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Inserm, the Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, is France’s public research institute for human health. It is mainly a research operator rather than a general grant-giving agency. For researchers asking about “Inserm funding” or “Inserm grants”, the externally visible funding tools are its international partnership calls, which need an Inserm research team in France as one of the partners. This guide sets out what Inserm is, what the two main international calls fund, who can lead them, and how they differ from schemes run by France’s other research bodies. Everything below is as described on the official Inserm pages on 29 October 2026.
What Inserm is and who runs it
Inserm describes itself as a public scientific and technological institute operating under the joint authority of the French Ministries of Health and Research. Its About Us page calls it the only public research organization in France entirely dedicated to human health, and its stated mission is to promote health for all through knowledge of life and disease, treatment innovation and public health research. The institute dates from 1964 and its missions page says it brings together 15,000 researchers, engineers, technicians and administrative staff.
The practical point for funding is the operator role. Research is carried out in Inserm research units, and the calls described below are built around those units. That places Inserm closer to CNRS, which CASRAI covers as a research operator as well as a funder, than to a project-grant agency such as the ANR, whose JCJC scheme for young researchers is covered separately.
Is there an Inserm grant for outside applicants?
Inserm’s international calls are partnership calls: each project pairs an Inserm team in France with at least one foreign team. The official call pages describe no general Inserm grant open to applicants who have no Inserm team. A researcher abroad can take part as the foreign partner, but the French side of the file comes from an Inserm unit.
Eligibility
International Research Projects (IRP)
The IRP page describes a partnership between an Inserm team and one or more foreign teams, from at least two countries. The creation of an IRP must show complementarity between the teams and reciprocal added value for the partners. There is no geographic restriction, but special attention is paid to projects with low-income or middle-income countries (LMICs).
First Step
First Step is aimed at early-career Inserm researchers: the page says permanent researchers recruited for less than 5 years at Inserm are eligible, and the partner is a foreign team with complementary expertise.
What it funds
| Item | International Research Projects (IRP) | First Step |
|---|---|---|
| Who leads | An Inserm team in France with at least one foreign team | A permanent Inserm researcher recruited for less than 5 years, with a foreign partner team |
| Amount | Up to EUR 60,000 for IRPs in Europe; up to EUR 75,000 outside Europe | EUR 10,000 |
| Duration | 5 years | 18 months |
| Submission platform | Eva3 | Eva3 |
Amounts and durations are those stated on the 2026 call pages.
Application steps
Both calls ask for a similar file, submitted through the Eva3 platform:
- A scientific project of at most 5 pages.
- A list of relevant scientific outputs of the laboratories (First Step: up to 3 outputs).
- A recommendation from the head of the laboratory (the “DU”, directeur d’unité).
- The CV of each coordinator, French and foreign; the IRP page says no set format.
- A support letter signed by the foreign coordinator that states any funding that could be attributed to the project.
The evaluation criteria are published as separate documents attached to each call, so read those for the current year before writing the project.
Typical timeline phases
The 2026 IRP call shows the usual sequence: the call opens in the summer, closes a few months later, results are announced early the following year, and funded projects start that year. First Step ran a shorter window in the same period. Both 2026 windows have closed, so treat them as an example of the phases, not as dates to plan around, and check the pro.inserm.fr call page for the next round.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Inserm funds applicants who have no Inserm unit. The calls described here need an Inserm coordinator.
- Leaving out the foreign coordinator’s signed support letter, or omitting other funding the project may receive.
- Skipping the laboratory head’s recommendation, which is a listed file component.
- Exceeding the 5-page limit for the scientific project.
- Confusing the two calls: First Step is limited by the lead’s seniority at Inserm, IRP is not described that way.
Related programs
| Program or body | What it is | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Key International Partnerships (KIP) | Another Inserm international tool named in the Inserm calls listing | See the official page on pro.inserm.fr |
| International Joint Laboratories (IJL) | Another Inserm international tool named in the calls listing | See the official page on pro.inserm.fr |
| Thematic Coordination Programs (TCP) | Another Inserm international tool named in the calls listing | See the official page on pro.inserm.fr |
| CNRS | French research organisation, operator and funder | CNRS guide |
| ANR JCJC | French agency scheme for young researchers | ANR JCJC guide |
| CoARA National Chapter France | French chapter of the research assessment reform coalition | CoARA France guide |
| ERC Starting and Consolidator Grants | European individual-investigator schemes | ERC guide |
FAQ
Is Inserm a funder?
Mainly it is a research operator under the Health and Research ministries. Its visible external funding is the international partnership calls, which fund collaborations anchored in Inserm units.
Can foreign researchers apply to Inserm alone?
Not according to the official call pages. IRP and First Step both pair an Inserm team in France with a foreign team, and the foreign coordinator contributes a CV and a signed support letter.
How do I find Inserm grants and funding?
Use the international calls listing on pro.inserm.fr, where each call page states the amount, duration, file contents and the open and close window for the current round.
Sources
- Inserm, About Us: https://www.inserm.fr/en/about-us/ (checked 29 October 2026).
- Inserm pro, International Research Projects (IRP): https://pro.inserm.fr/content/calls-for-proposals/inserm-international-calls/international-research-projects-irp (checked 29 October 2026).
- Inserm pro, First Step: https://pro.inserm.fr/content/calls-for-proposals/inserm-international-calls/first-step (checked 29 October 2026).
