucher credits reaching CNY 1.5 million and CNY 1 million respectively.

Eligibility is tightly local: host institutions and enterprises need to be registered in Shanghai, and the commission's policy focus sits on integrated circuits, biopharma, and artificial intelligence alongside talent, basic research, and enterprise upgrading. Applicants tend to do best when they can show local registration, a topic that fits one of the city's priority industries, and a clear path from research or service delivery to municipal impact.