Frequently Asked Questions

FBF Grant Cycle Timeline

• September: CFP issued
• January 31: Deadline for grant proposals
• February-May: Proposals reviewed
• mid-June: Grantees announced
• July 1 - December 1: Funded projects begin

The FBF accepts applications from ladder-rank faculty and permanent researchers in all disciplines at UC Berkeley or UC Davis, as long as applicants hold principal investigator status. If you have questions about your PI status, please consult your department.

Proposals must be submitted jointly with a colleague holding a permanent research or faculty appointment at a French university or research institute.

Graduate students and postdocs are not eligible to apply as project coordinators, but may be included as participants on research teams.

Applicants may submit a maximum of ONE proposal per funding round.

Previous grantees may apply separately with a new partner for a new project, as long as the previously granted project was completed at least two years prior to July 1 of the current application cycle. Teams of researchers who previously received a FBF grant may NOT reapply together, even if the proposed project is a new one.

Our office does not identify or recommend collaborators for specific projects. We encourage interested international collaborators to contact Berkeley/Davis researchers directly to discuss project proposals. The UC Berkeley Faculty Expertise finder may be useful in identifying faculty connections at Berkeley.

Projects may be funded up to $12,000 (USD).

For UC Davis applicants: UC Davis will contribute a maximum of $8,000 and UC Berkeley a maximum of $4,000. Funding requested from FBF should not exceed $4,000.

FBF grants are awarded annually and expire one year from the project’s start date. A one-time no-cost extension of six months may be awarded in exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. Extension requests must be submitted to fbf@berkeley.edu before the project’s end date. Any unused grant balance remaining after the project’s end date must be returned to the FBF.

Either the UC or international applicant can fill out and submit the online application. NOTE: The online form cannot be saved for later editing, so make sure you have gathered all of the required materials as outlined in the guidelines before submitting your application.

FBF grants may be used exclusively for expenses specific to the proposed collaboration. Moreover, awards should be used to support the actual generation of research rather than its dissemination.

Grants may be used for travel, accommodations, and short-term living expenses associated with the travel for the proposed collaboration. All travel expenses are subject to UC policy. Please consult the UC Berkeley Travel Policy for more information.

Grants may be used for research-related services (e.g. duplication costs, purchases of microfilm, digitization of documents, production of questionnaires/surveys, human subject costs, data entry, transcriptions of interviews, running focus groups, etc.).

Grants may be used for conference/meeting expenses such as facility rental, food, printing, and postage.

Grants may NOT be used to cover speaker fees or honoraria of any kind.

The FBF may NOT be used for the purchase of equipment (e.g. computers, recording equipment, etc.), supplies, or software, except for project-specific materials that will be consumed over the course of the collaboration.

Grants may NOT be used to cover translation or publication costs.

The FBF may NOT be used to pay salaries or stipends of any kind for administrative staff or for students and postdocs involved in collaborations, including GSRs. It does NOT cover tuition payments. The FBF does NOT pay for release time for faculty.

The FBF may NOT be used to cover registration fees of any kind for existing conferences. Funds may only be used to host conferences and workshops organized by the project coordinators.

Grants may NOT be used to cover speaker fees or honoraria of any kind.

All funds will be transferred to a UC Berkeley or UC Davis research award account in the name of the UC PI. To activate the disbursement of funds, grantees should submit the following information to fbf@berkeley.edu:

• UC Department name
• Name of financial analyst responsible for managing funds
• Department chartstring (so funds can be transferred to the proper account)

The department administrator responsible for managing the FBF grant should process all reimbursements, including travel, for collaborators. Grantees should collect and submit all relevant receipts to the department administrator. The FBF office does not process travel or reimbursements for grantees.

Wherever possible, UC grant administrators should charge project-related expenses via direct billing / chartstring in order to avoid complex reimbursement procedures, particularly for international collaborators. For more information on charging travel and entertainment expenses, visit Berkeley Travel and the Berkeley Controller's Office. 

All FBF grantees are required to submit interim and final reports describing progress and status of project goals and outcomes, including how funds were spent to date. Interim reports are due by May 31 of the award year or within six months of the project’s start date (whichever comes first); final reports are due by December 15 or upon completion of project (whichever comes first).

A one-time no-cost extension of six months may be awarded in exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis. Extension requests must be submitted in writing to fbf@berkeley.edu in advance of the project’s original end date.

Any unused grant funds that remain after the project’s end date (including extensions) must be returned to the FBF.