27/10/2020
Call for research project

PNR-EST call for research projects on the topic "Radiofrequencies and health"

From 22/10/2020 to 14/01/2021

On 22 October 2020, ANSES issued a call for research projects (CRP) on the topic "Radiofrequencies and Health". It is financed by funds entrusted to ANSES by the Ministry of Ecological and Inclusive Transition.

This call is issued within the framework of the National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health (PNR-EST). This programme aims to encourage scientific communities to produce data of use in the different phases of health risk assessment, thereby bringing research and scientific expert appraisal closer together.

The selection process will be divided into two stages: 

  • an initial selection on the basis of letters of intent, 
  • a second round of selection based on complete applications.

It involves two committees. The first includes researchers in charge of the scientific evaluation and selection of projects. The second, made up of funding bodies, the ministries concerned and other stakeholders, decides on the final list of projects to be financed from those short-listed by the scientific committee.

The call for projects and the research questions

The scope and conditions are described in the text of the CRP. It is accompanied by a list of research questions that have been identified as priority areas for potential users of this research. These questions are the topics that this call aims to document, and they address four research areas: 

  • Mechanisms of action at cellular level
  • Physiological responses to and health effects of radiofrequencies
  • Electromagnetic hypersensitivity
  • Characterisation of exposure

In the current context of 5G deployment, research on the frequency bands available in France will be given priority.

Project submission terms

Letters of intent and complete applications must be submitted online using the Research and Scientific Watch platform. The platform for the submission of 2021 applications will be operational at the end of October 2020.  

Provisional timetable for the call

  • 22 October 2020: opening of the call.
  • 14 January 2021 at noon: deadline for submitting letters of intent.
  • March 2021: project sponsors informed of the initial selection results, based on the letters of intent.
  • 18 May 2021 at noon: deadline for submitting complete applications.
  • September 2021: publication of the final selection results.

Letters of intent must be submitted online by the scientific project managers no later than 14 January 2021 at noon, French time.

For those whose letters of intent are selected, complete applications must be submitted by the scientific project managers:

1) Online, no later than 18 May 2021 at noon, French time. 
The time of the submission deadline must be respected.
Acknowledgement of receipt of electronic applications will be automatically sent to the scientific project managers.

2) Then through a certificate confirming receipt, which is issued by the platform after the application is submitted. This certificate should be returned by the project sponsor electronically, with all required signatures, no later than 15 June 2021.

Applications that are incomplete, received after the deadline or do not fulfil the eligibility criteria will not be evaluated.

For administrative or scientific information, please contact CRP support by e-mail or, if necessary, by telephone at: +33 (0)1 56 29 52 86

Practical recommendations

Before submission of the letter of intent or of the complete application, you should carefully read the text of the call, and in particular the "eligibility criteria" section and the annexes on the relevant research topics and "list of chargeable expenses".

Once finalised, submit the letter or the complete application to ANSES using the online platform (remember to click on the "soumettre" button). You are strongly advised not to wait until the deadline.