French Korean cal for proposals in
“Biotechnologies using Artificial Intel igence”
2025 edition
Jointly opened by the French National Research Agency (ANR)
and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea
IMPORTANT
The evaluation of Franco-Korean projects proposals is carried out separately by the ANR and by
the NRF, according to the procedures defined below, in addition to the specific procedures to each
of the agencies, which are available on their respective websites.
It is imperative to read careful y the entire cal for proposals text, the specific terms and
conditions, as wel as the financial regulations of the two agencies, before submitting research
project proposals.
Contact ANR
Dr Aladji Kamagaté
+33 01 78 09 80 59
Contact NRF
Seonghui Seo
+82 2 3460 5723
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1. CONTEXT AND CALL FOR PROPOSALS OBJECTIVES
Artificial intel igence and biotechnology are two rapidly expanding fields that offer unprecedented
opportunities for innovation and the development of breakthrough solutions. Even more so in a
global context where artificial intel igence is profoundly transforming the landscape and practice of
science and technology.
Therefore, French National Research Agency (ANR) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of
Korea are launching 1st cal for proposals dedicated to Biotechnologies using Artificial Intel igence.
The objective of this cal is to promote collaboration between French and Korean academic
researchers with a view to exploring and developing AI applications in the field of biotechnology.
Through a bilateral funding both agencies seek to fund innovative binational projects that
demonstrate strong synergy between the teams in each country and real integration1 of joint work,
and complementary expertise in the domains of artificial intel igence and biotechnologies. As far as
possible, the project starts, and end dates should be the same for the French and Korean partners.
The duration of the projects is 36 months. According to mutual agreement between both researchers
(for projects involving PhD students, etc.), the duration can be extended without additional funding.
2. RESEARCH AREAS
The field of artificial intel igence has seen a surge in its relevance within the domain of
biotechnologies, largely attributable to its capacity to analyse and process voluminous, intricate
biological data. These data, from fields such as genomic sequencing, biomedical imaging or biological
simulations, require tools capable of revealing subtle patterns and identifying relationships invisible
to the human eye.
Machine learning algorithms and deep neural networks, in particular, offer powerful means of using
historical data to model biological systems, predict behaviour and design solutions tailored to the
specific needs of researchers. Furthermore, the field of AI is distinguished by its capacity for flexibility
and expediency in the integration of heterogeneous data, encompassing genetic, clinical, and
environmental information. This feature facilitates a global and systemic analysis, which is essential
in interdisciplinary fields such as biotechnologies. The predictive capacity of AI also facilitates the
acceleration of processes that have historical y been protracted and expensive, such as drug
discovery, the optimisation of industrial bioprocesses, and the development of personalised
therapies.
Recent advances in high-performance computing, when combined with the emergence of
collaborative platforms for data sharing, are thus strengthening the integration of AI in
biotechnologies. The confluence of these technological advancements and the escalating proficiency
of researchers in leveraging artificial intel igence tools is engendering an environment conducive to
innovation and the formulation of solutions to address the substantial chal enges confronting
biotechnology.
1 i.e. effective cooperation between the Franco-Korean partners
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Thus, the project proposals submitted within this scope may encompass a broad spectrum of themes,
including but not limited to bioinformatics and genomics, personalised medicine, precision
agriculture, and drug discovery.
The objective is to design innovative approaches to exploit biological and biomedical data, to develop
new diagnostic or therapeutic tools, or to propose models for improving industrial processes in
biotechnology.
Teams are encouraged to explore interdisciplinary themes, including the ethics of AI in
biotechnology, the design of explainable and robust algorithms, and the application of deep learning
techniques to complex problems.
3. PROJECTS PROPOSALS SUBMISSION
A ful project proposal includes the scientific document, CVs and al the information required online
on the respective submission platforms of the ANR and the NRF.
The French2 and Korean partners must prepare a joint scientific project proposal, identical in
scientific content and form3 in its French and Korean versions.
The French team must appoint a scientific coordinator and the Korean team must appoint a scientific
coordinator.
The project proposal must be submitted in parallel to the respective funding agencies, its acronym
and title must be identical.
French partners : Project proposals must be submitted before May 7th 2025 5pm CET on the
following platform https://aap.agencerecherche.fr/_layouts/15/SIM/Pages/SIMNouveauProjet.aspx?
idAAP=2244
Korean partners: Project proposals must be submitted before May 7th, 2025, 6pm KST on the IRIS
platform: https://www.iris.go.kr
3.1. SUBMISSION OF FULL PROJECTS PROPOSALS TO ANR
The scientific coordinator of the French partner must submit his or her full project proposal
(scientific document, CV, information filled in on-line) on the ANR submission platform, before May
7th 2025 at 17:00 (CET).
