Russian Scientific Foundation

What Russian Scientific Foundation does

The Russian Scientific Foundation (RNF / Российский научный фонд) is a Russian government scientific foundation established by Federal Law No. 291-FZ on November 2, 2013, headquartered at ul. Solyanka 12-14, building 3, in Moscow. Its core function is to distribute competitive grants for fundamental and applied scientific research across all major disciplines — biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, engineering, Earth sciences, agriculture, mathematics, IT, and humanities — to leading research teams at Russian universities, institutes, and research organizations, as well as to young scientists under the age of 39. The foundation is overseen by a Supervisory Board chaired by the President's aide Andrei Fursenko, with Vladimir Bespalov serving as General Director.

RNF operates a multi-platform digital ecosystem centered on its proprietary Information-Analytical System (ИАС), hosted at ias.rscf.ru, which handles grant application submission, expert review workflows, project tracking, and outcome reporting across thousands of active projects. The expert review system is staffed by rotating expert councils drawn from Russia's leading scientists and university rectors, with open voting used for council membership selection. Supplementary platforms include the "Science in 360° Format" virtual laboratory tours at 360.rscf.ru, the "Colors of Science" photo project, the "Keepers of Cultural Heritage" multimedia project at culture.rscf.ru, and periodic news digests, all of which serve a secondary science-communication mandate.

The foundation does not generate commercial revenue; its "budget" is sourced from Russian federal government allocations and is disbursed as grants. There is no pricing for applicants and no subscription model — the funding flows in from the state and out to grantees. RNF's go-to-market is event- and community-driven, centered on competitive grant contests (including regional contests with regional authorities, mega-grants for leading scientists, and the Evgeny Velikhov Memorial Grants with industrial partners such as Rosatom), webinars for prospective applicants, and partnerships with industrial players including Tatneft, SIBUR, Gazprombank, EFKO, and Abrau-Durso. In 2025 the foundation reports having financed 8.8 thousand projects and programs, supporting hundreds of organizations, thousands of scientists, and generating thousands of reporting publications and media mentions.

Name

Russian Scientific Foundation

Legal name

Rossiyskiy nauchnyy fond (Russian Scientific Foundation)

Website

https://rscf.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Russian Scientific Foundation is a Russian government scientific foundation, established by federal law in 2013, that competitively awards grants for fundamental and applied research to leading Russian research teams, universities, and young scientists across all major disciplines, administered through its proprietary Information-Analytical System.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health Research Funding Agencies (Public/Quasi-Public) (HLAJALAB)

Keywords

• Scientific research grants
• Research funding programs
• Grant administration platform
• Fundamental research support
• Science foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Moscow

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grant Funding: RNF receives government funding to provide competitive grants to scientific research teams. The foundation distributes grants for fundamental and applied scientific research rather than generating commercial revenue.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Russian Scientific Foundation is a government organization that provides competitive grant financing for fundamental and applied scientific research in Russia. It distributes state-funded grants to leading research teams across disciplines including biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, engineering, Earth sciences, agriculture, mathematics, IT, and humanities, using an Information-Analytical System (ИАС) online platform for application management and a rotating Expert Council peer-review system for project evaluation.

