BSF Ends 2021 with a Record $28M in U.S.-Israel Scientific Research Funding
“Newly funded projects will significantly advance knowledge in Exact Sciences, Life Sciences and Social Sciences disciplines and further elevate Israel’s status as an academic powerhouse”
At the close of 2021, the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation has this year awarded 179 collaborative research grants – out of 605 proposals received – for a total of $29.25M, setting new records at the Foundation. The recipients of these awards stem from leading US and Israeli academic institutions. Newly funded projects will significantly advance knowledge in Exact Sciences, Life Sciences and Social Sciences disciplines and further elevate Israel’s status as an academic powerhouse, according to Prof. Avi Israeli, Vice Chair of the BSF Board of Governors.
With the administration of two sources of funding – the Traditional BSF Program and the NSF-BSF Program – the Foundation puts an emphasis on partnership and collaboration. In particular the NSF-BSF program has made great strides over the last 10 years. The overall success rate of 33% (1 award per 3 proposals) of the program is 2-3 times higher than that for standard NSF proposals in many of the participating disciplines, a clear indicator of the added strength provided by Israeli researchers. The Israeli Council for Higher Education recognizes the strategic importance of the NSF-BSF program and provided $10.6M in financial support for this partnership in 2021.
Research outcomes and new discoveries are the launch pin of novel technologies and underpin academic workforce development that provides both countries with a competitive edge. Despite the ongoing COVID pandemic, scientific research collaboration has never been so strong, said Prof. Anton Post, Executive Director of the Foundation. The Foundation is already working towards developing new US-Israel science partnerships that hopefully come to fruition in 2022.
In 2022, the US-Israel BSF will mark its 50th anniversary with celebratory events in Washington DC and Tel Aviv. With guests of honor and keynote speakers from the upper echelons of the UAS administration and the Israeli Government, BSF aims to establish a platform to advance its role as a driver of academic relations between the two countries and generate support for increased funding of research collaboration.