Research grants supported by TRF are divided into 2 main categories:

1.  Research where results will be used directly. This type of research is called “research and development (R&D)”.  It could be scientific or technological research to develop products or processes, humanities research to be used for institutional adjustment, or national policy research which is commonly referred to as “research and development.” So that research and development projects can truly be improved and reach levels of high quality, there are supplemental funds for research and development support in the areas of:

- project development

- pilot project

- state-of-the-art review

2. Basic research. This is the research that searches for new knowledge, new theories, new concepts, or new technologies. It does not focus on the practical use of the results. There are two types of basic research. The first type is initiated freely by researchers themselves. The second type is called directed or targeted basic research. This is the basic research which is determined by TRF. Its aim is to support R&D and to strengthen research in the areas which are relatively weak. However, the outputs of both types are the same. The expected results are publications in international journals. 

Basic research grants consist of :

1.      1. TRF Grant for New Researcher

2.      2. TRF-CHE Research Grant for New Scholar

3.      3. TRF-CHE Research Grant for Mid-Career University Faculty

4.      4. Research Career Development Grant

5.      5. TRF Basic Research Grant

6.      6. TRF Research-Team Promotion Grant

4.      7. Strategic Basic Research Grant

5.      8. Translation Research Grant

6.      9. Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Grant

1. TRF Grant for New Researcher

     This type of grant is funded by TRF to support new researchers based at any government or private research organizations to establish their career in research.

     Requirements: The candidate must have earned a doctoral degree, or a degree in medicine or dentistry within the past 5 years. The candidate should have a good educational and work background, and must have at least one international publication within the past 5 years (or other output in case of social sciences and humanities), must not be over 45 years old, and must not hold an administrative position at the level of departmental head or higher. The candidate must have experienced mentor, who has shown outstanding research output in the field similar to that of the candidate and has sufficient time to give advice throughout the granting period.

     Budget: The total budget per project is not more than 480,000 bahts. The grant period is not more than 2 years. Part of the funding, 10,000 bahts per month, is for supplementing the salary of the successful candidate.
 

2. TRF-CHE Research Grant for New Scholar

This type of grant is jointly funded by TRF and the Commission on Higher Education (CHE), Ministry of Education. It is aimed to support young faculty members in government or private tertiary educational institutes to continue doing research after obtaining their Ph.D.

Requirements: The candidate must be a faculty member of institution of tertiary education (eg universities or equivalence), and must have obtained Ph.D. degree or equivalence in their field within the past 5 years, must have at least one international publication and must not be over 45 years old. The candidate must not hold an administrative position at the level of departmental head or higher. The candidate must also have experienced mentor with similar specialization and sufficient time to provide research guidance.

Budget: The total budget per project is not more than 480,000 bahts. The granting period is not more than 2 years. Part of the funding (10,000 bahts per month), is for the salary supplement to the successful candidate.

3. TRF-CHE Research Grant for Mid-Career University Faculty

This type of grant is jointly funded by TRF and the Commission on Higher Education (CHE), Ministry of Education. It is aimed to strengthen the research capability and the research of mid-career faculty members of universities, which is the vital part that contributes to the education and training of graduate students.

Requirements: The candidate must be a faculty members in institution of tertiary education (eg. universities or equivalence), and must have at least one publication in international journals within the past 5 years that was based on the work performed in Thailand, which was not a part of the Ph.D. thesis. The candidate’s research must be of excellent standard. The candidate must not hold an administrative position at the level of departmental head or higher. The successful candidate who is awarded this type of grant will be named “TRF-CHE Research Scholar”.

Budget: The total budget per project is not more than 1,200,000 bahts. The grant period is not more than 3 years. Each yearly budget will be divided into 2 parts: 220,000 bahts for conducting the research, and 180,000 bahts (15,000 bahts per month) for salary supplement. A qualified scholar can apply for this grant again or other types of grants after the first grant ends.

4. Research Career Development Grant

          This grant aims to strengthen researchers and institutions and motivate universities or host institutions to increase their investment in supporting research.

Requirements: The candidate must have at least one publication in international journals within the past 5 years that was based on the work performed in Thailand, and was not a part of his/her Ph.D. thesis. The candidate’s research must be of excellent standard. The candidate must not be over 45 years old, and must not hold an administrative position at the level of departmental head or higher. The candidate who is awarded this type of grant will be named “TRF Research Scholar.”

