Funding Agencies

Research Council of Finland

Finland · government · 6 programs · $600M

The Research Council of Finland, formerly the Academy of Finland, is the country's main agency for funding high-quality scientific research. It supports researcher training, centres of excellence, and strategic research that addresses major societal challenges.

French National Research Agency (ANR)

France · government · 6 programs · $1.1B

The ANR is France's primary project-based research funding agency, supporting fundamental and applied research across all disciplines. It allocates competitive grants through annual calls and manages major national investment programmes on behalf of the French government.

Australian Research Council (ARC)

Australia · government · 6 programs · $780M

The ARC is Australia's primary competitive grants agency for fundamental and applied research across all non-medical disciplines. Its Centres of Excellence program brings together leading researchers to address major challenges.

ARPA-E

United States · government · 5 programs · $0.5B

ARPA-E is the U.S. Department of Energy's advanced research agency for high-risk, high-reward energy technologies. It funds transformational projects in energy storage, generation, and efficiency that are too early for private investment.

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Germany · government · 6 programs · $24B

The Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung is Germany's primary federal agency for science and education funding, disbursing the largest single national research budget in the European Union. It drives the national High-Tech Strategy that coordinates public and industrial R&D across priority fields including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and green hydrogen. BMBF created the Clusters of Excellence program in partnership with the German Research Foundation, reshaping the competitive landscape of German universities into a small number of heavily resourced research powerhouses. Its Bioeconomy Strategy funds over 200 projects annually at the intersection of biology, agriculture, and industrial chemistry. BMBF also manages Germany's international science cooperation agreements, channeling grants to joint projects across sixty partner countries.

United States–Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF)

Israel · foundation · 5 programs · $35M

The Binational Science Foundation is a unique bilateral funding body established by the US and Israeli governments in 1972 to support joint basic research collaborations between scientists at American and Israeli institutions. Every funded project requires a principal investigator at a US institution and one at an Israeli institution, making it one of the world's most distinctive structured collaboration instruments at national scale. BSF joint programs with NSF, NIH, and DOE expand the funding envelope for projects at the intersection of physical sciences, biomedical research, and energy technology, leveraging both countries' complementary strengths. The Transformative Science Program funds higher-risk, higher-reward proposals that fall outside conventional study sections — a design that has produced several landmark results in theoretical computer science and quantum information. Since its founding BSF has funded over 4,500 research grants, generating an unusually dense transatlantic citation network between Israeli and US academic communities.

Howard G. Buffett Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $150M

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation funds research and programs focused on food security, conflict resolution, and the alleviation of poverty. It supports applied agricultural and soil science aimed at improving the lives of the world's most vulnerable populations.

CAPES — Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education

Brazil · government · 5 programs · $1.8B

CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) is the Brazilian federal body responsible for accrediting, funding, and evaluating graduate programs across more than 5,000 courses at Brazilian universities. Its quadrennial Qualis system ranks every graduate program in the country, directly linking scores to fellowship allocation and shaping institutional research strategy. The Science Without Borders initiative, managed jointly with CNPq, sent over 100,000 Brazilian students and researchers abroad for graduate training at leading international universities. CAPES's Print program now funds long-term institutional partnerships between Brazilian universities and top global partners in defined thematic areas. The agency also administers the Portal de Periódicos, a national research library platform giving all Brazilian researchers free access to more than 45,000 peer-reviewed journals.

Carlsberg Foundation

Denmark · foundation · 6 programs · $80M

The Carlsberg Foundation, funded by its ownership stake in the Carlsberg brewery, supports basic scientific research in Denmark. It backs the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, and historically funded landmark work including Niels Bohr's institute.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $1.0B

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funds science aimed at curing, preventing, or managing all diseases by the end of the century. It supports the Human Cell Atlas, open-source software, and the CZ Biohub network of research institutes.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Canada · government · 5 programs · $1.0B

CIHR is Canada's federal agency for health research funding, supporting biomedical, clinical, health systems, and population health science. It coordinates thirteen virtual institutes spanning the breadth of human health research.

French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

France · government · 5 programs · $3.9B

The CNRS is Europe's largest fundamental research organization, operating laboratories across every scientific field in partnership with French universities. It employs thousands of permanent researchers and drives France's basic research output.

