Regular Research Grant (Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular, APR)

Regular Research Grant (Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular, APR)

Funds academic researchers in São Paulo developing diverse innovation projects.

The Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular (APR) is FAPESP's primary continuously-open academic research grant, accepting applications year-round with no fixed annual deadline via the SAGe portal. The programme supports research across all fields of knowledge by researchers based at São Paulo public or private higher education and research institutions. Projects may run up to 36 months with a possible 6-month extension in exceptional circumstances. The exceptional budget ceiling per project is R$ 600,000, excluding the Reserva Técnica (a supplemental reserve for contingency costs). Because APR is a continuous-submission programme, no annual funding pool is published; awards are subject to available FAPESP appropriations at the time of analysis.

Eligibility requires the Responsible Researcher to hold a doctorate and maintain active employment at a FAPESP-eligible São Paulo institution. Researchers are generally restricted to one active APR at a time; exceptions require strong scientific justification at the enquadramento stage. Budget proposals above R$ 600,000 trigger an additional review step. Researchers with outstanding reporting obligations to FAPESP in any programme are ineligible until those obligations are resolved. Applicants should submit approximately six months before the desired project start date, as mean analysis time is approximately 75 days.

APR is also the vehicle through which FAPESP participates in bilateral and multilateral international research cooperation calls — including the M-ERA.NET call for materials science — because its standards and review process are consistent across all participating researchers. Proposals are evaluated on scientific quality, originality, methodological feasibility, and the qualifications of the research team. Strong submissions articulate clear research questions, realistic timelines, and, where applicable, a strategy for leveraging the partnership infrastructure of the international cooperation call.