Funding opportunities

Collaborations between Inria and California universities can be supported through various funding opportunities:

From Inria

Associate Teams (joint research projects for 3 years) 

***Associate Teams Call 2024 for Proposals-Deadline October 16, 2023 – View call***

An Associate Team is a joint project created between an Inria project-team and a research team from abroad. The two partners jointly define a scientific objective with a clear added value for each of them, a research plan and a program for bilateral exchanges. To promote and develop such scientific collaborations throughout the world, by supporting high quality research projects, Inria’s European and International Partnerships Department annually launches a call for proposals (opening in July and closing in September). The total funding for three years is maximum 36,000€.

The current list of Inria@SiliconValley Associate Teams is available in the following page: http://project.inria.fr/siliconvalley/ongoingteams/.

Important dates:

The submission deadline for the 2022 Associate Team call is October 16, 2023

Inria Associate Teams results will be published by the end of January, 2024

Details and submission: https://www.inria.fr/en/call-for-projects-international-partnerships-associate-teams-2024

Associate Teams with California

The aim of the Inria@SiliconValley program is to strengthen and structure existing collaborations between Inria and its partners in California, and support new innovative projects.
As such, Inria@SiliconValley fosters the creation of Associate teams between Inria research teams and California partners.
Inria@SiliconValley offers:

Postdoctoral fellowships

Postdoctoral grants are allocated to support existing associate teams as well as collaborations between Inria and California teams.

Candidates interested in the projects currently supported by the collaboration program or projects under preparation for this program are welcome to submit their application to a post-doctoral fellowship. Candidates are strongly encouraged to get in touch with the PIs of these projects, either in California, or at Inria.

View the interviews of a former Inria@SiliconValley Post-Docs!

Inria International Chairs

In  order  to  offer  to  international  prestigious  researchers  the  possibility  of  long  visits  –  twelve months along five years – in Inria project-‐teams and to give them a strong visibility, Inria is launching an « Inria International Chairs » program.

To know more: https://www.inria.fr/en/europe-and-international-schemes

Contact: Natacha Regis

From the French Embassy

Chateaubriand Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)

The Chateaubriand Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), offered by the Embassy of France in the United States (Office for Science and Technology – OST), supports young scientists enrolled in American Universities who wish to conduct part of their doctoral research in a French laboratory for a 4 to 6 month period. Inria is a partner of the program.

To know more: http://chateaubriand-fellowship.org/

The Thomas Jefferson Fund

The program is launched by the French Embassy and the FACE foundation aims to encourage and support cooperation among the most promising young French and American researchers, and foster forward-looking collaborative research that addresses the most pressing global challenges.

Up to nine Franco-American projects will be selected. Each selected project will receive a maximum of $20,000 over a period of two years.

To know more: http://face-foundation.org/thomas-jefferson-fund/

From ANR/NSF

Since several years ANR and NSF launch an annual Call to co-fund research project

For this year:

https://anr.fr/fileadmin/aap/2024/aapg-2024-ANR-NSF_num-en.pdf

From Fulbright

Fulbright Fellowship for PhD students:

This fellowship is eligible to French PhD students, doing their Doctorate in France, invited in a US university for a research stay.

Duration: 4 to 12 months according to the research project.
Disciplines: All
Number of fellowships awarded: appx. 15.

Usually the deadline for application is February 1st (exact dates to be checked on the Fulbright website every year)

Detailed information: http://fulbright-france.org/fr/espace-bourses-USA/programmes/programme-fulbright-doctorants.

Fulbright Fellowship for Researchers:

This Fellowship is eligible to French researchers willing to conduct a research project or be invited in a US university for a stay of minimum 2 months.

Duration: 2 to 6 months.
Disciplines: All
Number of fellowships awarded: 4 to 6

Usually the deadline for application is February 1st (exact dates to be checked on the Fulbright website every year)

Detailed information: http://fulbright-france.org/fr/bourses-fulbright-partenaires/programmes/chercheurs/fulbright.

