Article 10 Any science and technology talent in a supporting institution that satisfies the following requirements may apply for the National Natural Science Funds:
(1) He has the experiences of assuming the basic research topic or other basic research;
(2) He has a senior academic rank (title) or a doctoral degree, or has a recommendation from two science and technology persons who are working in the same research field and have a senior academic rank (title).
Where a science and technology personnel that engages in basic research and satisfies the requirements as prescribed in the preceding paragraph has no job or works for an entity that is not a supporting institution, if he has obtained the consent of a supporting institution registered at the fund management organ after negotiations, he may apply for the National Natural Science Funds under these Regulations. The supporting institution shall deem him as a science and technology personnel of its own, and perform effective management to him in accordance with these Regulations.
An applicant shall be the person in charge of an application for funded projects.

Article 11 An applicant that applies for the National Natural Science Funds shall determine the research project upon the annual directory of funded projects, and submit an application in written form to the fund management organ through the supporting institution within the time limit as prescribed.
An applicant that applies for the National Natural Science Funds shall submit the materials that may prove he has satisfied the requirements as prescribed in Article 10 of these Regulations; in case of any special requirement in the annual directory of funded projects, the applicant shall also submit the certification materials that prove he has satisfied the said requirements.
Where an applicant has obtained other subsidies for the project research for which he is applying for the fund subsidies, the information on the said subsidies shall be explained in the application materials. An applicant shall have the responsibilities of the authenticity of the application materials he submits.

Article 12 The fund management organ shall complete the preliminary examination of application materials within 45 days as of the expiration of the term for applying for funded projects. As regards an application that complies with these Regulations the fund management organ shall accept it, and shall publicize the basic information on the applicant, the name of the supporting institution as well as the name of the project for which the application for funded projects has been filed. In case of any of the following circumstances occurs to an application, the fund management organ may not accept it, and shall inform the applicant through the supporting institution in written form, and shall explain the reasons:
(1) The applicant fails to satisfy the requirements as prescribed in these Regulations;
(2) The application materials fail to comply with the requirements as mentioned in the annual directory of funded projects;
(3) The number of funded projects as applied for by the applicants is in excess of that as prescribed by the fund management organ.

Article 13 The fund management organ shall employ the experts that have a fairly high academic level and good professional ethics in the same field to evaluate the applications for funded projects. The fund management organ shall formulate the specific measures for employing evaluation experts.

Article 14 As regards the applications for funded projects that have been accepted, the fund management organ shall randomly choose three or more experts from the database of experts working in the same field for a communication-based evaluation, and then organize the experts for a meeting-based evaluation; and with respect to the applications for funded projects that are temporarily brought forward because of specific demands of national economic and social development or other specific circumstances, the fund management organ may carry out only a communication-based evaluation or a meeting-based evaluation.
An evaluation expert that finds it difficult to render an academic judgment or is too busy to make an evaluation for the applications for funded projects shall timely inform the fund management organ, and the fund management organ shall choose another evaluation expert for evaluation as required by these Regulations.

Article 15 With respect to an application for funded projects, an evaluation expert shall render an independent judgment and evaluation in terms of scientific value, innovation, social influences as well as the feasibility of research schemes, and bring forward the evaluation opinions thereof.
When giving the evaluation opinions about the applications for funded projects, an evaluation expert shall also consider the research experiences of the applicants and participants, the rationality of the plan for using the funds, the information on other grants for the research topics, the information on the implementation of the funded projects by the applicants as well as the necessity for continuous subsidies.
The evaluation opinions as brought forward through the meeting-based evaluation shall be determined by voting.

Article 16 As regards an application for a funded project on which most of evaluation experts in the communication-based evaluation believe that the fund may not be granted but this project involves many innovations, a meeting-based evaluation may be performed if two evaluation experts that participate in the meeting-based evaluation have signed recommendation for it, unless it is an application for a funded project that is temporarily submitted because of special demands or circumstances as prescribed in Article 14 of these Regulations.
The fund management organ shall publicize the recommendation opinions that are brought forward by evaluation experts.

Article 17 The fund management organ shall determine the research projects to be funded in accordance with these Regulations and the evaluation opinions brought forward by experts, and may not deny the evaluation opinions brought forward by experts on the ground that it has different academic viewpoints from those of evaluation experts.
Where the fund management organ determines to grant a fund, it shall timely inform the applicant and the supporting institution in written form, and publicize the basic information on the applicant, the name of the supporting institution, the name of the project for which an application for funded projects has been submitted, and the amount of the fund to be granted; in case it determines not to grant a fund, it shall timely inform the applicant and the supporting institution in written form, and explain the reasons.
The fund management organ shall sort out the evaluation opinions of experts and provide them for the applicant.

Article 18 Where an applicant does not satisfy with the decision on refusal to accept his application or to fund his project as made by the fund management organ, he may submit a request for reexamination to the fund management organ in written form within 15 days upon receipt of the circular. The different opinions on the academic judgment of evaluation experts as held by an applicant may not be deemed as the reasons for requesting the reexamination.
The fund management organ shall complete the reexamination within 60 days as of receipt of a reexamination request as submitted by an applicant. Where the fund management organ deems that the former decision complies with these Regulations, it shall maintain the former decision and inform the applicant in written form. Where the fund management organ deems that the former decision does not comply with these Regulations, it shall annul the former decision, organize evaluation experts to evaluate the application for the funded project as submitted by the applicant again, make a decision, and inform the applicant and the supporting institution of the result in written form.

Article 19 In the evaluation of funded projects, a personnel of the fund management organ or an evaluation expert shall apply for withdrawal in case of any circumstance as follows:
(1) The personnel of the fund management organ or the evaluation expert is a close family member of the applicant or participant or has any other relation which may affect the fair evaluation;
(2) The funded project as submitted by an evaluation expert himself is the same as or similar to the one as submitted by the applicant;
(3) The evaluation expert and the applicant or participant work for the same legal person entity.
The fund management organ shall, according to the application, make a decision on whether to withdraw or not upon examination, or may directly make such a decision without an application.
An applicant for funded projects may provide a name list of three or less evaluation experts that are not suitable for evaluation, and the fund management organ shall consider the said name list upon the actual circumstance when selecting evaluation experts.

Article 20 Any personnel of the fund management organ may neither apply for or participate in the application for the National Natural Science Funds, nor may he interfere in the evaluation of evaluation experts.
Any personnel of the fund management organ or evaluation expert may neither reveal the basic information with respect to evaluation experts, evaluation opinions, evaluation results or other information on the evaluation that has not been revealed.