National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies (CONAHCYT)

Mexico · government · 6 programs · $1.5B

CONAHCYT, formerly CONACYT, is Mexico's federal agency for promoting scientific research and technological development. It administers the national researcher registry, graduate scholarships, and strategic programmes addressing national priorities.

CONICET — National Scientific and Technical Research Council

Argentina · government · 5 programs · $650M

CONICET is Argentina's backbone research institution, employing over 12,000 career researchers and 11,000 graduate fellows distributed across a national network of research centers and university institutes. It is consistently ranked as Latin America's most productive research organization per researcher, with particularly strong citation impact in chemistry, materials science, and astrophysics. The career researcher program offers a permanent civil-service research track independent of university teaching loads, an unusual model in the region that has allowed deep specialization. CONICET's Centro Científico Tecnológico system embeds federal research infrastructure directly in provincial capitals, counterbalancing the historical concentration of scientific activity in Buenos Aires. Budget volatility under successive Argentine administrations has periodically disrupted fellowship cohorts, making CONICET research planning heavily dependent on macroeconomic stability.

CRDF Global

United States · foundation · 5 programs · $60M

CRDF Global is a nonprofit organization originally chartered by the US Congress in 1992 to redirect former Soviet weapons scientists toward civilian research collaborations, a mission that has since broadened into global science diplomacy across more than fifty countries. Its PEER program, funded primarily by USAID and NSF, provides competitive research grants to scientists in developing nations who partner with US-based counterparts, with a portfolio spanning climate science, public health, clean energy, and food security. The Biosecurity program funds dual-use research risk reduction initiatives and laboratory capacity building, particularly in countries with Soviet-era biological and chemical research infrastructure. CRDF's Emerging Leaders program identifies and trains mid-career scientists in research management and international collaboration skills, aiming to build institutional capacity in under-resourced systems. Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, CRDF has become a leading coordinator of emergency support for displaced Ukrainian researchers seeking continuity of their work at partner institutions worldwide.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Australia · government · 6 programs · $1.0B

CSIRO is Australia's national science agency, conducting and funding research across agriculture, health, energy, and the environment. It partners extensively with industry and universities to translate scientific discovery into economic and societal benefit.

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Germany · government · 6 programs · $650M

The DAAD is the world's largest funding organization for international academic exchange. It supports research fellowships, mobility grants, and collaborative programmes that bring scholars to and from Germany across every discipline.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

United States · government · 5 programs · $4.1B

DARPA funds high-risk, high-reward research that creates breakthrough technologies for national security. It has catalyzed transformative innovations including the internet, GPS, and mRNA vaccines through its unique program manager-driven model.

German Research Foundation (DFG)

Germany · government · 6 programs · $4.2B

The DFG is Germany's central self-governing research funding organization. It funds research across all disciplines at German universities and research institutes, with a strong emphasis on peer review and academic freedom.

DOE Office of Science

United States · government · 6 programs · $8.2B

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the nation's largest funder of physical sciences research. It supports the national laboratory system, major user facilities, and university research in fields from particle physics to fusion energy.

Department of Science and Technology (DST)

India · government · 6 programs · $1.5B

India's Department of Science and Technology is the apex government body for the civilian science system, setting national research priorities and channeling grants through a portfolio of programs that collectively reach over 30,000 active researchers. DST established the Science and Engineering Research Board as a statutory body to manage competitive extramural grants, separating peer review from ministerial decision-making in a structural reform that raised research quality. The INSPIRE program — Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research — provides a continuum of fellowships from school level through postdoctoral career stages, creating one of the world's largest science-talent pipelines. DST's Women Scientist Scheme addresses re-entry for women who have taken career breaks, offering bridge grants that have funded over 2,500 returning researchers. The Technology Development Fund distributes risk capital to SMEs and start-ups commercializing publicly funded research, linking DST's academic grants to the national innovation ecosystem.