From the France-Berkeley Fund

Seed funding for collaborations (1 year, call closed January 31 each year, $10 000 for workshops, exchanges)

The France Berkeley Fund was established in 1993 as a partnership between the government of France and the University of California at Berkeley, the France-Berkeley Fund (FBF) promotes scholarly exchange in all disciplines between UC Berkeley and all research centers and public institutions of higher education in France. Through its annual grant competition, the Fund provides seed-money for innovative, bi-national collaborative research. Successful projects bring together senior and junior researchers in a variety of ways, from workshops and conferences to exchanges of researchers in laboratories.

To know more: http://fbf.berkeley.edu/ 

From the France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies

The France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies aims to bridge the disciplines of the humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, business and law, addressing historical and contemporary issues of significance for France and the United States from a broad range of perspectives. Its programs bring faculty members, researchers and students from across Stanford’s departments and schools into contact with colleagues in France, to explore issues of common intellectual concern, to advance collaborative research, and to foster interdisciplinary inquiry. The France-Stanford Center sponsors high quality collaborative research projects likely to foster new linkages and deepen existing connections between French scholars and students and their counterparts at Stanford University.

The France-Stanford Center seeks to fund research projects across all disciplines. Priority will be given to projects with the potential to develop new collaborations involving junior researchers, and to those leading to collaborative work on interdisciplinary issues. Applications must be submitted jointly by researchers affiliated with a French institution and researchers in any Stanford department, as long as they are eligible to serve as principal investigators.

Each project may receive a grant up to $15,000 (deadline for proposal submission is March) 

Find out more: http://francestanford.stanford.edu/collaborative_projects

From the Luis W. Alvarez Postdoctoral Fellowship in Computing Sciences

The fellowship supports recent graduates with a Ph.D. (or equivalent) with a strong emphasis on computing or computational science. The successful applicant will be compensated with a competitive salary and excellent benefits.

More information: https://cs.lbl.gov/careers/alvarez-fellowship/

From the European Research and Mobility Programs

Inria also welcomes faculty on sabbatical visits. Concerning the funding, there are grants from Europe (for long visits) such as MarieSkłodowska-Curie and ERC grants.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF)

Are you a promising researcher looking for an experience working at Inria in France? The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF) may be just right for you.

Individual Fellowships(IF) offer the opportunity to post-doctoral researchers (at any stage in their career) to secure their own funding to support their research and career development. Fellowships are intended to enhance and broaden skills through international and/or inter-sectoral mobility, and the inclusion of personal development opportunities in the design of the research fellowship. 

Inria will provide you individual advice and support throughout the process!

There are two types of Individual Fellowships:

  • European Fellowships: For post-doctoral researchers wishing to come to Inria from outside of France. Fellowships last from one to two years. Career restart and/or reintegration back into Europe are supported under this scheme. 
    Potential candidates coming to Inria (France) should first find a host researcher in an Inria research group who will support their application and host the researcher if their application is successful. The applicant and the host researcher should jointly prepare and submit the fellowship application. If the application is successful, Inria will run the fellowship and recruit the fellow under an employment contract.
  • Global Fellowships: For Inria researchers wishing to spend time (one to two years) outside Europe before returning to the institute for a mandatory phase of 12 months. 
    Potential candidates should find a host institution outside Europe and a host researcher in that institution. Inria will support the application and run the fellowship if the application is successful.

European Research Council (ERC)

The ERC supports excellent investigator-driven frontier research projects without predetermined research priorities. Scientific excellence is the sole evaluation criterion.

Interested in Inria for hosting your ERC project? We will provide you individual advice and support throughout the process! Contact: contact-erc@inria.fr

  • ERC ADVANCED GRANTS for established research leaders with a recognized track record of research achievements: Grants up to 2.5€ million for 5 years
  • ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS for excellent researchers with 7 to 12 years of experience after PhD: Grants up to 2€ million for 5 years
  • ERC STARTING GRANTS for promising early-career researchers with 2 to 7 years of experience after PhD: Grants up to 1.5€ million for 5 years

For more information: https://www.inria.fr/en/europe-international/european-research-area/european-research-council/presentation