NSF and the French National Research Agency sign a memorandum of understanding and announce two new lead agency opportunities

On Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the French National Research Agency (ANR) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between U.S. and French research communities and setting the principles by which jointly supported activities might be developed.

In a hybrid signing ceremony, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan emphasized the importance of strengthening the partnership between the two agencies, thereby enhancing global research progress and innovation. "Opportunity everywhere translates to innovation anywhere, from the local level to the global stage," he said. "We are excited to reaffirm our partnership with the French National Research Agency and to highlight our shared commitment to expanding the frontiers of research and strengthening the research enterprise."

The MOU provides for an international collaboration arrangement whereby U.S. researchers may receive funding from NSF and French researchers may receive funding from ANR. Through a "lead agency opportunity" mechanism, NSF and ANR will allow proposers from both countries to submit a collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at the lead agency. NSF and ANR are pleased to announce two new lead agency opportunities in conjunction with the MOU signing:

• The Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) released a Dear Colleague Letter inviting U.S.-French collaborative proposals focused on catalysis with Earth-abundant materials.
• The directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG) and MPS released a Dear Colleague Letter inviting U.S.-French collaborative proposals focused on quantum information science and engineering.

These new lead agency opportunities add to a rich collaborative history between NSF and ANR. Existing NSF-ANR partnerships include the Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience multilateral activity, a lead agency opportunity with the CISE Directorate, and a lead agency opportunity that supports research at the molecular and cellular biosciences-physics interface.

More information about international science research partnerships can be found at nsf.gov.