Budget: The total budget per project is not more than 1,200,000 bahts. The granting period is not more than 3 years. Each yearly budget will be divided into 2 parts: 220,000 bahts for conducting the research and 180,000 bahts (15,000 bahts per month) for salary supplement. The successful candidate is encouraged to acquire additional support from their own institution as the counter-part funding. A qualified scholar can apply for this grant again or other types of grants after the first grant ends.

5. TRF Basic Research Grant

This type of grant is for researchers who already have advanced research experience and have shown solid research achievement.

     Requirements: The candidate must have publications in international journals based on his/her work performed in Thailand not fewer than 3 publications in the past 5 years. The project leader must be the first author or corresponding author of these publications. The summed impact factor of these publications considered to be satisfactory depends on the field, for instances, not less than 5.0 for the biological and medical sciences, and not less than 2.0 for the physical sciences and engineering. The impact factor is not taken into account for social sciences. The candidate who obtains this type of grant will be named “TRF Advanced Research Scholar”.

      Budget: The total budget per project is not more than 3,000,000 bahts. The granting period is not more than 3 years. Part of the funding is for salary supplement to the project leader, which could be between 15,000-25,000 bahts per month, depending on the achievements and experience of the candidate.

6.  TRF Research-Team Promotion Grant

          This type of grant provides support for distinguished senior researchers who have shown ability, integrity and excellence, and are well-known in his/her research area. The major objective is to provide support for the development of research teams lead by the TRF senior research scholars, and to build up long-term intellectual and training bases for the new generations of researchers in the country.

          Requirements: Eligible candidates must not hold administrative position at the level of Dean or higher. The successful candidate will be named “TRF Senior Research Scholar” or “Metheevijai-arvuso”. 

          Process of selection: Committee consisting of knowledgeable persons will select the candidates from the lists of eminent researchers, for example, professors in Thai universities, winners of Outstanding Scientist or Outstanding Researcher Awards, award-winning researchers in universities, distinguished senior researchers in universities or faculty members who have excellent and well-known academic records. The eligible researchers will be invited to write full proposals, which will be assessed by committees of experts.    

7.  Strategic Basic Research Grant

          This newly initiated research grants are aimed at supporting the projects within the research programs that are engaged in areas of basic research whose findings could be applied in formulating public policies, answering to social and economic needs, creating competitiveness for the country that are necessary for the development, either with intermediate or long-term goal. Starting from 2004, ARD is supporting the first of such programs on “Medicinal Chemistry”. The program’s objectives are focused on research in medicinal chemistry pertaining to the drug discoveries, to foster the cooperative network of researchers in related fields, and to encourage the teams in working toward the common goals. In it’s starting phase, the program has mainly focused on finding bioactive compounds from natural products, and research related to the development of specific drugs. Later the scope of this research program has be enlarged and the program was renamed “Pharmaceutical, Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods”

          The other programs of strategic-basic research in operation now include Sustainable Agriculture, Production of Economic Aquatic Animals, Production of Economic Land Animals, Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. 

8.  Translation Research Grant

          This type of grant aims to provide support for translational research that focus on the translation or utilization of knowledge or research findings derived from basic research to be applied in industrial settings. The research must be carried out in partnership with companies or industrial enterprises with the aims of solving industrial production problems, creating new products or processes that could be commercialized. The focus is especially on the empowering and enhancing the research and development capabilities of medium and small enterprises (SME) to achieve innovation and competitiveness, and promote linkage and longterm partnership between basic researchers and industry. The size of the grant could be from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 bahts depending on the scope and content of the research undertaken. The application is usually done by submitting a short Pre-proposol a “Concept Paper” summarizing the research to be carried out, the outcome, and the backgrounds of participating partners. Applicants, whose pre-proposal passed the initial review process, will be invited to write full proposals for further consideration.

9.  Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Grant

          The grants are to support doctoral students in every discipline to study in Thailand. The student must have a co-supervisor in a recognized foreign university and will be supported to do research abroad for a period of up to one year.

          The amount of each grant does not exceed 2,000,000 baht for a period of up to 5 years.