Funding Scheme for External Science and Technology Cooperation

Joint funding (FDCT-NSFC)

Application Period : February 5, 2025, to March 5, 2025
Important notice : The signed application and relevant attachments must be submitted to the Fund before the deadline (during office hours).​​

Objectives	Supervising Authorities and Management	Maximum Funding Amount	Funding Recipients
Application Eligibility	Relevant Conditions	Requirements for Collaborative Research	Supported Fields and Excluded Project Types
Application Period	Type and Scope of Funding	Supporting Input	Application Guidelines
Expenditure Eligible for Funding	Application Documents	Submission of Application	Preliminary Analysis
Assessment Method and Criteria	Funding Approval	Funding Term	Requirements for Output and Intellectual Property Rights
Other Content	Download

 

According to the Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technological Cooperation and Exchange between the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as "FDCT") and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (hereinafter referred to as "NSFC") jointly implement a funding scheme for collaborative research projects.

 

I. Objectives

II. Supervising Authorities and Management

1. The supervisory authority for this joint research funding scheme is FDCT in Macao and NSFC in Mainland China.
2. Applications, acceptance, evaluation, approval, implementation, management, and conclusion of projects submitted by Macao applicants will be governed in accordance with the Funding Scheme for International Cooperation in Science and Technology and Application Guidelines for Joint Research Projects between the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Year 2025).
3. FDCT and NSFC will each disburse funds to their respective collaborators in Macao and Mainland China. Funds disbursed by each party can only be used within their respective jurisdictions.

 

III. Maximum Funding Amount

IV. Funding Recipients

1. Public higher education institutions or public medical institutions in the Macao SAR;
2. Private higher education institutions established by law in the Macao SAR.
3. Private non-profit-making entities established by law in the Macao SAR.
4. Commercial entrepreneurs or commercial enterprises registered in the Macao SAR.

 

V. Application Eligibility

1. Entities with legal personality referred to in the preceding paragraph are eligible to apply for funding.
2. If an entity referred to in the preceding paragraph does not have a legal personality, the application shall be made through the entity with legal personality to which it belongs.
3. If the funding recipient is a commercial entrepreneur or commercial enterprise referred to in item (4) of the preceding paragraph, and the application amount does not exceed MOP1 million, the following requirements shall also be met:
   1. ​The commercial entrepreneur or commercial enterprise shall be registered in the Macao Special Administrative Region for one year or more. For incubating enterprises of the national-level maker space in Macao, the registration period can be less than one year.
   2. There are no less than three full-time employees. If the number of full-time employees is less than three, recommendation by a national-level maker space established in Macao is required.
4. ​If the funding recipient is a commercial entrepreneur or commercial enterprise referred to in item (4) of the preceding paragraph, and the application amount exceeds MOP1 million, any of the following qualifications shall also be met:
   1. ​Enterprises accredited under the Technology Enterprise Certification Programme of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT).
   2. “Enterprises engaged in technological innovation business” recognized by the "Commission for the Review of Enterprises Engaged in Technological Innovation Business" as stipulated in Article 6 of the Policy of Tax Incentives for Enterprises Engaged in Technological Innovation Business (Law No. 1/2021).

VI. Relevant Conditions

XIII. Expenditure Eligible for Funding

1. The expenditure eligible for funding includes the following expenses incurred for the implementation of the project:
   1. Personnel expenses.
   2. Expenses on acquiring the necessary new machinery and equipment by any means.
   3. Expenses on consumable materials, reagents, and equipment maintenance.
   4. Direct costs of patent application.
   5. Other derivative expenses.
2. Other derivative expenses referred to in e of the preceding paragraph do not include:
   1. Expense on the establishment of the recipient entity.
   2. Electricity, water, telephone charge and other expenses of a similar nature.
   3. Entertainment.
   4. Audit fee.
   5. Expense on the acquisition of vehicles, except for experimental purposes.
   6. Expense on construction, acquisition and repayment of real estate by installments.
   7. Other expenditures ineligible for funding as stipulated in the General Guidelines for Project Management of the Science and Technology Development Fund, the approval decision and the consent of funding.

 

XIV. Application Documents

1. The applicant's identification information and relevant supporting documents.
2. If the applicant is a commercial entrepreneur or commercial enterprise, a business registration certificate issued by the competent authority in the last three months and a copy of the Supplemental Income Tax Return (M1) in the last 1 year are required.
3. A document issued by the competent authority in the last three months certifying that the applicant does not owe any tax or social security contributions to the Macao SAR.
4. Information on other projects financed by public funds and other pending applications submitted by the same applicant for the purpose of applying for the funding.
5. Identification information and curriculum vitae of the project leader and members, as well as information on the time allocated to the implementation of the project.
6. An application proposal containing a detailed description of the project, which shall set out in detail the estimated amount of the project.
7. A statement of responsibility for the project.
8. A cooperation agreement or memorandum of understanding or letter of intent signed with the cooperating party.