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

Germany · foundation · 5 programs · $75M

EMBO is a pan-European scientific organization founded in 1964 to promote excellence in molecular biology across member states and affiliated countries, selecting its members — approximately 1,900 of Europe's most accomplished life scientists — by rigorous peer review. Its prestigious postdoctoral fellowship program funds outstanding researchers to pursue training at EMBO-affiliated laboratories anywhere in Europe, generating alumni networks that span the continent's major research centers. The Young Investigator Program provides three-year grants and mentorship to newly independent group leaders, bridging the career gap between postdoc and secure academic position where attrition is highest. EMBO Practical Courses offer highly competitive short-format training in advanced experimental methods to graduate students and postdocs worldwide, with a consistent emphasis on cutting-edge techniques not yet covered by institutional curricula. Through its Science Policy Program, EMBO advises the European Commission and member-state governments on research funding priorities and open-science governance.

European Research Council (ERC)

European Union · government · 5 programs · $3.5B

The ERC is the premier European funding body for frontier research, awarding competitive grants solely on the basis of scientific excellence. Its grants are among the most prestigious in European science and support high-risk, high-reward research.

São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

Brazil · government · 6 programs · $600M

FAPESP is one of Latin America's leading research funding agencies, financed by a fixed share of São Paulo state tax revenue. It funds basic and applied research across all fields and runs major thematic programmes in biodiversity, bioenergy, and global climate change.

Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)

Portugal · government · 6 programs · $500M

The FCT is Portugal's national agency for funding research in science, technology, and innovation. It supports research projects, doctoral and postdoctoral training, and the network of associate laboratories and research units across the country.

Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

Austria · government · 6 programs · $280M

The FWF is Austria's central body for funding basic research, operating on the principles of peer review and scientific autonomy. It supports individual investigators, doctoral training, and prestigious career awards across all fields of science.

Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO)

Belgium · government · 6 programs · $400M

The FWO funds fundamental and strategic basic research in Flanders, Belgium, across all scientific disciplines. It supports individual fellowships, research projects, and large infrastructure through open competition and peer review.

Gates Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $7.7B

The Gates Foundation is the world's largest private philanthropic funder of global health and development research. It backs vaccine development, infectious disease eradication, and agricultural innovation aimed at low- and middle-income countries.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

United States · private · 5 programs · $2.2B

HHMI is the largest private funder of biomedical research in the United States. Rather than funding projects, it employs investigators who remain at their home universities, providing long-term support that enables bold, curiosity-driven research.

INRAE — National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment

France · government · 5 programs · $1.3B

INRAE was formed in 2020 through the merger of INRA and IRSTEA, creating France's largest public research organization dedicated to agriculture, food, and the environment and one of the world's leading agroscience institutions by publication output. It operates over 200 research units distributed across fourteen centers spanning metropolitan France and the overseas territories, giving it unique ecological breadth from alpine to tropical environments. Its MetaProgramme architecture funds large interdisciplinary challenges such as livestock microbiome health, organic farming transitions, and biodiversity-inclusive viticulture. INRAE's food science division coordinates clinical nutrition trials and dietary modeling studies that directly inform French and EU food policy. International partnerships span over eighty countries, with flagship joint laboratories in China, Brazil, and Morocco focused on sustainable food systems research.

Israel Science Foundation (ISF)

Israel · government · 6 programs · $200M

The Israel Science Foundation is the country's predominant source of competitive funding for basic research. It supports investigators across all disciplines through peer-reviewed grants and underpins much of Israel's academic research output.

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

Japan · government · 5 programs · $2.1B

JSPS is Japan's primary funding body for academic research, administering the KAKENHI grants-in-aid system that supports the majority of competitive research funding in Japanese universities across all fields.

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

Japan · government · 6 programs · $1.3B

JST is a Japanese national agency that funds strategic, mission-oriented research and promotes science-society linkages. Its CREST and ERATO programmes back ambitious team and individual projects in emerging and high-impact areas of science and technology.

King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)

Saudi Arabia · government · 6 programs · $1.0B

KACST is Saudi Arabia's national science agency and laboratory, functioning both as a funding body and a research institution. It supports R&D aligned with national priorities such as water, energy, and advanced technologies under Vision 2030.

Kavli Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $60M

The Kavli Foundation advances science for the benefit of humanity through its global network of Kavli Institutes in astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics. It also awards the biennial Kavli Prize recognizing breakthroughs in these fields.