Product overview

The Russian Scientific Foundation operates a multi-platform digital ecosystem centered on grant funding for scientific research. The core offering consists of grant competitions for fundamental and applied research, supported by an Expert Review System and Information-Analytical System (ИАС) for application management. Supplementary services include the News Digests, the photo project "Colors of Science," and the special project "Keepers of Cultural Heritage." The flagship virtual experience is "Science in 360° Format" — a collection of virtual laboratory tours across Russian research institutions. Together, these platforms serve to fund, communicate, and showcase Russian scientific achievements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Competitions Competitive grant programs through which Russian Scientific Foundation finances fundamental and applied scientific research projects led by scientific teams across disciplines including biology, medicine, physics, chemistry, engineering, Earth sciences, agriculture, mathematics, IT, and humanities. Applicants are evaluated by rotating expert councils, with grants awarded to selected projects for multi-year research execution.
• Information-Analytical System (ИАС) The online platform used by RNF for managing grant applications, project tracking, and administrative workflows across the foundation's grant programs. Scientific teams submit applications through ИАС and use it to report progress on funded projects.
• Expert Review System Peer review services used by RNF to evaluate scientific project applications submitted through the Information-Analytical System and to monitor ongoing funded projects. Expert councils include top scientists, rectors of leading universities, and heads of major research institutions, with regular rotation of membership.
• Mega-Grants Program A flagship RNF funding program providing large-scale grants to leading scientists to establish new research laboratories in Russia. The program supports high-priority research directions and is a core channel for attracting top-tier scientific leadership.
• Regional Contests Joint grant contests run by RNF in partnership with regional government authorities to fund fundamental and applied research aligned with regional priorities. These contests strengthen links between scientific organizations, universities, and industrial enterprises at the regional level.
• Evgeny Velikhov Memorial Grants Named memorial grant competition run by RNF in partnership with industrial partners such as Rosatom, supporting technological proposals and research projects of strategic significance to Russian industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 8,800 projects and programs funded in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tatneft (ПАО «Татнефть»)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership for full-cycle technology development from laboratory conception to industrial integration. Tatneft acts as equal co-author of developments, with shared goal of ensuring complete cycle from technology birth in laboratory to integration into operating production.
• Rosatom (Росатом)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial partner in grants competition for Evgeny Velikhov Memorial Grants. Joint project on new approaches to mathematical modeling combining classical methods and artificial intelligence.
• SIBUR (ООО «Сибур»)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirector of R&D and Innovations Sergey Tutov serves on RNF expert council, representing industrial perspective in evaluation of research projects.
• Abrau-Durso (Абрау-Дюрсо)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial partner for functional food product research with resveratrol, including cheeses and bakery products developed through RNF grant support.
• EFKO Group (ГК «ЭФКО»)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdviser to Board Chairman Ekaterina Zhuravleva serves on RNF expert council for regional contests and Scientific-Tech Council.
• Saint Petersburg GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint regional contests supporting fundamental and applied research oriented toward real needs of the city economy. Partnership strengthens links between scientific organizations, universities, and industrial enterprises.
• Moscow State University (МГУ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership supporting regenerative medicine research. RNF grant enabled development of new biological drug for male infertility treatment now in clinical trials phase I-II.
• Skoltech (Сколковский институт науки и технологий)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution for multiple mega-grant projects. RNF funding enables establishment of new research laboratories at Skoltech.
• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkoltech was established in 2011 in cooperation with MIT, and RNF supports research projects at Skoltech.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR): France's national research funding agency distributing competitive grants across scientific fields. Closely comparable in model and government-backed mandate.
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC): China's central basic research funding agency. Comparable in scale, broad disciplinary scope, and status as a sovereign national grantmaking foundation.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): U.S. federal agency that funds biomedical and health-related research through competitive grants. Comparable in scale, peer-review process, and role as a flagship national research funder.
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): Japan's core funding body for scientific research, supporting universities and research institutes. Comparable as an established national grantmaking foundation with peer review.
• Australian Research Council (ARC): Australian federal agency funding research excellence through competitive grants. Comparable in being a government-established, peer-reviewed national research funder.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): U.K. government body that funds research and innovation across disciplines via competitive grants. Peer in role, scale, and integration of national research priorities.
• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): Germany's central research funding organization, supporting fundamental research across all disciplines via competitive grants. Closest European analog in structure, scope, and review rigor.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): U.S. federal agency that funds fundamental research across non-medical fields via competitive peer-reviewed grants. Direct functional peer to RNF in mandate, structure, and grantmaking model.
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC): Canadian federal agency funding natural sciences and engineering research via competitive grants. Comparable as a national, government-mandated research funder with peer review.
• European Research Council (ERC): EU-level body funding frontier research through competitive grants to individual investigators. Comparable in supporting principal-investigator-led science with rigorous peer review.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxiLfujc6SOjXNtkQahmGbA
• Xx.com/rnfpage
• Facebookfacebook.com/rnfpage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Russian Scientific Foundation