The State Council of China approved an amendment to the National Natural Science Fund Regulations (NSF Regulations) on 8 November 2024, marking the first major revision since the regulations were enacted in February 2007. The amendments introduce significant reforms to bolster support for groundbreaking basic research and interdisciplinary research, cultivate early-career researchers, foster private sector participation, and enhance performance evaluation in research funding.

Key aspects of the revised NSF regulations

1. Enhanced funding for groundbreaking basic research and interdisciplinary research aligned with the 14th Five-Year Plan, the revised regulations prioritise support for groundbreaking basic research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Flexible funding mechanisms will be introduced to incentivise these areas and to foster innovation across disciplines.

2. Focus on cultivating young research talents

The amendments place a strong emphasis on supporting early-career researchers. Recent initiatives include:

  • Research Funding Programmes for Students, launched in 2023, initially involved fewer than a dozen top Chinese universities as pilot institutions and now with a plan to expand to more universities in the coming years, aims to support early-career researchers at postgraduate level and students at undergraduate level.
  • The Distinguished Youth Scientist Programme has been reformed to provide enhanced, long-term funding for exceptional projects demonstrating high-quality outcomes.
  • The International PhD Student Funding Pilot Scheme, launched in 2024 by the National Natural Science Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, seeks to attract international students to pursue PhDs at top-tier Chinese universities.

3. Encouragement of private sector involvement 

While central government funding remains the primary source, the revised regulations actively invite private-sector participation and encourage both private entities and the NSFC to co-fund research projects, even allowing qualified private organisations to directly lead research initiatives. This represents a significant shift, as NSFC funding was previously limited to public universities and research institutions.

4. Emphasis on performance evaluation 

The revised regulations aim to enhance mechanisms to ensure fair and transparent project evaluations by introducing stricter conflict-of-interest policies and improved selection processes. Performance management frameworks will prioritise projects delivering high-quality results, further incentivising impactful research.

Implications for the UK Higher Education Sector

Recent changes to the NSF regulations would support increased opportunities for research collaborations between the UK and China. The focus on early-career researchers and the International PhD Student Funding Pilot Scheme aligns with China’s long-term focus of internationalising its education and research system. These reforms can create additional avenues for UK postgraduate students and early-career researchers to engage in collaborative projects at top Chinese universities. Meanwhile, the increased funding for groundbreaking and interdisciplinary research could give UK HEIs the chance to partner with Chinese institutions in areas such as climate science and health innovation.

Source: Order of the State Council. [Chinese] https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202411/content_6986947.html