The National Natural Science Foundation and the National Social Science Foundation represent China's highest-level scientific funding mechanisms. These nationwide programs primarily support researchers from higher education institutions and research organizations with strong research capabilities and well-established infrastructure. While maintaining distinct focuses, these two funding systems complement each other to form the principal channel supporting basic research in China's scientific domain.
Established in 1991, the National Social Science Fund prioritizes major theoretical and practical issues arising from China's reform, opening-up, and socialist modernization. It actively explores development patterns in the socialist economy, politics, and culture with Chinese characteristics, emphasizing fundamental research, emerging interdisciplinary fields, and comprehensive cross-disciplinary studies. The fund promotes theoretical innovation and supports the preservation and systematization of historically significant cultural heritage. It has developed a comprehensive funding system comprising six categories: Major Projects, Annual Projects, Special Commission Projects, Post-Funding Projects, Western Region Projects, and Chinese Academic Translation Projects.
The National Social Science Fund projects contain substantial unexplored information resources. Project themes reveal contemporary academic hotspots, critical issues, and even technological/social development trends. Quantitative outputs and award records reflect China's scientific research evaluation systems and progress. Investigator characteristics provide insights into the development and distribution patterns of research talents and teams.
The National Social Science Fund Dataset from CnOpenData comprehensively covers all funded projects through 2019, including detailed information on project implementation, principal investigators, affiliated institutions, and research outputs. This dataset offers rich and comprehensive data resources for relevant studies.
Time Coverage
This dataset includes all National Social Science Fund project data prior to July 15, 2019
Field Display
Sample Data
Related Literature
- Lin Yuxin & Liu Yi, 2023: "Examining Reverse Incentives in Basic Research Funding", Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics 11.
- Ye Jingjing, Zhou Xiaoyao & Chen Shi, 2021: "Innovation Transformation of Basic Research Investment: Evidence from NSFC Funding", China Economic Quarterly 11.
- Ren Zhiguang & Wang Hui, 2021: "Analysis of Funding Patterns and Trends in Economic Science during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period", Journal of Management Sciences in China 3.
- Hu, A.G.Z., 2020, "Public funding and the ascent of Chinese science: Evidence from the National Natural Science Foundation of China", Research Policy.
- Tang Xianming, Zhang Zongyi & Liu Yin, 2010: "Research on the Policy Effectiveness of NSFC Regional Science Funds", Journal of Management Sciences in China 12.
Data Update Frequency
Annual updates