NATO Science for Peace and Security Call for Proposals 2025-1

The NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme enables scientists, experts and officials from NATO and Partner nations to work together to address emerging security challenges and their impact, by supporting activities in the form of four established grant mechanisms, which are:

1.Multi-Year research and development Projects (MYP)
2.Events, in the following formats:

• Advanced Research Workshops (ARW)
• Advanced Training Courses (ATC)
• Advanced Study Institutes (ASI)

This call for proposals welcomes applications responding to any of the SPS Programme’s Key Priorities outlined in the Annex. Note that the SPS Programme has adopted a revised list of Key Priorities in 2024:

1. Environment, Climate Change and Security
2. Energy Security
3. Innovation and Emerging Disruptive Technologies (EDTs)
4. Counter-terrorism
5. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) and Explosive Hazards Management
6. Defence against Hybrid Threats
7. Resilience
8. Critical Underwater Infrastructure
9. Cyber Defence
10. Assessing and addressing threats posed by the Russian Federation
11. Strategic Foresight
12. Human and Social Aspects of Security

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:  5 January 2025 (23:59 CET) 

This call for proposals welcomes applications for Multi-Year Projects and Events (Advanced Research Workshops, Advanced Training Courses and Advanced Study Institutes). 

Proposals for Multi-Year Projects should research and develop innovative solutions and demonstrators. They should also demonstrate a solid and long-term approach, indicating clearly the expected maturity (Technology Readiness Level) to be reached, and how additional actors (e.g. industrial partners, programmes, national funding, end users, etc.) will be involved in further developing and exploiting the results of the SPS-supported activity after its conclusion. Proposals should also include plans for the demonstration of the achieved results (prototypes, simulators, demonstrators, etc.) to key stakeholders. Proposed activities that rely on data should outline a data exploitation plan for the collection of existing data, the creation of new datasets and their management during and after the project.  

General eligibility criteria

Applications submitted to the SPS Programme must:

1. Contribute toward NATO’s strategic objectives and have a clear link to security;
2. Address at least one of the SPS Key Priorities;
3. Be developed jointly by scientists or experts from at least one NATO member country and one eligible Partner nation. o All participants in the proposed activity must be nationals of a NATO member country or a NATO Partner country;
   • Each activity must include a scientist or expert taking on the role of NATO country Project Director (NPD). This person must be resident and employed in a NATO member country;
   • Each activity must include a scientist or expert taking on the role of Partner country Project Director (PPD). This person must be resident and employed in an eligible Partner nation (see list below);
   • Additional co-directors from either NATO or eligible NATO Partner nations may be included in proposals for Multi-Year Projects.
4. Be developed and implemented by co-directors employed by government, academic, or other non-profit institutions. For-profit private companies are not eligible for SPS funding;
5. Include realistic plans and budgets;
6. Be developed and managed in alignment with rules and regulations outlined in the SPS handbooks available on the SPS website at the following link: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/88007.htm.

Individual applicants should note that they may not hold more than one SPS grant at a time. Prospective co-directors should ensure that any other SPS activity directed by either of them is formally closed before applying.

How to apply

To familiarize themselves with information required to submit a complete proposal, potential applicants may find templates of the application forms for SPS each grant mechanisms on the SPS website under the heading “Managing SPS grants”. 

However, proposals must be drafted and submitted via the SPS grant platform (https://natosps.grantplatform.com/). Proposals submitted in any other format or means (e.g. via email) will not be taken into consideration.

Therefore, interested applicants must:

1. Register an account on the SPS grant platform.
2. Identify available opportunities on the SPS grant platform homepage.
3. Click on “Start application” to access the application form, select the grant mechanism they are interested in, and submit their proposal.

All documents required to submit a complete application are accessible via the application form on the SPS grant platform. They are also available for download on the SPS website under the heading “Managing SPS grants”.

Especially for applicants who are not familiar with the SPS grant platform, the SPS Programme strongly advises against last minute submissions.

All relevant enquiries prior to application submission should be addressed to sps.info@hq.nato.int. The SPS Programme will inform all applicants about the result of the evaluation of their proposal in due course, regardless of the outcome.

For more information on the SPS Programme and its activities, please visit the NATO SPS website at www.nato.int/science.