 

XV. Submission of Application

1. Applicants shall prepare applications in any of the official languages of the Macao SAR or in English.
2. Applicants who have applied for an electronic signature shall submit the application documents via the online application system of the FDCT on or before the deadline (during office hours).
3. Applicants who have not applied for electronic signature shall, in addition to submitting the application documents via the online application system of the FDCT on or before the deadline (during office hours), deliver the signed and stamped application documents to the FDCT.
4. The Chinese mainland co-applicant must concurrently declare to NSFC. For detailed methods, please refer to the relevant provisions of NSFC.

 

XVI. Preliminary Analysis

1. The FDCT will conduct a preliminary analysis of the application documents after the application deadline, respectively, to verify whether the application has the required documents under the Scheme and whether the applicant meets the conditions for funding approval.
2. If the documents required for the application are not sufficient, the FDCT will request the applicant to supplement materials within 15 days, if necessary.
3. Applications under any of the following circumstances will not be accepted for review and will be rejected by the FDCT, and the relevant applicant will be notified by letter:
    
   1. The applicant does not meet the requirements of Article 3.
   2. The applicant is on the list of mandatory levies and overdue returns of the FDCT.
   3. The applicant is a debtor to the treasury of the Macao SAR.
   4. The number of active research projects undertaken by the project leader exceeds the maximum number of active research projects that the project leader can undertake under the FDCT.
   5. The project leaders cannot submit a new application for funding.
   6. Multiple applications for the same project are submitted at the same time or the same project has been funded by the FDCT before.
   7. The supporting input (if any) does not meet the requirements of Article 10.
   8. The application documents do not meet the requirements of Article 13.
   9. The applicant fails to supplement or promptly submit relevant application materials after notification.
   10. The applicant violates existing laws and regulations or fails to protect the safety and legal rights and interests of participants.
4. ​For joint funding applications, the FDCT and the relevant entities shall jointly verify the list of projects that have passed their respective preliminary analyses. For projects that are included in the list of projects of both the FDCT and the relevant entities, the relevant applications will be accepted.

 

XVII. Assessment Method and Criteria

1. Before accepting an application, the Administrative Committee of FDCT shall invite five to seven advisors from the list of project advisors to form the Project Advisory Committee.
2. The application documents that may enter the review process will be submitted to the Project Advisory Committee formed by FDCT for review according to the review elements and criteria in the following paragraph.
3. Review elements and criteria:
   1. Project value.
   2. Eligibility of the applicant.
   3. Feasibility, work plan and cooperation foundation of the project.
4. The Administrative Committee of FDCT may formulate specific assessment criteria based on the above review elements.
5. The Administrative Committee of the FDCT may invite external experts to review specific or more complex funding applications.
6. FDCT may conduct site inspection to verify the research conditions of the applicant, interview with the project team and partners (if any) as necessary.
7. For joint funding applications, the FDCT and the relevant entity review the accepted applications, respectively. After the review, the FDCT and the relevant entity will jointly select projects to be funded from the projects that have passed the review of both parties.

 

XVIII. Funding Approval

1. For a project application not exceeding MOP1 million, the Administrative Committee of the FDCT will make a decision after considering the analysis of the application documents and the review opinions.
2. For a project application exceeding MOP1 million, the FDCT will supervise the entity and make a decision on the application after considering the analysis of the application documents and the review opinions.
3. The recipients shall sign the Consent of Funding attached to the approval letter within the time limit to declare that they are aware of and will comply with the approval decision as set out in the approval notice.
4. The funds will be disbursed by installments in the manner as described in the Consent of Funding.

 

XIX. Funding Term

XX. Requirements for Output and Intellectual Property Rights

1. The relevant requirements are set out in the annual application guidelines.
2. The applicant and the partner shall make ex-ante arrangements for intellectual property issues related to the collaborative research. Through consultation, the applicant shall reach an agreement on intellectual property terms with the partner, and clarify the basic principles of intellectual property ownership and utilization of research results, so as to ensure that it can effectively master and reasonably share the research results and intellectual property rights.

XXI. For reports, agreed procedures, obligations of beneficiaries, consequences of non-compliance, circumstances of potential penalties, refunding and restitution of grants, administrative, civil, and criminal liabilities, monitoring, appeals, personal data processing, and other important considerations, please refer to the Funding Scheme for External Science and Technology Cooperation. 

XXII. Download

Document Name
Funding Scheme for External Science and Technology Cooperation
Application Guidelines for Joint Research Projects between the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Year 2025)