Notice on the Funding Plan for Basic Research in 2026

NOTICE
FUNDING PLAN FOR BASIC RESEARCH IN 2026

Pursuant to Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation;

Pursuant to the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation dated June 27, 2025;

Pursuant to Decree No. 265/2025/ND-CP dated October 14, 2025 of the Government guiding the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation on finance and investment in science, technology and innovation;

Pursuant to Decree No. 267/2025/ND-CP dated October 14, 2025 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation on programs, science, technology and innovation tasks and a number of regulations on promoting scientific research, technology development and innovation activities;

Pursuant to Decision No. 604/QD-TTg dated April 02, 2026 of the Prime Minister approving the adjustment and supplementation of the Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation Development through 2030;

Pursuant to Decision No. 21/2026/QD-TTg dated April 30, 2026 of the Prime Minister promulgating the List of Strategic Technologies and the List of Strategic Technology Products;

Pursuant to Circular No. 24/2025/TT-BKHCN dated October 30, 2025 of the Minister of Science and Technology promulgating the Classification Table of Science and Technology Fields;

Pursuant to Circular No. 39/2025/TT-BKHCN dated November 30, 2025 of the Minister of Science and Technology detailing and guiding the preparation of estimates, management, use and settlement of a number of state budget expenditures for the implementation of science, technology and innovation tasks;

Pursuant to Circular No. 44/2025/TT-BKHCN dated November 30, 2025 of the Minister of Science and Technology stipulating the management of science and technology tasks funded and ordered by the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Pursuant to Decision No. 2227/QD-BKHCN dated April 24, 2026 of the Minister of Science and Technology promulgating the Master Plan on Science, Technology and Innovation for the five-year period 2026-2030;

Pursuant to Decision No. 2276/QD-BKHCN dated May 01, 2026 of the Minister of Science and Technology adjusting tasks and approving the 2026 financial plan for funding, ordering and supporting activities of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development;

The National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (the Foundation) respectfully announces the Funding Plan for Basic Research in 2026, specifically as follows:

1. Scope and subjects eligible for funding

a) Funding scope

The Foundation shall consider funding basic research tasks in science and technology fields according to the classification under Circular No. 24/2025/TT-BKHCN.

– For the field of social sciences and humanities, the Foundation shall consider funding proposals in the following disciplines: Social Sciences; Humanities. During the evaluation and consideration of funding, the Foundation prioritizes proposals with research contents aimed at providing scientific and practical foundations for the formulation, improvement and implementation of the Party's orientations, and the State's policies and laws identified in documents and resolutions such as the Documents of the 14th National Party Congress, Resolution No. 80-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the development of Vietnamese culture, Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the development of the private economy, Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in the development of education and training, Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW of the Politburo on continuing to build and improve the Socialist Rule of Law State of Vietnam in the new period, Resolution No. 74/NQ-CP of the Government: Promulgating the Plan for the rearrangement of administrative units and the development of a two-tier local government organizational model, Conclusion No. 18-KL/TW on the double-digit growth plan.

– For the field of natural sciences and engineering, the Foundation shall consider funding proposals in the following disciplines: Natural Sciences; Agricultural Sciences; Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Engineering and Technology Sciences.

During the evaluation and consideration of funding, the Foundation prioritizes proposals in disciplines in which Vietnam has strengths such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and emerging interdisciplinary fields; research with potential to create breakthroughs and develop core technologies, including quantum technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biology, advanced materials and other strategic technology fields according to Decision No. 21/2026/QD-TTg.

b) Type of funding: basic research (tasks, task clusters). Within the framework of this call, the Foundation does not fund task chains.

c) Subjects eligible for funding: agencies, organizations, enterprises and individuals engaged in science, technology and innovation activities in Vietnam or outside the territory of Vietnam but having rights and obligations under Vietnamese law and international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

2. Funding

The ceiling of funding from the state budget:

• Tasks with a medium level of complexity: VND 1,500 million

• Tasks with a high level of complexity: VND 3,000 million

The specific funding amount for each task shall be determined based on the objectives, research contents, level of scientific risk, expected scientific products and training results, actual research needs, capacity of the research team, and expected scientific and practical impacts of the task.

The Foundation prioritizes lead organizations mobilizing lawful resources from enterprises, organizations and individuals to provide counterpart funding or co-funding for task implementation.

Organizations and individuals proposing tasks may refer to the estimated funding levels to determine expected scientific products and prepare the task cost estimate in the attached Appendix.

3. Criteria and requirements for tasks registered for funding

The implementation period for a task is from 24-36 months. Where necessary, a task may be considered for one extension of up to 12 months.

The proposed task must fully satisfy the criteria prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 267/2025/ND-CP and Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular No. 44/2025/TT-BKHCN.

A task cluster is a group of component tasks that are closely linked in terms of objectives, research contents and expected products to address a common scientific issue, and are organized and implemented synchronously in order to optimize resources and improve investment efficiency. Each task cluster comprises no more than 05 component tasks.

Tasks aimed at high-quality and high-impact scientific publications are encouraged (as reflected through indicators such as Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), Category Normalized Citation Impact (CNCI) or other appropriate evaluation indicators); products registered for industrial property rights/plant variety protection; proposals for specific solutions contributing to double-digit economic growth; and participation in postgraduate training are encouraged.

