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 Panorama
of Plant
Research Funding Opportunities in France
Note: this article
presents national funding opportunities open to transnational applicants
Publication date: July 2007. An updated version is available on the member's only website.
France's R&D expenditures accounted
for €35.5 billion in 2004 (of which 46% was funded by the public sector),
representing 2.1% of GDP, placing the country in
third place, in terms of GDP, among EU Member States.
Research is performed at higher
education institutes (about 80 universities and 300 ‘grandes écoles’ -
engineering and business high schools) and public research organisations. About
350 000 people including 200
000 researchers work in the R&D
sector. Nearly 10 000 PhD degrees are awarded every year. Compared to other
countries, the place of universities in the public research system is relatively
low in France, although it has been greatly increased in the last decade and
will continue to be strengthened in the future.
Among the numerous public research
organisations, five are involved in plant science research:
Plant research is also carried out
at universities and higher education institutions, such as the École normale
supérieure in Paris and
Lyon. To a lesser extent, plant
research is also carried out at the
National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la
santé et de la recherche publique – INSERM).
EPSO members in France (3) are:
- CNRS (institutes in
Bordeaux, Cadarache, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Evry, Gif sur Yvette,
Grenoble, Ivry, Lille, Lyon , Marseille, Montpellier, Orsay, Paris,
Perpignan, Poitiers, Roscoff, Rouen, Sophia-Antipolis, Strasbourg and
Toulouse)
- INRA
(institutes in Angers, Antibes, Antilles-Guyane, Avignon, Bordeaux,
Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Corse, Dijon, Jouy-en-Josas, Lille, Montpellier,
Nancy, Nantes, Orléans, Paris, Poitiers, Rennes, Toulouse, Tours,
Versailles)
- CIRAD,
Montpellier
Click
here for a interactive map of EPSO members in France
Many public research organisations
carry out collaborative research activities among themselves and/or with
universities (through mixed research units). At the regional level,
competitiveness
clusters (newly created in 2006) pool public and private resources in
specific areas. Another new initiative, the
research and
higher education clusters aim to strengthen the collaboration between higher
education and research entities.
At the governmental level, the
Ministry of Higher Education and Research coordinates French research policy.
Research funding for public research organisations is mainly governmental.
Researchers working in those organisations are generally employed on long-term
contracts as civil servants or employees of their institution.
The new National Agency of Research
Recent development in public
research policies have seen the creation of a new body, in 2005, the
National Agency of Research (Agence
nationale de la recherche - ANR), which funds research on the basis of projects.
Traditionally, public research was funded through contract mechanisms between
the state and the research institutions.
In 2005, 80% of the funding
distributed by the ANR (€350 million) was allocated to universities or public
research organisations, the remaining 20% being distributed to SMEs, companies,
foundations and NGOs. Although currently relatively small (€800 million in
2006), the budget of the ANR is expected to increase significantly over the
coming years to reach €1.4 billion in 2010.
Funding from the ANR is mainly
available for French research partners, but “it is also possible for foreign
partners to participate, providing that they supply their own funding”.
The ANR funds research projects on
specific
thematic areas, the two relevant to plant science being: biology and health,
ecosystems and sustainable development. Under the latest thematic area, plant
genomic research is carried out through the
Génoplante 2010 programme. Created in 1999, this programme is currently in
its third phase (2005-2010), and involves seven members from the public (CNRS,
INRA, CIRAD and IRD) and private (Biogemma, Arvalis and Sofiproteol) plant
science sectors. The annual budget amounts to €30 million, including €12 million
in the form of grants from the ANR. Génoplante carries out joint research
projects with other European plant genomic programmes , such as
GABI in Germany and the Spanish plant genomics
programme.
Strengthening the international
dimension of French research
In order to strengthen their
international position, each public research organisation has developed its own
tools to attract international researchers or to support transnational research
projects. INRA’s
’Scientific package’ scheme aims to attract high-level researchers to its
best units by funding research projects led by invited researchers for a
duration of up to four years. The deadline for submission of proposals is 15
November 2007.
Since 17 years, CNRS has a specific
programme to attract new scientists: the ATIP programme
‘Young Scientists’
funded by the Life Science Division. It offers the opportunity to young
scientists (all nationalities, no holder than 40) to develop an independent
research project while setting up their own group within a CNRS laboratory.
Support is available for 3 years, with a possibility of two-year extension.
Applicants should submit a
scientific project and are encouraged to propose a host laboratory.
A list of laboratories, among which
several work on plants, wishing to welcome a team is available
here.
Deadline for application is 1 October 2007.
Another recent initiative aimed at
strengthening the international dimension of French research is the creation of
advanced thematic research networks. Among the 13 networks selected in October
2006, one located in Montpellier (southern France) ‘Agricultural
research and sustainable development’ regroups 30 research groups from CIRAD,
INRA and SupAgro (a higher education entity) working on plant science. The
network seeks to play a major role on the international stage and will receive
funding from the government for international collaborative research projects in
the coming years.
Industrial
co-operation funded by the Industrial Innovation Agency
Created in 2005, the
Industrial Innovation
Agency (Agence pour l’innovation industrielle - AII) aims to
strengthen co-operation between large European firms and SMEs on research
activities and funds specific projects involving both sectors. For example, the
BioHub programme, a
biorefinery concept project, was selected in 2006 and will cost €90 million over
six years, of which €42 million is funded by the AII.
Bilateral programmes funded by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
finances several bilateral funding programmes ,
such as the
Hubert Curien
Partnerships which provide financing for short missions between the partners
– either INRA or CNRS – and a foreign research entity. These programmes are run
by the management organisation
Egide (the French Agency for International Mobility). Call dates vary
from partnership to
partnership.
In addition, INRA, CNRS and CIRAD
have their own international co-operation tools. At
CNRS, the Office of European and
International Relations (DREI) coordinates the international activity. It
supports
researcher exchanges, three-year
international
co-operation programmes , networks of
associated
laboratories,
European Research Groups and
International
Joint Units. Similarly, INRA’s
international relations office runs several bilateral programmes in
conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CIRAD runs several
partnerships
in developing countries, as well as at national, European and international
levels.
Other funding opportunities
Since 2005, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has been offering
Eiffel Doctoral Scholarships aimed at high-level foreign students wanting to
pursue their doctorate in France. In 2007, 76 scholarships were awarded. The
next call is expected to be published at the end of the year and will be posted
on the Egide website.
PhD fellowships are also offered by
individual universities and public research organisations. There is no
centralised entity managing all these funding opportunities, making it quiet
difficult for foreign applicants to find their way. Good source of information
(although sometimes only in French) on those sources of funding are
Egide, the French PhD
organisation ANDES, the
Bernard Gregory Association and
France Contact,
to name a few.
Upcoming French calls open to
transnational applicants
11 January 2008:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs –
Eiffel PhD scholarships.
31 March 2008:
CNRS -
International programmes
for Scientific Cooperation
Continuous application:
CNRS:
European
Associated Laboratory / International Associated Laboratory
CNRS: European
Research Groups / International Research Groups
CNRS:
International Joint Units
Programmes with call dates varying
form country to country:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs –
Hubert Curien
partnerships (bilateral)
CNRS – Bilateral
researcher exchanges
INRA –
International Scientific Cooperation (bilateral or trilateral programmes )
As
the information provided on the website can only be a selection of
opportunities, EPSO appreciates to receive further and updated information for
distribution. Send us your updates at
epso<x>epsomail.org.
Acknowledgments - EPSO would like to thank the French EPSO members for their contributions to this article: Jacques Joyard and Helene Lucas. |
