About
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF/SNSF) is Switzerland's leading research funding organization. It invests in researchers and their ideas, promoting outstanding research at universities and other institutions across all disciplines—from chemistry and medicine to sociology. The foundation supports thousands of research teams in creating knowledge for a better future and works with partners to shape Switzerland's research landscape. The SNF funds basic research and aims to foster scientific careers, international collaboration, open science, and equality, diversity and inclusion in research.
Funding Opportunities
Money follows Researcher
The Money follows Researcher process is aimed at researchers who move abroad and would like current SNSF funding to continue. In principle, a continuation of the project is possible in any country. The project can either continue in Switzerland while being managed from abroad or transferred to the new location. This supplementary measure allows researchers with active SNSF grants to maintain their funding when relocating internationally, ensuring continuity of their research work. The SNSF decides on a case-by-case basis how the funds can be used in Switzerland while the project is being managed from abroad, or whether they can be transferred in whole or in part to the new host institution. Applications are accepted year-round, and researchers must contact the unit responsible for their funding scheme before applying.
Mobility grants in projects
Mobility grants are aimed at doctoral students who wish to improve their scientific profile by going abroad while being employed in an ongoing SNSF research project. During the period spent abroad, the grantee will remain matriculated at the Swiss home institution and employed as a doctoral student in the SNSF-funded research project. A mobility grant can cover travel and living costs as well as fees for conferences and workshops of up to CHF 20,000. It is awarded for six to twelve months. If the applicant is to be accompanied by immediate family, up to CHF 5,000 per additional family member may be awarded. The stay abroad must take place within the time-frame of the research project funded by the SNSF, and applications must be submitted no later than two months before the start of the stay abroad. The stay must occur at a single research institution without interruption.
Gender Equality Grant
The Gender Equality Grant is a supplementary measure offered by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) to support female researchers in early career phases. Eligible researchers receive CHF 1,000 per 12 months of approved project running time. The grant is designed to finance career support measures tailored to the needs of women researchers, such as mentoring, coaching, courses, workshops, and participation in events that are conducive to networking. The grant does not cover family support measures. The gender equality grant is automatically available to eligible female researchers employed in SNSF-funded projects and career funding schemes, requiring no separate application. Doctoral and postdoctoral level women researchers, as well as women researchers at universities of applied sciences without a doctorate, are eligible. A work-time percentage of at least 60 percent funded by the SNSF is generally required, though doctoral students may be awarded the grant regardless of their work-time percentage. If project funds are available, they may be used to finance the grant; otherwise, a compensatory payment may be initiated in the final financial report.
Flexibility Grant
Flexibility grants are aimed at postdocs and doctoral students who have to look after children at an important stage in their career and are therefore in need of more flexibility. The Flexibility Grant offers researchers two options to balance their professional and private lives: on the one hand, it can provide funding to help cover the external child care costs charged to the researcher. On the other hand, it can be used to help finance the salary of a support person, allowing the grantee to reduce his/her work quota. The two measures can also be combined. This grant is available to researchers employed in SNSF-funded research projects who need external childcare on three working days per week and can cover at most one of the remaining two days themselves. Postdocs must have a work-time percentage of at least 80%, while doctoral students can apply irrespective of their work-time percentage. Holders of Ambizione, PRIMA, Postdoc.Mobility return grants and Doc.CH grants may also apply.
Open Access Book Publications
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provides funding for the publication of scientific books that are made available immediately, without restrictions and free of charge through gold open access. This funding scheme supports the dissemination of research results, whether they originate from SNSF-funded research or from other projects. The SNSF funds academic book publications in the form of monographs and edited volumes that have undergone a peer review process. Monographs include doctoral dissertations, habilitations, legal commentaries and editions. The book publications must have proven academic added value and be primarily aimed at an academic audience. The SNSF reimburses the publisher's services for quality assurance, book production and distribution through a book processing charge (BPC), covering up to 15,000 Swiss francs per book publication. Additional funding is available for particularly lengthy publications, elaborate layouts, audiovisual and interactive content, or foreign language proofreading. Applications can be submitted at any time via the online platform mySNF, with decisions typically provided within two months.
Agora
Agora supports communication projects that promote exchanges between science and society. The programme provides funding for researchers to engage in dialogue with the public and communicate research results through various communication methods. Projects must be developed and realised in collaboration with experts from communication, knowledge transfer, culture, media, and similar fields. The programme aims to convey fundamental scientific knowledge and foster dialogue between researchers and their target audiences. Two funding tracks are available: the Agora call for projects with budgets up to 200,000 Swiss francs submitted annually in autumn, and the Agora rolling call for projects up to 50,000 Swiss francs that can be submitted at any time with decisions within four months. Projects can span up to three years and must focus on research findings, scientific challenges, or the role of research itself, targeting audiences in Switzerland that are outside of academic teaching and research contexts.
Scientific Exchanges
The Scientific Exchanges funding scheme from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provides financial support for scientific events in Switzerland and research visits between Swiss researchers and international colleagues. The types of scientific events covered include scientific conferences and workshops. Research visits by Swiss researchers to other countries or by researchers from abroad to Switzerland are funded for a period of 1 to 6 months. For scientific events, the scheme covers travel expenses, accommodation and meals of participants from abroad as well as certain costs of online or hybrid events. For research visits, the scheme covers the travel expenses, accommodation and meals of travelling guests.
International Co-Investigator Scheme
The International Co-Investigator Scheme provides funding for cross-border research projects which include a subproject abroad. This funding scheme is aimed at researchers in Switzerland whose project includes a subproject in partner countries. The SNSF or partner agency evaluates and finances both the project and subproject. The agreement with Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands covers all disciplines, while the agreement with the UK is limited to the humanities and social sciences. The usual submission deadlines are 1 April and 1 October, and only one application may be submitted per deadline. The SNSF evaluates the International Co-Investigator applications together with regular project funding applications, without any involvement of the foreign funding agency (single evaluation). As a grant holder, you are also accountable to the SNSF for the scientific and financial part abroad. With the International Co-Investigator Scheme, researchers can use up to 50 per cent of the budget requested from the SNSF for applicants in Denmark, Norway, Sweden or the Netherlands. For projects in the humanities and social sciences with the UK, subprojects in the UK must not exceed 30 per cent of the overall budget. This is a project funding scheme, and the requirements set out in the Project Funding Regulations apply to international co-applicants, including having a minimum of 50 per cent (0.5 FTE) employment in the country concerned. Overhead contributions cannot be applied for separately as they are calculated on the basis of total research funding and paid directly to the applicant's institution yearly.
At a Glance
- Total Funding Opportunities
- 28
- Active Now
- 8
- Source Domain
- snf.ch
Catalog Data
This funder profile was automatically extracted from grant listings. Information may be incomplete.
Visit official website