General Information About the Russian Foundation for Basic Research

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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE RUSSIAN FOUNDATION FOR BASIC RESEARCH

History

Main Objectives of the Foundation

Areas and Working Principles

RFBR Competitive Selection Contests

Expert Examination

Budget of the Foundation

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE FOUNDATION

The Foundation serves as an active link between the State and the scientists. In accordance with its Charter, the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research is tasked with the following.
- support for basic research;
- facilitation of the raising of qualification of scientists;
- support in establishing scientific links and distribution of information in the area of basic research in Russia and abroad;
- support for international scientific cooperation in the field of basic scientific research;
- assistance to the highest qualified research teams, science schools and prominent scientists;
- science monitoring - multiple-aspect analysis of the state and development trends of the Russian science based on an original system of competitive indicators, expert and other data on project completion;
- distribution of the results of research projects supported by the Foundation to potential users by holding special contests and by informing the general public.
As is provided in its Charter, the main objective of the Foundation is the organization of a competitive selection process to identify the best research projects among those submitted to the Foundation by scientists on their own initiative and the provision of subsequent organizational and financial support for thus selected projects.
The Russian Foundation for Basic Research supports basic research in the following main fields of knowledge:

- mathematics, mechanics and informatics (01)
- physics and astronomy (02)
- chemistry (03)
- biology and medical science (04)
- Earth sciences (05)
- humanities and social sciences (05)

The Foundation annually organizes selection processes for the following:

- research projects submitted on the initiative of individual scientists;
- projects for publication of monographs, proceedings, textbooks;
- projects for the creation and development of information, calculation and telecommunications resources to conduct basic research;
- projects for the organization of all-Russia and international conferences, meetings, symposiums in our country;
- trips for Russian scientists to attend conferences abroad;
- projects for the organization of scientific expeditions;
- popular scientific articles

In accordance with the Charter of the Foundation, decisions to provide funds to support specific basic research projects are made based on the results of expert evaluation and examination, a procedure which is conducted in each specific case by independent experts and expert panels consisting of scientists actively engaged in research work who are the foremost authorities in their respective fields of specialized knowledge and who do not hold management positions in research institutions whereby the priority role of the scientific community is ensured in the relevant decision-making process.
One of the fundamental principles underlying RFBR activity is smart funding: the Foundation provides funds not to an entire institution but rather to a specific group of scientists involved in a specific project which has been approved by RFBR experts. An additional advantage of using this system is that a scientist who has won a grant can on his or her own, without the involvement of his or her superiors, decide how to spend the funds.
Another important principle underlying RFBR work is its complete openness and transparency. Normative documents of the Foundation, announcements on selection procedures and on the results thereof, instructions for those applying to receive grants are published and are available to anyone who is interested.
The Foundation regularly publishes the Information Bulletin of RFBR which contains a full listing of research and publishing projects funded by the Foundation, and it also publishes the RFBR Herald with analytical reviews of the results of completed projects and information on the current work of the Foundation.

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