Collaboration with National & Regional Authorities
Government ministries and regional authorities lead strategic research and R&D funding programs to address key socioeconomic issues. Collaboration with ESF guarantees an independent, transparent and high-quality scientific assessment process in line with international quality standards. Discover below a few programmes we have supported:

Evaluation of R&D projects for the Ministry of Innovative Development of the Republic of Uzbekistan (MUNIS)
In 2024, ESF supported MUNIS, a project implemented jointly by the World bank and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovations of the Republic of Uzbekistan to enable the development of the country’s innovation system. ESF provided over 300 independent external assessments for project proposals submitted to the MUNIS Research Commercialization Program (RCP) and the MUNIS Business Investment in Research & Development Program (BIRD) calls for proposals.

Evaluation of post-doctoral fellowship applications for the French Brittany Region (Région Bretagne)
In 2022 and 2023, ESF supported the "BIENVENÜE" MSCA Cofund programme, coordinated by the French Brittany Region, in evaluating two competitive calls for post-doctoral fellowships, providing more than 400 expert assessment for post-doctoral fellowships. Selected research projects were designed to bolster regional research excellence across diverse sectors including maritime economy for blue growth, food economy, digital economy, welfare economics, and the economics of industry for intelligent production. Click here to read Region Bretagne Testimonial.

Evaluation of fellowship applications for the Interreg Science Offensive Programme (France/Germany)
In 2016 and 2018, ESF supported the evaluation of the Interreg “Science Offensive” programme Calls. This was a collaborative cross-border initiative involving three key regions - Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany, and the Grand Est Region in France. The primary objective of this program was to foster joint flagship projects in the Upper Rhine area, focusing on areas of renewable energy, responsible resource management, sustainable mobility, information technology, and health and medical technology.

Evaluation of R&I projects for the Slovakian Research and Innovation Authority (VAIA)
In 2024, ESF managed the assessment of R&D projects under VAIA’s “Transformation and Innovation Consortia” programme call with a total budget of 90M EUR. The goal of the VAIA call was to strengthen the research and innovation environment in Slovakia through funding a small number of clearly thematically defined Transformation and Innovation Consortia (TIC), connecting public and private actors from Slovakia with leading institutions from abroad.

Evaluation of fellowship applications for the Grand Est Region (France)
In 2020, ESF supported the Grand Est French Region in the evaluation of the Region’s calls for early-career researchers (Jeunes Chercheurs), PhD fellowships (Contrats Doctoraux) and research regional collaboration projects (Fond regional de coopération pour la recherche), providing over 500 expert assessments. Click here to read Grand Est Region Testimonial.