About BRICS STI Framework Programme

BRICS is composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and accounts for 26.46% of the world territory and 42.58% of the world population. Based upon 10 years' development, BRICS, as an important platform for emerging markets and developing countries, has evolved into an important driving force to global economic growth and trade cooperation, as well as to global economic governance reform.

BRICS countries play a vital role in the world economy in terms of total production, receiving investment capital, and expanding potential consumer markets. Over the past decade, BRICS' contribution to the world economic growth has surpassed 50%, and its economic aggregate soared from 12% of the global total to 23%. BRICS countries are important players in science and technology competition on the world arena, and they would facilitate their domestic STI development with the multilateral platform. 

BRICS cooperation is aimed at complementing and strengthening existing bilateral and multilateral relations among member countries. At the previously held Summits BRICS Leaders agreed to build a partnership, in pursuit of increased stability, growth and development. 

The MOU on STI Cooperation adopted in 2015 is guiding overall cooperation covering sustainable agriculture, food security, natural disasters, water resources and pollution treatment, new and renewable energy, energy efficiency, space research, geospatial technology, medicine and life sciences, new materials and nanomaterials, photonics, information and communication technology, ocean and polar sciences, etc.

In 2015 the BRICS STI Framework Programme (BRICS STI FP) has been endorsed aiming to support excellent research on priority areas which can best be addressed by a multinational approach. The initiative should facilitate cooperation among the researchers and institutions in the consortia which consist of partners from at least three of the BRICS countries.

Since 2016 coordinated calls for multilateral research projects are launched under BRICS STI FP inviting researchers from BRICS member states to jointly carry out basic, applied and innovation research projects on multilateral approach.