• The TWAS Research Grants Programme in Basic Sciences was established in 1986 in response to the needs of promising young researchers in developing countries, particularly those attached to institutions that lack appropriate research facilities.
• Under this scheme creative researchers in the South working in the fields of basic sciences are awarded grants to enable them to purchase the research facilities they need to enhance their productivity. The purpose of these grants is to reinforce and promote scientific research in basic sciences in the Third World, to strengthen the endogenous capacity in science, and to reduce the exodus of scientific talents from the South.
• The TWAS Research Grants Programme in basic sciences complements that of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) which has been operating since 1974 in the field of applied biological sciences. The two organizations have been in close contact since the beginning of the TWAS programme so as to ensure the complementarity of the two schemes and to avoid any unnecessary duplication.

• Research grants are awarded by the Academy for high-level and promising scientific research projects to be carried out by individual scientists in developing countries.
• The TWAS Research Grants Programme is generously supported by the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC) and the Italian Government (through the Direzione Generale per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo). The SAREC contribution is mainly intended to support research proposals from African countries and other developing countries badly in need of basic research tools.
• A Research Grant amounts to a maximum of US$10,000.00.- and is normally provided for a period of one year. Requests for additional grants to allow for an extension of a successful project will be considered by the Academy, subject to the submission of a satisfactory final report on the previous grant.
• A grant may be used to purchase scientific apparatus, consumable materials, specialized literature and other items needed for the project which are not obtainable locally. The grant does not cover salaries and travel expenses.
• Personal computers are normally not covered under this scheme, except in very exceptional cases where the need is fully justified.

1. The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) with funds provided by the Italian Government (through the Direzione Generate per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo) offers grants to institutions in Developing Countries to meet the cost of small items of spare parts for scientific equipments which cannot be obtained or manufactured locally.
2. The programme has been established in response to the current difficulty faced by several laboratories in the Third World to obtain badly-needed spares and replacement parts for scientific equipment which often interrupted their experimental research for long periods.

1. Applicants, who should be research groups leaders at universities or research institutes in developing countries, should first contact the suppliers and obtain a proforma invoice, valid for 3-6 months, including cost, insurance and freight charges (CIF), for the item(s) they require.
2. Applications should be made on the relevant application form which should be completed and submitted together with the proforma invoice from the supplier. Requests without attached proforma invoice(s) will be not considered.
3. Applications for computer parts will not be considered.

1. The Academy only considers applications made by the organizers of international and regional scientific meeting in Developing Countries.
2. Special consideration will be given to those meetings which are likely to benefit the scientific community in developing countries and to promote regional and international cooperation in developing science and its application to the problems of the Third World.
3. Organizers of international conferences being held in developing countries may apply for grants to assist with travelling expenses principal speakers who are unable to obtain sufficient funds from other sources and/or young participants from the region.

 Three Fellowships should be addressed to:

1. The Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) invites applications for travel grants from scientists in developing countries, normally with research experience and with positions in universities and/or research institutions in these countries, who wish to visit scientific institutions in Third World countries other than their own for the purpose of undertaking joint research with other scientists from the South and/or learning new techniques in scientific research.
2. The aim of the TWAS South-South Fellowship Programme is to facilitate and promote mutual contacts between research scientists in the South and to further relations between their scientific institutions.

1. Travel grants are supported by the Dipartimento per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No provision is made for accompanying family members.
2. Host institutions are normally expected to cover the living expenses of visiting fellows. If necessary, TWAS has formal agreements with organizations in several Third World Countries, who have agreed to consider providing the subsistence costs of visitors. In particular a number of long-term visits (up to one year) can be considered in Argentina, Brazil, China, and Mexico. Information about the scientific institutions in these countries is available on request.
3. TWAS Fellowships envisage a minimum stay of one month.

1. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by host institutions and the Third World Academy of Sciences. Special consideration will be given to visits which can be expected to promote cooperation among scientists of the same region and yield substantial benefits to the visitors, their hosts and their respective scientific communities.
2. Applications will be considered by the Third World Academy of Sciences throughout the year. Applicants are requested, however, to give at least three months prior notice of the visits to allow for the completion of the review and evaluation procedure.