National Science & Technology Major Program on "Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Research" - 2026 Annual Program

National Science & Technology Major Program on "Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Research" - 2026 Annual Program
“脑科学与类脑研究”国家科技重大专项2026年度项目

March 10, 2026

The Official Announcement in Chinese

Sponsor:

National Nature Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

About:

The National Science & Technology Major Project on “Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Research” – 2026 Annual Program is open for application.

Funding Model:

Applications must be submitted as integrated projects, covering all research content and KPIs within a specific guideline direction. Typically, only one project is funded per direction.

Projects must conclude by December 2030. Each project may include up to five sub-projects. Each project and sub-project require a dedicated leader; the project lead PI may concurrently lead one sub-project.

Please log in the online system or contact us at shanghai.researchgrants@nyu.edu to see the full information about funding areas, amounts, and periods etc.

Personnel and Institution Caps:

• Directions 1, 21, 30, 31, and 32: Maximum of 10 participating institutions and 15 total PIs/key members per project.
• All Other Directions: Maximum of 8 participating institutions and 10 total PIs/key members per project.

Eligibility:

1. The project (sub-project) PI should have a senior professional title or a doctoral degree, and the working time devoted to the project each year should not be less than 6 months.
2. The project (sub-project) PI should, in principle, not be older than 60 years old (born after January 1, 1966).
3. For project (sub-project) PIs who are foreign nationals or residents of Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan employed by mainland institutions, the employment period must cover the entire execution phase of the project. Full-time employees must provide valid employment materials from their mainland employer, while part-time employees must simultaneously provide valid documentation from all employing units.
4. Each PI can lead only one application. PIs of ongoing National Science and Technology Major Projects or National Key R&D Programs are prohibited from leading or participating in new applications; however, current sub-project PIs of those projects can participate in new applications.
5. The combined total of applications and ongoing projects—whether as a PI or key member—under the National Science and Technology Major Projects and National Key R&D Program is capped at two per person. Exceptions to this limit include "Intergovernmental International Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation" and "Strategic Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation" projects with a central government fund budget of 4 million yuan or less.
6. Project (sub-project) PIs and key members of ongoing projects are strictly prohibited from withdrawing from their current assignments to apply for new ones. Furthermore, individuals who withdraw from a research team are generally ineligible to lead or participate in new applications for National Science and Technology Major Projects or National Key R&D Programs for the remainder of the original project’s duration.
7. A combined limit of two projects (whether applied for or ongoing) applies to PIs and key members of the National Science and Technology Major Projects, National Key R&D Programs, NSFC Major Projects, Research Group Projects, and National Major Scientific Instrument Development Projects. This restriction excludes Young Scientist, SME, and International Cooperation projects.
8. Projects or topics with an execution period (including approved extensions) ending on or before December 31, 2026, are excluded from the total project count limit.

Important Dates: