The International Foundation for Science (IFS) grant is open-ended, credential-based and requires applicants to present persuasive argument why their submitted proposal should be awarded the grant over competing proposals. In that, it differs from most grant proposals that require applicants to meet specific criteria.
The IFS invites proposals from young researchers from developing member nations who are addressing biological, chemical or physical processes or economic and social aspects that contribute to conservation, production and sustainable use of biological resources.
The maximum age for applicants is 40 (50 for those from China), who must hold a postgraduate degree and currently be conducting research in their developing home country. The stipend is $12,000 for purchase of laboratory equipment and materials. The home country must meet salary requirements must be met by the home country. The grant is renewable twice and selections are made in December and May.
Application guidelines for Chateaubriand grants says speaking French is not necessary but it doesn't hurt, either. These postgraduate grants are open to researchers from Canada, the United States and Israel and last nine months. The grant is intended to encourage cooperative projects between the three eligible nations through cultural exchange programs.
Funded by the Office of Science and Technology (MS&T) of the French Embassy in the U.S., recipients get a stipend of $2,800 a month (as of 2010) with an eye toward creating a joint thesis. The deadline for application at the French embassy of your home country is March 31, with the fellowship starting between September 1 and March of the following year. If you don't speak French, courses in the language are offered on site. Application forms are available at the Chateaubriand website.
NATO grants come looking for you. Although no stipend is specified there are varying amounts of funding, depending on the host laboratory. These are postdoctoral grants for researchers particularly from Central and Eastern European countries and the Commonwealth of Independent States (countries from the former Soviet Union). To qualify you must be highly qualified and of international renown in your specialist scientific field. Uniquely, the applications come not from you but from the director of the institution or laboratory wanting outstanding researchers.
The grants, though not stipulated specifically, complement the researcher's salary while the researcher's home institution or another institution pays the grantee's salary is paid during the three- to nine-month duration of the grant. Four sessions are offered annually. If interested, make the host institution aware of your credentials and desire to participate in the program. If you're particularly outstanding, you may get a knock on your door..