Guide · 10 min read

FAPESP Funding Guide 2026: Auxílios à Pesquisa, Jovem Pesquisador, Bolsas

FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) is one of the world’s most active regional research-funding agencies. Researchers based in São Paulo state can apply year-round across multiple instruments. Approximately 30%–40% of submitted applications are funded, higher than most national agencies.

1. The main FAPESP instruments

• Auxílio à Pesquisa — Regular — bottom-up project funding, R$50k–R$300k over 2–4 years.
• Auxílio à Pesquisa — Jovem Pesquisador (JP) — for early-career PIs, up to 5 years post-PhD. R$200k–R$1M over 4 years.
• Auxílio à Pesquisa — Temático — large multi-PI programme, R$1M–R$5M over 5 years.
• Bolsa de Pós-Doutorado (BPD) — postdoctoral fellowship, 2 years extendable.
• Bolsa de Doutorado (BD / BDR) — PhD scholarship.
• RTI (Reserva Técnica Institucional) — institutional support, applies via host.
• PIPE — small-business innovation programme.

2. Eligibility

The PI must be employed at an institution in São Paulo state. Foreign researchers welcome via:

• BPD postdoctoral fellowship (host institution applies on your behalf)
• JP if relocating to a São Paulo institution
• Visiting Researcher (Bolsa de Pesquisa Visitante) for short-term stays

3. Submission cadence

Most lines are continuous flow — you submit when ready, decision in 4–6 months. Specific calls (Chamada de Propostas) for thematic priorities are also issued throughout the year.

4. The proposal

Submitted via the SAGe portal in Portuguese (or English for some lines). Length and structure vary by instrument; for Auxílio Regular:

• Resumo do projeto (1 page)
• Justificativa — state of the art, your group’s positioning (3 pages)
• Objetivos — clear, specific (1 page)
• Métodos — methodology by objective, with risks and alternatives (5–6 pages)
• Plano de trabalho e cronograma (1–2 pages)
• Resultados esperados (1 page)
• Plano de divulgação — including open-access plan (0.5 page)
• Referências

Plus annexes: PI CV (Currículo Lattes), team CVs, budget justification, ethics declaration.

5. Evaluation

Two stages:

• Assessor reports — 2–3 ad hoc reviewers (often international) score the proposal.
• Adjunct Coordinator for the area integrates reviews and recommends.

Decisions usually within 4–6 months of submission. Successful applicants often have a chance to rebut major criticisms before final decision (depends on the line).

6. Common reasons for decline

• Justificativa reads as a literature review without arguing the gap.
• Methods chapter described technique-by-technique without binding to objectives.
• Budget request not aligned with workplan (most common single reason for partial funding).
• Team CVs (Lattes) showing strong PI but team members without recent productivity.
• Plano de divulgação / open-access plan as boilerplate.

7. Tips

• Submit in Portuguese unless your reviewers will all be international (some lines).
• Lattes CV is critical — keep it current and complete; reviewers consult it directly.
• Open-access plan should name specific repositories (e.g., FAPESP’s own; SciELO; institutional repositories).
• For Jovem Pesquisador, independence evidence matters: corresponding-author papers, your own postdoc lab, distinct line of inquiry from PhD supervisor.
• Ask the host institution’s Pesquisa office to review the budget justification before submission.

Track every FAPESP call automatically

Grant Radar tracks FAPESP (all instruments + thematic calls) and 23 other funders worldwide. New FAPESP calls ranked against your ORCID profile, emailed only if relevant. Free during the public beta.