A reputable international journal is a scientific journal included in the journal lists of the Web of Science or Scopus databases; other journals shall be considered for recognition by the Science and Technology Council at the time of application evaluation.

4. Conditions for the lead organization

The lead organization registering to implement the task must satisfy the conditions prescribed by the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, Article 5 of Decree No. 267/2025/ND-CP and relevant regulations.

5. Application dossier

The application dossier for implementation of tasks and task clusters shall be prepared according to the forms prescribed in Article 7 of Circular No. 44/2025/TT-BKHCN, including:

– Application for registration as the lead organization for implementation of the task or task cluster (Form BM-02; Form BM-03) (Complete the information according to the form on the system);

– Task proposal (Form BM-04);

– Scientific curriculum vitae of the task leader and research team members (Form BM-06) (Complete the information according to the form on the system);

– Information on the capacity and facilities of the lead organization (Form BM-07) (Complete the information according to the form on the system);

– Other documents as prescribed in Article 11 of Decree No. 267/2025/ND-CP;

– Detailed cost estimate (The lead organization shall supplement it after the Funding Review Council proposes the task for funding, according to the Foundation's guidance).

Application forms can be downloaded here.

6. Method and deadline for application submission

Step 1: The application dossier shall be completed online on the Online Management System for Science, Technology and Innovation Tasks (STM) at https://stm.mst.gov.vn.

Step 2: After submitting the application dossier on the STM System, the lead organization shall select 1 of the following 2 methods of application submission:

Method 1: Submit a digitally signed application dossier on the STM System.

Digitally signed documents include: Application for Registration and Task Proposal.

Method 2: Submit a paper dossier directly or via public postal service at: National Foundation for Science and Technology Development – One-Stop Service Division of the Ministry of Science and Technology, No. 113 Tran Duy Hung Street, Yen Hoa Ward, Hanoi City.

The envelope must clearly state: Application dossier for funding of basic research in 2026.

In the case of submission via postal service, the dossier must bear the postmark of the place of dispatch before the application submission deadline and must be delivered to the Foundation within a period ensuring that the validity of the dossier can be reviewed within 10 days from the application submission deadline.

* The Foundation encourages the submission of applications using digital signatures in accordance with the direction under Decision No. 240/QD-TTg dated February 04, 2025 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Plan for Key Administrative Procedure Reform in 2025.

See detailed instructions for application submission in the attached Appendix.

7. Tentative implementation plan

Application submission deadline: 17:00 on August 13, 2026 (Thursday).

Announcement of funding results: expected before October 15, 2026 (Thursday).

Respectfully announced./.

Appendix
Estimated Funding Levels for Determining Expected Scientific Products and
Preparing Cost Estimates for Basic Research Tasks in 2026

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. The preparation of cost estimates for basic research tasks shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 39/2025/TT-BKHCN dated November 30, 2025 of the Minister of Science and Technology detailing and guiding the preparation of estimates, management, use and settlement of a number of state budget expenditures for the implementation of science, technology and innovation tasks.

2. The cost estimate shall be prepared based on the objectives, research contents, complexity of the task, level of scientific risk, expected scientific product package, postgraduate training results and the necessary resource requirements for task implementation; ensuring proportionality between the State's investment level and the expected scientific results.

3. When considering the funding amount, the Science and Technology Council shall comprehensively evaluate the volume, quality and potential scientific impact of the research product package; the evaluation shall not be based solely on the number of scientific publications. The Foundation encourages proposals aimed at research results with high quality and high scientific impact, associated with the training of highly qualified research human resources and the establishment of scientific foundations serving the development of strategic technologies.

4. The estimated levels prescribed in this Appendix are reference levels for the lead organization to prepare the cost estimate and for the Science and Technology Council to consider the reasonableness of the proposed funding; they are not expenditure norms or payment unit prices for individual scientific products, and do not replace current regulations on the preparation, allocation, management and settlement of funding for science and technology tasks.

5. The lead organization is responsible for preparing the research plan and cost estimate associated with the main product milestones of the task. Funding shall be provided in accordance with current regulations and linked to the results of implementation of the product milestones committed to in the funding contract.

II. TASK GROUPS

1. Tasks with a medium level of complexity: tasks with a relatively clear scientific basis, a high likelihood of achieving the research objectives and expected products; having a medium level of risk, mainly aimed at expanding, supplementing or completing existing scientific knowledge.

Funding ceiling: VND 1,500 million.

2. Tasks with a high level of complexity: tasks that are breakthrough-oriented, involve new approaches, are interdisciplinary or aim to address highly complex scientific issues; have the potential to create new knowledge or scientific foundations serving the development of strategic technologies but have a high level of risk.

Funding ceiling: VND 3,000 million.

The classification of a task as having a medium or high level of complexity shall be considered by the Science and Technology Council based on the objectives, research contents, level of interdisciplinarity, level of scientific risk and expected products.

III. ESTIMATED FUNDING LEVELS CORRESPONDING TO PRODUCTS OF BASIC RESEARCH TASKS

Unit: VND million