NAFOSTED–FWO Belgium Joint Research Program
Supports joint Vietnamese-Belgian research teams with multi-year projects across sciences and humanities.
⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The NAFOSTED–FWO Joint Research Program is a bilateral science collaboration between Vietnam's National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) and Belgium's Research Foundation Flanders (FWO), active since 2009. The program supports three-year fundamental research projects across natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities, with Vietnamese and Belgian research teams each applying simultaneously to their respective national funders. Vietnamese-side project costs are governed by Ministry of Finance Circular 03/2023/TT-BTC and Ministry of Science and Technology Circular 02/2023/TT-BKHCN; no published per-project funding ceiling is specified in NAFOSTED's program documentation.
Vietnamese applicants must be universities or public research institutions and their Principal Investigators must satisfy NAFOSTED eligibility conditions under Circular 37/2014/TT-BKHCN (as amended December 30, 2024). Belgian scientists are evaluated independently by FWO under FWO's own criteria. Two submission pathways exist on the Vietnamese side: fully digital OMS submission with electronic signature via stm.mst.gov.vn, or OMS submission accompanied by a printed, signed hard copy mailed to NAFOSTED. Budget proposals are required in both English and Vietnamese.
The 2025 call closed October 1, 2025; selected projects are expected to begin in 2026. The next cycle — covering projects starting in 2027 — is expected to open in late 2026, consistent with the program's established annual cadence. Prospective applicants should identify FWO-eligible Belgian partners well in advance, as both sides must submit simultaneously and FWO has its own eligibility and timeline requirements. Prior FWO NAFOSTED collaboration history is viewed favorably on the Belgian side.
Basic research in natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities conducted by joint Vietnamese-Belgian teams over three-year projects, co-administered by NAFOSTED and Belgium's FWO.
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