Leverhulme Trust

United Kingdom · foundation · 6 programs · $130M

The Leverhulme Trust is a UK charitable foundation supporting research and education across all disciplines. It is known for funding curiosity-driven, cross-disciplinary work and for backing original projects that fall outside conventional funding boundaries.

Marsden Fund

New Zealand · government · 6 programs · $60M

The Marsden Fund supports excellence in fundamental, investigator-led research in New Zealand, administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi. It backs projects across the sciences, engineering, humanities, and social sciences without requiring predefined economic outcomes.

Max Planck Society

Germany · government · 5 programs · $2.3B

The Max Planck Society operates more than eighty institutes conducting basic research in the natural, life, and social sciences. Its institutes have produced numerous Nobel laureates and emphasize curiosity-driven, long-horizon science.

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science / MEXT Programs

Japan · government · 6 programs · $3.0B

MEXT is Japan's ministry overseeing science, education, and technology policy and funding. Through KAKENHI and flagship centre programmes it underwrites the bulk of competitive academic research across Japanese universities and institutes.

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $400M

Founded by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, this foundation funds large-scale scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and patient care. Its science program backs ambitious projects in areas such as fundamental physics, astronomy, and marine microbiology.

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)

Taiwan · government · 5 programs · $2.1B

Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (formerly MOST) is the primary government body coordinating civilian research funding and national science strategy across universities, national laboratories, and Academia Sinica. It administers the thematic research centers program that has built critical mass in semiconductor physics, display technology, and biomedical engineering aligned with Taiwan's industrial strengths. The Young Scholar Columbus Program has been credited with reversing brain-drain trends in STEM by offering globally competitive starting packages to repatriated postdoctoral researchers. NSTC's Moonshot program targets ten deep-technology frontiers including quantum materials, next-generation AI chips, and precision oncology. Taiwan's high semiconductor IP density gives NSTC-funded research unusual industry-to-academia transfer leverage, compressing the path from publication to commercialization.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

United States · government · 6 programs · $7.8B

NASA is the United States' civil space agency, and a major funder of space, planetary, and Earth science research. Beyond its missions, it awards billions in research grants to universities and institutions through programs like ROSES.

National Science Centre Poland (NCN)

Poland · government · 6 programs · $350M

The National Science Centre is Poland's agency dedicated to funding basic research across all scientific disciplines. Through a portfolio of named grant schemes it supports researchers at every career stage, from doctoral candidates to senior investigators.

Nesta

United Kingdom · foundation · 5 programs · $110M

Nesta is the UK's innovation foundation, operating at the intersection of applied research, experimental funding mechanisms, and public-policy influence across health, education, and democratic participation. It pioneered the large-scale use of challenge prizes in the UK public sector, designing and managing competitions that attracted thousands of applicants competing for defined outcomes rather than process compliance. The Innovation Growth Lab is a collaborative research program that runs randomized controlled trials on business-support interventions with academic partners across eight countries. Nesta's Collective Intelligence program develops methods for using participatory data — citizen sensing, crowdsourcing, and distributed deliberation — to improve public-service design. While smaller than most government funders, Nesta's influence on UK science and innovation policy has been disproportionate, shaping the design of Innovate UK programs and EU Horizon innovation-prize instruments.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

United States · government · 6 programs · $47B

The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, supporting over 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 institutions. Its 27 institutes and centers fund research across every area of medicine and life sciences.

National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)

South Korea · government · 6 programs · $5.5B

The NRF is South Korea's principal agency for funding academic research across all disciplines. It supports individual investigators, research centres, and large national initiatives, playing a central role in the country's rapid scientific growth.

National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF)

South Africa · government · 6 programs · $300M

The NRF is South Africa's primary agency for supporting and promoting research across all disciplines. It funds researchers, postgraduate students, and national research infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on transformation and building research capacity.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)

Canada · government · 6 programs · $1.4B

NSERC is Canada's primary federal funding agency for natural sciences and engineering research. Its Discovery Grants program provides stable base funding for university researchers, while Alliance Grants foster academic-industry partnerships.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

United States · government · 6 programs · $11B

The NSF funds fundamental research across all non-medical fields of science and engineering. It is the primary federal supporter of academic research in mathematics, computer science, physics, and engineering in the United States.

