Iran's National Elites Foundation

Iran's National Elites Foundation

Formation	1 June 2004; 20 years ago (2004-06-01)
Headquarters	Tehran
Location	Iran
Membership	13,025 (2014, including both normal fellows and student members)[1]
Official language	Persian
President	Ruhollah Dehghani Firouzabadi
Key people	Seyyed Salman Seyyed Afghahi[2] (Deputy)
Budget	43 billion Iranian Rial (US$1.36 million)[3]
Staff	50
Website	www.bmn.ir

Iran's National Elites Foundation (INEF;^[4] Persian: بنياد ملي نخبگان, Bonyad-e Melli-e Nokhebegan) is an Iranian governmental organization.^[5] The main purpose of the foundation is to recognize, organize and support Iran's elite national talents.

Members of the foundation include all those who show exceptionally high intellectual capacity, academic aptitude, creative ability and artistic talents, especially contributors in promotion of global science and highly cited scientists and researchers. Iran National Elites Foundation (INEF) is a statewide organization and composed of members with significant scientific and executive background.^[6][7] The INEF members are considered as the most promising researches, inventors and artists of Islamic Republic of Iran, and the young members of the INEF are regarded as those whom will lead the Iran's future science, culture and art. To reach the INEF goals the organization supports its members in scientific, financial/material and pastoral ways, such as granting low-interest or gratuitous loans, supply of any rare sources or laboratory facilities, involving the members with in-demand/priority national projects (in case of young male members, in lieu of the compulsory military service obligations, and exiting the country, as necessary, without assurance for those who have not completed their military service), assisting the members to commercialize their innovations, or move it to policy level, as well as other similar support services and networking opportunities.