AGENCE NATIONALE DE LA RECHERCHE

Their core work

ANR is France's primary national research funding agency, responsible for allocating competitive research grants across all scientific disciplines. In H2020, ANR's role is overwhelmingly as a co-funder and coordinator of ERA-NET Cofund actions — instruments that pool national funding programs across European countries to launch joint transnational research calls. They do not perform research themselves; instead, they design funding programs, align national research agendas with European priorities, and manage the selection and monitoring of funded projects across borders. Their participation spans environment, health, food security, and quantum technologies, reflecting France's broad national research priorities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2014–2018, ANR focused heavily on establishing joint transnational calls and aligning national strategic research agendas across traditional domains — climate services, water, food systems, and disease-specific health networks. From 2019 onward, the portfolio shifted noticeably toward international cooperation (especially EU-Africa partnerships), circular economy, nature-based solutions, and frontier technologies like FET flagships and quantum/ICT. This reflects a broader French policy move from intra-European coordination toward global research diplomacy and emerging technology domains.

ANR is expanding beyond traditional European ERA-NET coordination toward global partnerships (Africa, Mediterranean) and emerging technology fields (quantum, FET), making them increasingly relevant for international consortium building.

How they like to work

ANR overwhelmingly operates as a participant (58 of 71 projects), which reflects its role as a national co-funder joining multilateral ERA-NET consortia rather than leading individual research efforts. When it does coordinate (13 projects), these tend to be strategic initiatives like LEAP-AGRI and ERA4CS where France plays a lead policy role. With 570 unique partners across 74 countries, ANR functions as a major hub node — partnering widely rather than repeatedly with the same organizations, which is typical of a funding agency that connects diverse national research ecosystems.

ANR has collaborated with 570 distinct organizations across 74 countries, making it one of the most broadly connected entities in H2020. This extraordinary geographic spread reflects its role as a national funding agency that co-funds research programs with counterpart agencies across Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.

What sets them apart

ANR is not a research performer — it is a research funder, which gives it a fundamentally different value in a consortium. Partnering with ANR means accessing France's national research funding infrastructure: the ability to co-design and co-fund transnational calls, mobilize French research teams, and align with France's strategic research agenda. For consortium builders, ANR provides institutional legitimacy, co-funding capacity, and a direct bridge to France's research ecosystem — a role no university or SME can fill.

Highlights from their portfolio

• LEAP-AGRI
  ANR-coordinated EU-Africa partnership on food security and sustainable agriculture (EUR 920K), representing their expanding international cooperation role.
• BiodivERsA3
  Largest single EC contribution to ANR (EUR 1.87M), consolidating the European Research Area on biodiversity and ecosystem services across 30+ partners.
• QuantERA
  Major ERA-NET Cofund in quantum technologies (EUR 1.04M to ANR), signaling France's strategic investment in frontier technology research coordination.