This submission is mandatory in order to participate in the selection process.
Details of how to submit an application online can be found in the document entitled « Modalités de
participation pour les partenaires sol icitant une aide de l’ANR » -‘Terms of participation for partners
2 Cf. Article 2.2 of the ANR’s financial regulations
3 a common template is provided
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applying for ANR funding’, which can be downloaded from the current year's cal for proposals
website page: https://anr.fr/FrKr_IABIO2025
3.2. SUBMISSION OF FULL PROJECTS PROPOSALS TO NRF
The scientific coordinator of the Korean partner must submit the final project proposal (scientific
document, CV, and information filled out online) on the IRIS platform, before May 7 th 2025 at 18 :00
(KST).
This submission is mandatory to participate in the selection process.
Detailed instructions for submitting an application are available for download from the current year's
cal for proposals webpage: https://nrf.re.kr or https://iris.go.kr
3.3. SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENT AND CV
A ful project proposal is required for both parties (French and Korean). The content of the document
must be the same and must comply with the conditions below:
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35 pages maximum in A4 format, including CV’s, bibliography, diagrams and footnotes,
description of the requested budget and its scientific justification;
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Curriculum vitae (CV) of both French and Korean projects coordinators and the CV of each
possible partner’s scientific manager included in 35 pages. As the CVs are one of the
elements used for the project evaluation, cf. § 5 Projects proposals evaluation and selection
for funding, they should be written preferably in English, as peer reviewers may not speak
French or Korean.
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PDF format without any protection;
4. PROJECTS PROPOSALS ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible, detailed proposals and CVs must comply with all the eligibility conditions, whether
they are common to both funding agencies or specific to each of them.
The information entered online (NRF and ANR platforms) takes precedence over the information in
the scientific document, if these two sources of information do not tal y, including if they are
incorrectly fil ed in or missing.
No modification of data will be possible, and no document will be accepted after the closing date
and time of the call from either of the two agencies. Data entry is the direct responsibility of the
applicants (French scientific coordinator for the ANR platform and Korean French scientific
coordinator for the NRF).
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Project proposals may be declared ineligible at any time during the evaluation process. Proposals
that do not meet the eligibility conditions, whether common to both agencies or specific to each, wil
not be evaluated a priori, and wil under no circumstances be eligible for funding.
4.1. JOINT PROJECTS PROPOSALS ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Completeness of the project proposal:
The ful projects proposal must be finalized online on the dedicated websites (ANR and NRF) by the
communicated closing date and time.
To be complete, the ful project proposal must include:
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A scientific document, 35 pages in pdf file without protection submitted on the ANR and
NRF’s websites
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CVs of both French and Korean projects coordinators and the CV of each possible partner’s
scientific manager in one PDF file without any protection, submitted as an annex.
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On-line data fil ed on the respective platform from the ANR and NRF, as requested
Composition of the consortium:
The consortium must include at least one partner eligible for ANR funding and one partner eligible
for NRF funding. The ANR and the NRF exclude commercial companies.
Scientific nature of the full project proposal:
The ful project proposal must relate to the themes expressed in point 2 “Research Areas”
4.2. ANR’s ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
The ANR verifies the eligibility of project proposals by considering the conditions described above (§
4.1) and explained in the document « Modalités de participation pour les partenaires sollicitant une
aide de l’ANR » available on the web page dedicated to this cal .
4.3. NRF’s ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
NRF verifies the eligibility of project proposals by considering the conditions described above (§ 4.1)
and explained in the documents available on following web page or link:
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IRIS : https://www.iris.go.kr/
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5. PROJECTS PROPOSALS EVALUATION AND SELECTION FOR FUNDING
Each full project proposal is evaluated separately by the ANR and the NRF on the basis of the
information as completed and submitted online, at the closing date and time, in accordance with the
evaluation criteria (see § 5.3 ‘Evaluation criteria’). At the ANR, the evaluation may involve external
peer reviewers and panel members. The scientific panel is disjoint for both agencies.
5.1. ANR’s REVIEWERS EVALAUTION
If necessary, the evaluation can be carried out exclusively by the panel members.
The aim is for each project proposal to be evaluated by at least two external peer reviewers
(individuals who do not take part in the scientific panel meetings), who are cal ed in by the ANR after
checking that there is no conflict of interest. Peer reviewers operate individual y and confidential y,
without any discussion with third parties. Peer reviewers complete an individual assessment report,
in which each they comment each evaluation criterion.
