The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the French National Research Agency (ANR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Research Cooperation. The MOU provides a framework to encourage collaboration between U.S. and French research communities and sets out the principles by which jointly supported activities might be developed. The MOU provides for an international collaboration arrangement whereby U.S. researchers may receive funding from NSF and French researchers may receive funding from ANR. Through a "Lead Agency Opportunity", NSF and ANR will allow proposers from both countries to submit a collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at the Lead Agency. NSF will be the Lead Agency for the current fiscal year. ANR and NSF anticipate that the Lead Agency will alternate annually thereafter.

Proposals relevant to the following area and agency programs are eligible for submission under this lead agency opportunity in FY 2025.

Sustainable Chemistry: Catalysis with Earth-Abundant Elements

Among current sustainability challenges, the development of more sustainable catalysts or catalytic processes needs to be addressed to unlock the potential of many innovations. In this context, ANR and NSF aim to strengthen the research on catalysis with earth abundant elements by fostering collaborations and synergies between research teams in France and in the US. To this end, the scope of this call for proposals is fundamental research in homogeneous catalysis with Earth-abundant elements. It will include organometallic catalysis, organocatalysis, and photocatalysis. The focus of the proposals should be on advances related to the development of new catalysts and catalytic strategies and associated mechanistic and computational studies.

Electrocatalytic reactions are out of scope and excluded from this call.

Sample Research topics (but not limited to):

• Preparation and activity assessment of new catalysts
• Mechanistic studies including the identification of intermediates using advanced spectroscopic techniques.
• Computational modeling and data science related to catalyst development.

Proposers must provide a clear rationale for the need for a U.S.-France collaboration, including the unique expertise and synergy that the collaborating groups will bring to the project. Proposers should note that the lead agency opportunity does not represent a new source of funding. Proposals will be assessed in competition with all others submitted to the collaborating divisions, and outcomes will be subject to both success in merit review and the availability of funds from the Division of Chemistry at NSF and ANR.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION

U.S. proposers must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to NSF in advance of the full proposal submission. NSF will share submitted EOIs with ANR for their awareness. EOIs will be used to determine eligibility for the Lead Agency Opportunity. Eligibility to submit proposals is subject to each agency's respective eligibility requirements and policies, as spelled out in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide(PAPPG) and ANR's regulations and guidelines.

DUE DATES

Proposers with approved EOIs will be invited to submit a full proposal to NSF by June 2, 2025, with a separate copy submitted by the French applicants to ANR no later than June 3, 2025. Proposals must be submitted to both agencies (NSF and ANR) by the due dates. Those submitted to only one agency will be rejected. French coordinator/partners are subject to the rules (in particular of eligibility) to which all national scientific coordinators/partners of the 2025 Generic call for proposals must comply.