The Industrial Chairs programme, supporting joint projects between research and industry, is open for submissions for 2026.

The Industrial Chairs programme, a programme launched by France’s Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR – National Research Agency) to support public-private research projects, is now accepting applications for 2026.

Projects supported through the programme must involve a public host research institute, an individual holder of the Chair and at least one private industry partner. The objectives of this programme are as follows:

1. Build and structure collaborative scientific research projects in priority fields that are strategic for public and private stakeholders in the industrial chain through a strong and sustainable partnership.
2. Enable internationally renowned enseignants-chercheurs (teacher-researchers) and researchers, regardless of their nationality, to work on an ambitious, innovative research programme with industrial reach.
3. Ensure training through research by offering doctoral and postdoctoral researchers an approach to research undertaken according to a long term vision in academic research laboratories that is coupled with the experience of economic actors.

This programme covers all research areas on themes jointly defined by the public and private partners. Projects may be at any TRL, with basic, applied and experimental development projects welcome.

To be eligible, the Chair holder (project coordinator) must dedicate all research work to the project theme and must dedicate at least 50% of research time to the tasks related to the Chair position. The host institution must be a French higher education or research establishment or a research organisation and must provide a setting conducive to the development of an Industrial Chair position. Research projects must involve businesses. Business partners who co-finance the chair must have R&D activity in France.

ANR will provide co-funding to successful projects of between €400,000 and €1.2 million over four years (50% of the total eligible budget). The industry co-funder will provide the other 50%.