Bilateral Research Cooperation — South Africa (NRF)

Bilateral Research Cooperation – South Africa (NRF) is the FWO route for joint fundamental research projects between Flemish and South African teams, funded together with South Africa's National Research Foundation. It sits under FWO (Flemish Research Foundation) and is set up for integrated three-year collaborations across all scientific disciplines, with the Flemish side funded by FWO and the South African side handled through NRF. The Flemish budget covers staff, consumables, and equipment, with staff and consumables at €45,000 to €85,000 per year and equipment up to €150,000 over the project. The programme runs on an annual call cycle, the 2026 deadline was 26 May 2026, and the next cycle is expected in 2027. Standard FWO project quotas do not apply here, which makes the bilateral route distinct from ordinary single-country project funding. The best fit is a team that can show one joint research design rather than a Flemish project with a linked foreign add-on. That means shared methodology, shared objectives, and a practical division of labour that makes the international partnership essential. Because the route is open across disciplines, the decisive factor is usually coherence: applicants that can make the bilateral structure feel necessary and the work plan feel tight are in a stronger position than proposals that rely on the country partnership alone.

No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.