Bilateral Research Activities Programme involving Germany

The NZ/FRG Scientific and Technological Co-operation (STC) Agreement Programme is a sub-programme of the ISAT Linkages Fund.  It supports the STC Agreement signed in 1977 between the Governments of New Zealand and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) to foster closer co-operation in specific areas of science and technology between the two countries. 

The call for applications for the 2008-09 financial year (i.e. 1 July 2008 - 30 June 2009) are now CLOSED.  

The next call for applications will be in December 2008 for the 1 July 2009 - 30 June 2010 financial year.

You are encouraged (i.e. both the NZPI and the German PI), where possible, to simultaneously make applications in both Germany and NZ.  The NZ and German bid assessment processes will be consistent and coordinated.

Applications for funding under this programme are sought from researchers and technologists wishing to establish or enhance collaborative projects with their German counterparts.  The programme facilitates bilateral research through the provision of funding for New Zealand researchers to travel to Germany (travel and local costs) to work on joint research projects. The reciprocal costs for Germans travelling to NZ might be covered by similar German funding schemes (see below).  Funding under this programme supports travel-related costs and does not fund direct research costs.

Applications involved in the Health; Food/Agriculture/Biotechnology (mainly Biofuels, Bioenergy, Safe Food Production, Greenhouse Gas Reduction, Renewable Resources); and/or the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); Environment (especially climate change); Marine; and Antarctic research areas will have priority.  

The enhancing of collaborations in mutually agreed priority areas will benefit both countries and give such collaborations a better chance of thriving.  The six research areas identified are those that the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), the Bundesministerium für Ernährung Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz (BMELV)  and the Ministry of Research, Science & Technology (MoRST) have agreed to be mutually important, and in which each country has complementary strengths and advantages.