The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) has successfully expanded its cooperation with the largest American grant agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF). Henceforth, scientists from both countries will be able to co-operate on scientific projects in the field of cybersecurity. It is expected that several million CZK a year will be expended in the support of this research topic.
“In the light of the state of current global security, cybersecurity is a key area which must be given attention. American scientists being willing to co-operate with their Czech peers in this field is a clear sign that the USA considers the Czech Republic a trustworthy partner,” said GACR President, prof. Petr Baldrian.
Since August 2021, Czech and American scientists have been able to request joint funding of scientific projects in the areas of artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, plasma sciences, astronomy and astrophysics. “The American agency chooses its partners very carefully. This scientific co-operation, the largest between our two states, was over two years in the making. We trust that in the future, we will successfully expand it to encompass other areas of research, not only cybersecurity,” said the GACR President.
The expenses of individual projects shall be shared between the agencies, with the Czech side of the project being financed by GACR and the American side by the NSF. It is expected that either side will support scientific projects in the area of cybersecurity with several million CZK each year.
About the Czech Science Foundation
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) is the only institution in the Czech Republic which provides targeted support through public funding for basic research projects – in the current year, this support amounted to roughly 4.7 billion CZK. Through announced public calls, GACR finances the scientific projects of both erudite researchers and their teams and young scientists at the beginning of their career. Each year, GACR supports hundreds of research projects on the basis of a transparent multi-stage selection process.
About the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is an independent government agency of the USA founded in 1950 which is responsible for the support of basic research. In 2023, it had a budget of roughly 9.9 billion USD and its grants were the source of funding for roughly 25% of university-led basic research in the United States. It supports around 11 000 projects per year via highly prestigious calls. NSF funding was integral to the creation of many revolutionary technologies – throughout its lifetime, it has supported the research of 258 scientists who went on to become Nobel Prize winners.