Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (FIS)

Fondo Italiano per la Scienza, or FIS, is the Italian Ministry of University and Research's national basic-research fund and the country's closest analogue to the European Research Council. It was established under the 2021 Sostegni bis decree and supports frontier projects led by principal investigators across the life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities. The current FIS 3 round launched in 2024 with a budget of €475 million and a maximum project duration of five years. Funding is organized into ERC-style Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced tracks, with the record showing an earlier Starting Grant baseline of about €163,930. Applications go through CINECA in English, even though the call text is published in Italian. Eligibility is limited to universities and public research bodies in Italy, so FIS is a fit for institution-led fundamental research rather than company work or solo applications. The program is between calls while the new planning structure takes shape, and the strongest submissions will read as disciplined basic-science bets with a clear ERC-style panel fit.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.