5.2. ANR’s PANEL MEMBERS EVALUATION
The ful project proposals are evaluated by the members of the scientific panel on the basis of the
information submitted by the applicants by the closing date and time of the cal for proposals, and on
the basis of peer reviewer’s reports, if the panel members have decided to cal on them. In this case,
these assessments may be put into perspective by the panel members because, unlike the reviewers,
they have a synoptic view of al the ful projects proposals.
The scientific panel set up by the ANR consist of French or foreign highly qualified individuals from
the research communities in line with the submitted ful projects proposals. Panel members are
appointed, for their scientific expertise and each panel it’s chaired by a chair-representative.
5.3. NRF’s EVALUATION
NRF plans to conduct either a written or presentation-based panel evaluation for project selection,
with external experts in each research field. For detailed information, please refer to the cal
announcement on the NRF and IRIS websites. (Please note that the evaluation methods and
procedures may be changed depending on the submission results and relevant conditions.)
5.4. EVALUATION CRITERIA
ANR and NRF wil use similar but not quite the same evaluation criteria.
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With regard to the ANR’s sub-criterion “Adequacy of the resources implemented and requested with
the objectives of the project” of the Criterion 2 “Organisation and implementation of the project”,
project coordinators are informed that under the bilateral France-Korea collaboration, the maximum
funding request per Korean project is 810 mil ion KRW for a three-year project (270 mil ion KRW per
year).
French applicants are invited to submit projects that justify ANR funding for indicative amount of €
200k4, including for basic research projects.
5.4.1. ANR’s Evaluation criteria
Criterion 1: Quality and scientific aim
Clarity of research objectives and hypotheses
Scientific ambition of the project and position with respect to the state-of-the-art
Adequacy and relevance of the methods implemented
Adequacy of the project with the scientific theme selected
Criterion 2: Organisation and implementation of the project
Skil s, expertise and involvement of the scientific coordinators on each side
Quality of the consortium and complementarity between the scientific contributions of each
country
Quality and expertise of the team
Adequacy of the resources implemented and requested with the objectives of the project
Criterion 3: Impact and benefits of the project
Action to transfer technology and innovation to the socio-economic world;
promotion of scientific, technical and industrial culture
Added value of Franco-Korean cooperation
The prospect of future European projects
Both, external peer reviewers and panel members are using the same evaluation grid.
5.4.2. NRF’s Evaluation criteria
Criterion 1: Researcher/Institute Capability:
Expertise and R&D capabilities of domestic/international researchers (teams)
Appropriateness of the research team's organizational structure
Criterion 2: Research Plan:
Excel ence and creativity in research objectives and content
4 Indicative funding corresponding to the budget given by the NRF. The budget request made to the ANR must be
adapted to the scientific objectives of the project with regard to the sub-criterion “Adequacy of the resources implemented
and requested with the objectives of the project”
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Rationality and fidelity of project implementation systems and strategies
Criterion 3: International Collaboration:
Mutual complementarity between parties and potential for collaborative network
development
Necessity of international collaborative research and the specificity of its plan
Criterion 4: Expected Impact:
Appropriateness of anticipated outcomes and utilization methods
Feasibility of technology acquisition and its technological and economic ripple effects
The prospect of future European projects
5.5. SELECTION AND FUNDING DECISION
At the ANR, once the peer reviewers have completed their evaluations, the scientific panels meet in
plenary session.
The panel set up by the ANR wil meet to give a collective opinion and rank the projects in relation to
each other. The outcome of the discussion wil be recorded in a final evaluation report reflecting the
consensus reached by the scientific panel.
For the evaluation procedure on the Korean side, please refer to the cal text on the NRF and IRIS
websites.
The final selection wil be made jointly by the ANR and the NRF on the basis of the two rankings and
within the budgetary capacity of the agencies.
A project can only be selected and funded if both agencies agree.
The list of projects selected for funding wil be published approximately in second half of July 2025
on the ANR and NRF website.
The successful applicants wil be notified individual y by the ANR and the NRF when the results are
published.
6. FUNDING REGULATIONS
Each organization fund eligible expenses relating to its country's teams according to its own rules.
ANR financial regulations:
https://anr.fr/fr/rf/
NRF administrative regulations:
Criteria for the Use of National Research and Development Fund 국가법령정보센터
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7. SCHEDULE
Cal launching: February 13th
Deadline for ful proposals submission on the ANR’s website:
May 7th, 2025, 5pm (CET).
Deadline for ful proposals submission on the NRF’s website:
May 7th, 2025, 6pm KST
Joint decision and publication of results: second week of July 2025 (indicative date)
Possible projects starting:
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NRF: July 1st 2025
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ANR: September 1st, 2025
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