Article 21 A supporting institution and a project principal shall fill in a project plan in light of the evaluation opinions of evaluation experts and the amount of fund as determined by the fund management organ within 20 days as of the receipt of a circular on the grant of fund as issued by the fund management organ, and submit it to the fund management organ for examination and approval.
When filling in a project plan, a supporting institution and a project principal may not alter other contents in the application form except that they do so under the evaluation opinions of evaluation experts or the amount of fund as determined by the fund management organ.

Article 22 As regards the research projects to be funded in this year, the fund management organ shall apply to the competent authority of finance of the State Council for budgetary allotments to funded projects in a timely manner in accordance with the Budget Law of the People's Republic of China and other related provisions of the state, except for those funded projects that are temporarily brought forward because of the specific demands or other specific circumstances as prescribed in Article 14 of these Regulations.
A supporting institution shall inform the fund management organ and the project principal thereof within seven days as of the receipt of fund.
A project principal shall use the funds as required in the project plan, and a supporting institution shall surveil the project principal's use of the funds. No project principal or supporting institution may steal or misappropriate the funds by any means. The specific measures for the use and management of funds subsidies shall be formulated by the competent authority of finance of the State Council together with the fund management organ.

Article 23 A project principal shall organize and implement the research work in light of the project scheme, make original records on the implementation of the funded project, and submit an annual progress report concerning the project to the fund management organ.
A supporting institution shall inspect the annual progress reports concerning the funded projects, check the original records on the implementation of the funded projects, and file the annual reports concerning the management on funded projects to the fund management organ.
The fund management organ shall inspect the annual progress reports on the projects and the annual reports concerning the management on funded projects.

Article 24 The supporting institution may not change the project principal without approval while a funded project is being implemented.
In case of any of the following circumstances occurs to a project principal, the supporting institution shall submit an application for altering this project principal or terminating the implementation of the funded project in a timely manner, and report it to the fund management organ for approval; and the fund management organ may directly make a decision concerning terminating the implementation of the funded project:
(1) He is no more a science and technology personnel of the supporting institution;
(2) He cannot continue to implement the research work;
(3) He steals the scientific research achievements of someone else or resorts to fraud in scientific research.
Where a project principal shifts his post to another supporting institution, the former supporting institution may submit an application for altering the supporting institution to the fund management organ for approval upon negotiations between the new supporting institution and the former supporting institution. If it fails to reach agreement between the new supporting institution and the former supporting institution upon negotiations, the fund management organ shall make a decision on terminating the implementation of the funded project under the charge of the said project principal.

Article 25 Where it is necessary to make some major adjustments to the research contents or research plans during the process of implementation of a funded project, the project principal shall timely submit an application, and apply to the fund management organ for approval upon examination of the supporting institution.

Article 26 A project principal shall submit a concluding report to the fund management organ through the supporting institution within 60 days as of the expiration of the funded project; and as regards a funded project that obtains the research achievements, a research achievement report shall be submitted at the same time.
A supporting institution shall verify the concluding report and establish the archives on funded projects. When examining a concluding report, a supporting institution shall check the original records on the implementation of the funded project.

Article 27 The fund management organ shall examine the concluding reports in a timely manner. As regards a concluding report that fails to satisfy the requirements to conclude the topics, the fund management organ shall give its opinions and notify them to the supporting institution and the project principal in written form.
The fund management organ shall announce the abstracts of the concluding reports, research achievement reports and applications for funded projects, and solicit the comments and opinions of the general public.

Article 28 Where any funded project obtains the research achievements, it shall indicate that it is funded by the National Natural Science Funds when it is publicized.