National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

China · government · 5 programs · $5.5B

The NSFC is China's primary funder of basic and applied fundamental research. It supports investigators across all disciplines through merit-based grants and has driven the rapid expansion of Chinese scientific output.

Dutch Research Council (NWO)

Netherlands · government · 5 programs · $1.2B

NWO is the primary research funding body in the Netherlands, known for its Veni-Vidi-Vici talent scheme that supports researchers at different career stages. It funds both curiosity-driven and strategic research across all scientific disciplines.

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)

United Kingdom · government · 6 programs · $600M

The BBSRC is the UK's main funder of bioscience research, operating as part of UK Research and Innovation. It supports work spanning agriculture, food, industrial biotechnology, and fundamental biology of plants, microbes, and animals.

Research Council of Norway

Norway · government · 6 programs · $1.2B

The Research Council of Norway is the national body for funding and coordinating research across all sectors. It advises the government on research policy and channels public funds into basic science, innovation, and large-scale infrastructure.

Russian Science Foundation (RSF)

Russia · government · 6 programs · $500M

The Russian Science Foundation funds competitive, peer-reviewed basic and exploratory research across the Russian Federation. It supports individual groups, laboratories, and large research teams with an emphasis on scientific excellence.

Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF/SERB)

India · government · 6 programs · $700M

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which absorbed the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), is India's apex body for funding research in science and engineering. It supports individual investigators, fellowships, and national research priorities across the country's universities.

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)

Ireland · government · 6 programs · $250M

Science Foundation Ireland funds oriented basic and applied research in areas underpinning the Irish economy, including ICT, biotech, and energy. It supports major research centres and individual investigators with an emphasis on impact and industry partnership.

Simons Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $1.2B

The Simons Foundation is a private funder advancing research in mathematics and the basic sciences. It operates the in-house Flatiron Institute for computational science and funds large collaborations as well as autism research through SFARI.

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $90M

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation funds research and education in science, technology, and economics. It is best known for the Sloan Research Fellowships for early-career scientists and for sustaining long-running projects like the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

Switzerland · government · 6 programs · $1.1B

The SNSF is Switzerland's leading research funding organization, supporting over 5,800 projects annually. Its funding model emphasizes researcher autonomy, and its National Centres of Competence in Research tackle strategic challenges in science and technology.

Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)

Switzerland · government · 6 programs · $1.0B

The SNSF funds scientific research across all disciplines on behalf of the Swiss Confederation. It supports roughly 6,000 projects involving thousands of researchers each year, with a focus on basic research and early-career advancement.

John Templeton Foundation

United States · foundation · 6 programs · $180M

The John Templeton Foundation funds research and dialogue at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. It supports projects on fundamental questions in physics, biology, and the human sciences, and awards the annual Templeton Prize.

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Türkiye · government · 6 programs · $1.4B

TÜBİTAK is Türkiye's leading agency for managing and funding research and development. It supports academic and industrial research, fellowships, and national laboratories, and advises the government on science and technology policy.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

United Kingdom · government · 5 programs · $11.0B

UKRI is the umbrella body coordinating the UK's seven research councils and Innovate UK. It directs national funding across all disciplines, from fundamental science to industrial innovation and knowledge exchange.

Vinnova

Sweden · government · 5 programs · $0.4B

Vinnova is Sweden's innovation agency, funding research and development that strengthens national competitiveness and addresses societal challenges. It connects universities, industry, and the public sector through challenge-driven innovation programs.

Volkswagen Foundation

Germany · foundation · 6 programs · $200M

The Volkswagen Foundation is Germany's largest private research-funding foundation, independent of the carmaker. It backs bold, unconventional, and interdisciplinary projects, often supporting early-career researchers and high-risk ideas overlooked by mainstream funders.

Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet)

Sweden · government · 6 programs · $800M

The Swedish Research Council is the largest governmental funder of basic research in Sweden, spanning the natural sciences, medicine, humanities, and social sciences. It also advises the government on research policy and supports national research infrastructure.

Wellcome Trust

United Kingdom · foundation · 6 programs · $1.6B

The Wellcome Trust is one of the world's largest charitable foundations dedicated to health research. It funds the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a global leader in genomics, and supports research on infectious disease, mental health, and climate-health intersections.