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The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) (Dutch: ''Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek'' (NFWO), French: ''Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (FNRS)) was once a government institution in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
for supporting scientific research until it was split into two separate organizations: * the Dutch-speaking '' Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen'' (FWO) (Research Foundation – Flanders) for the
Flemish Community The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...
and * the French-speaking ''Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS'' (F.R.S.–FNRS) for the
French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...
. The task of the FWO and F.R.S.–FNRS is to stimulate the development of new knowledge in all scientific disciplines. The means to achieve this, is to finance excellent scientists and research projects after an inter-University competition and with an evaluation by foreign experts. The criterion for support is the scientific quality of the scientist and the research proposal, irrespective of scientific discipline. Both institutions, the FWO and the F.R.S.–FNRS, are located in the same building at Egmontstraat 5 rue d'Egmont in B-1000 Brussels.


History

The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) was founded on 2 June 1928 after a call by king
Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...
for more resources for scientific research. On 1 October 1927, in a speech at Cockerill in
Seraing Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Sai ...
, King Albert I strongly emphasized the importance of scientific research to the economic development of Belgium. He repeated his appeal for more resources, on 26 November 1927, in a speech to the
Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
. This led to the creation within the
University Foundation The Belgian University Foundation (French: ''Fondation Universitaire''; Dutch: ''Universitaire Stichting'') was founded in 1920. The goal of the Foundation, as was put forward by Emile Francqui, is to promote scientific activity at Belgian univer ...
of the National Fund for Scientific Research on 2 June 1928. The new institute was led by
Emile Francqui Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...
. Financial support initially came from the public, and from the
Solvay Solvay may refer to: Companies and organizations * Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Brussels, Belgium * Solvay Conference, founded by Ernest Solvay, deals with open questions in physics and chemistry * Solvay Indupa, an Argen ...
family that gave 100 million
Belgian franc The Belgian franc ( nl, Belgische frank, french: Franc belge, german: Belgischer Franken) was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the Euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch ...
s. Financial contributions from the state were not needed until 1947. Today, part of the funding still comes from non-governmental sources, such as from the charitable television station Télévie. The NFSR was the first Belgian organization to finance fundamental scientific research. Among the earliest projects funded were the stratosphere flights of professor
Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Switzerland, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking Gas balloon, hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Picca ...
. The FNRS-1 was a balloon that set a world altitude record. The NFSR also funded the
FNRS-2 The ''FNRS-2'' was the first bathyscaphe. It was created by Auguste Piccard. Work started in 1937 but was interrupted by World War II. The deep-diving submarine was finished in 1948. The bathyscaphe was named after the Belgian Fonds Nationa ...
, which was the first ever
bathyscaphe A bathyscaphe ( or ) is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design. The float is fi ...
built.


Some early funded projects

*
Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
** Series of excavations at
Apamea Apamea or Apameia ( grc, Απάμεια) is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see. Places called Apamea in ...
in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(1930-) ** Excavations on
Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
in (1934–1935) *
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
** Expedition to
Rwenzori The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range ...
(1932) *
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
** Stratospheric
aerostat An aerostat (, via French) is a lighter-than-air aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a buoyant gas. Aerostats include unpowered balloons and powered airships. A balloon may be free-flying or tethered. The average density of the cra ...
(1930) and
bathyscaphe A bathyscaphe ( or ) is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design. The float is fi ...
(1947) of
Auguste Piccard Auguste Antoine Piccard (28 January 1884 – 24 March 1962) was a Switzerland, Swiss physicist, inventor and explorer known for his record-breaking Gas balloon, hydrogen balloon flights, with which he studied the Earth's upper atmosphere. Picca ...
** Participation at the
Jungfraujoch The Jungfraujoch (German: lit. "maiden saddle") is a saddle connecting two major 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of above sea level and is directly overlooked by the rocky prominence of the Sphinx ...
observatory ** An observatory for
Earth's magnetic field Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magnetic f ...
at
Manhay Manhay (; wa, Manhé) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 119.81 km², had 3,185 inhabitants, giving a population density of 26.6 inhabitants per km ...
and
Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
(1932)


See also

*
Belgian Federal Science Policy Office The Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy ( nl, Programmatorische Federale Overheidsdienst Wetenschapsbeleid; french: Service public fédéral de programmation Politique scientifique; german: Föderaler Öffentlicher Programmierungsdienst ...
*
Science and technology in Belgium Science and technology in Belgium is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. As Belgium is a federal state, science is organized at several levels. At the national level, there is the Belgian Federal Scien ...
*
Science and technology in the Brussels-Capital Region Science and technology in Brussels, the central region of Belgium (Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. Technology institutes and universities Technology institutes The Brussels-Capital R ...
*
Science and technology in Flanders Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of Belgium (Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all ...
*
Science and technology in Wallonia Science and technology in Wallonia, the southern region of Belgium (Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. Universities in Wallonia Universities in Wallonia are part of the universities of the ...
* Belgian Interdisciplinary Platform for Industrial Biotechnology *
Institute for the promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology The Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology was a Flemish agency between 1991 and 2015. It was an externally autonomized agency of the Flemish Government, in charge of innovation policy in Flanders and located in the Ellipse-Building in Brus ...
*
Belgian Academy Council of Applied Sciences The Royal Belgian Academy Council of Applied Sciences (BACAS) is a Belgian council, which consists of the Flemish ''Academy Committee for Science and Technology'' (CAWET) and Walloon ''Comité de l'Académie pour les Applications de la Science'' ( ...
* Belgian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology * Belgian Physical Society *
Flanders Interuniversity Institute of Biotechnology VIB is a research institute located in Flanders, Belgium. It was founded by the Flemish government in 1995, and became a full-fledged institute on 1 January 1996. The main objective of VIB is to strengthen the excellence of Flemish life sciences r ...
*
Flemish institute for technological research The Flemish institute for technological research ( nl, Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek or VITO), is an independent Flemish research organisation that provides scientific advice and technological innovations that facilitate the transi ...
*
Francqui Foundation The Francqui Foundation was founded in 1932 by Emile Francqui and Herbert Hoover with the goal "to further the development of higher education and scientific research in Belgium". The foundation is a private foundation under the legal form of a ...
*
Francqui Prize The Francqui Prize is a prestigious Belgian scholarly and scientific prize named after Émile Francqui. Normally annually since 1933, the Francqui Foundation awards it in recognition of the achievements of a scholar or scientist, who at the start ...
* InBev-Baillet Latour Fund *
Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation The Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation (QEMF) is a Belgian non-profit organization, founded in 1926 by Elisabeth of Bavaria, wife of Albert I. She founded the organization, based on her experience with the wounded from the front-line during the Fi ...


External links


Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS
– official website (in French)
Beyond Academic Science: Hoover and Francqui’s Legacy in Post-War Belgium
(MS Word) {{Authority control Scientific organisations based in Belgium Science and technology in Belgium Foundations based in Belgium Members of the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics