For the summer semester 2013, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has received a slightly higher number of project proposals than in the previous year: by 1 April, 1'177 applications requesting a total amount of CHF 456 million had been submitted.
In 2012, a team of US researchers took a close look at the quality and transparency of the evaluation procedure of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The SNSF has now issued a statement on the evaluation report published at the beginning of the year in which it sets out its response to the proposed optimisations of the evaluation procedure.
The funding scheme Agora of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) aims to intensify the dialogue between science and society by enabling researchers to communicate with the public and pass on their knowledge. Under Agora, researchers from all disciplines can submit applications for public science communication projects.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has decided to have its funding scheme Ambizione evaluated and has launched a corresponding call. Persons or institutions interested in conducting this evaluation study may submit a study outline by no later than 17 June 2013.
In its Action Plan 2013-2016, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) places an emphasis on ensuring that a sufficient number of young scientists come to the fore in Switzerland. One corresponding measure is the new "120% support grant", which enables postdocs to stay on track with their academic career despite family commitments.
The SCOPES programme, which is financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), boosts scientific co-operation with Eastern Europe. Currently, a first call is open for the following funding schemes: Conference Grants, Joint Research Projects, Preparatory Grants and Valorisation Grants.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has for the first time evaluated applications submitted for the funding scheme FLARE (Funding LArge international REsearch projects). The eleven approved projects of the first call will be supported with a total of CHF 5.7 million. Research work can start as of 1 April 2013 at the earliest.
The national funding initiative Nano-Tera.ch enters its second phase with the 2013 call, which is now open. In December 2012, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) approved the last research projects of the first phase. Nano-Tera.ch promotes the development of complex, multi-scale systems for future applications in the areas of health, security, energy and the environment.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) selected 14 science communication projects of the second Agora call. The quality of the planned interaction between researchers and the public was a key criterion in the evaluation process.
The research co-operation with Eastern Europe is being continued. Last year, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) signed an agreement to conduct SCOPES 2013-2016 with a budget of CHF 16 million.
In February, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) awarded 44 SNSF professorships to excellent young researchers. They will be taking up their posts at eight Swiss universities and both federal institutes of technology.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) aims to be an excellent funding body that funds excellent research. A team of researchers from Western Michigan University were engaged to find out whether this objective is being achieved. Their evaluation report is now available.
In December 2012, the SNSF awarded 37 Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) grants to women researchers who had to interrupt or reduce their scientific activities due to family commitments. A total amount of 7.3 million Swiss francs was allocated.
This year, 14 communication projects dealing with current scientific research will be financed by the Agora funding scheme run by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The Mercator foundation of Switzerland is now also participating in the scheme.
The demand for the R'Equip funding scheme rose slightly in 2012 compared to the previous year: the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) received 76 R'Equip applications for funding research equipment. After evaluation, 58 applications were approved and allocated a total amount of CHF 13.5 million.
SystemsX.ch, the Swiss initiative in systems biology, sets off into the second half in 2013. It has approved yesterday 15 new, interdisciplinary research projects, which have a total budget of CHF 60 million at their disposal up until 2016. Emphasis is put on the quantitative modeling of biological processes and medical questions.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) awards grants to doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences who wish to attend the Swiss Summer School in Lugano or a summer school abroad. Applications for summer schools to be held next year may be submitted as of 7 January 2013. The entire application must be submitted via the mySNF portal. The budget is limited.
The EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND), which aims to support transnational collaborations in the field of neurodegenerative disease research, will launch a call for European research projects for the identification of genetic, epigenetic and environmental risk and protective factors. The call is expected to be launched in early December, with the submission deadline likely to be in March 2013.
In the autumn semester 2012, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) received a slightly lower number of applications in project funding than in the previous year: By 1 October, researchers had submitted 1005 applications requesting a total funding amount of CHF 395 million.
Make it clear, streamlined and flexible: these are some of the goals pursued by the SNSF in restructuring its mobility fellowships for stays abroad. In addition, the SNSF will increase its support for doctoral students as of 2013 by means of a new excellence scheme (Doc.CH) in the humanities and social sciences.
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The main topic of the October edition is "Mobility fellowships and grants for doctoral students: Innovations in 2013".
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has awarded a total of 56 grants to young researchers within the scope of this year's call for proposals for Ambizione, Ambizione-PROSPER and Ambizione-SCORE. It has also decided to amend the regulations for the next call, in particular, to make the upper academic age limit more flexible.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has made an amendment in the Sinergia regulations. The change concerns the number of applications per responsible applicant and other applicants.
For the Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme (BSRP), 47 applications were submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) by 15 March 2012. A total amount of CHF 10.9 million was requested. Thirteen applications were approved and awarded grants worth CHF 4.2 million in total. The success rate of the submitted projects was 27.6%.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has received 34 applications requesting total funding of more than CHF 5.3 million in response to the second call for proposals for Agora, a funding scheme for public science communication projects.
Within the scope of the Romanian-Swiss Research Programme, 65 applications were submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) by 31 January 2012. A total amount of CHF 27.3 million was requested. Twenty-six applications were approved and awarded grants worth CHF 10.4 million in total. The success rate of the submitted projects was 40%.
On 19 September 2012, the SNSF will welcome advanced researchers (postdoc level and higher) from all over Switzerland to its head office in Berne. The Advanced Researchers’ Day hosted by the SNSF is aimed at meeting applicants' information needs with regard to the funding opportunities offered by the SNSF. The event will be held in English and enough time will be set aside for answering questions from the researchers. Register now. There is no charge.
To celebrate its 60th anniversary, the SNSF invited young researchers to participate in an event addressing the subject of whether Switzerland is doing enough for young researchers. After the event, which took place in Berne on 11 January 2012, the SNSF evaluated the suggestions made by the participants. In its response, it presents the conclusions it has drawn and the measures it has initiated.
Ninety-two Sinergia applications were submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) by 15 January 2012. A total amount of 146 million Swiss francs was requested by researchers. Thirty-six applications were approved and awarded grants worth a total of 46 million Swiss francs. On average, the approved applications were granted 25% less than the amount they requested.
In 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) made changes to the terminology and classification of its funding schemes and adjusted its website accordingly. A substantial part of the legal framework of the SNSF was amended accordingly and entered into force as of 1 July 2012.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is having its evaluation procedure for research projects reviewed with a special focus on the quality and transparency of decisions. For this purpose, the team of external specialists carrying out the review will be asking applicants, members of evaluation bodies and external experts to fill in an online questionnaire in July 2012. The results of the review will be announced at the beginning of 2013.
The SNSF is pleased with the development of the lead agency procedure, which was introduced in 2008. Every semester, around 50 applications involving Swiss researchers were submitted to either the SNSF or one of its three partner organisations abroad. The numbers show that the procedure has firmly stablished itself.
The new edition of the 6-page "SNSFinfo print" with the latest institutional information of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has been published. The June edition is devoted to the topic "Project funding: success rate is stable at around 40%".
The Foundation for Political Science Grants is inviting young scientists with an interest in Swiss politics to apply for two grants for 2013. Applicants need to have research experience and be willing to establish new contacts and embrace new forms of communication. Applications can be submitted till 17 August 2012.
As of next year, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will be offering a new funding scheme aimed at doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences: Doc.CH (HSS). In addition, the fellowships for research stays abroad will be offered in a new guise: Doc.Mobility and Early Postdoc.Mobility will replace the fellowships for prospective researchers, and Advanced Postdoc.Mobility will take the place of fellowships for advanced researchers. All these instruments will become effective on 1 January 2013, in accordance with the regulations recently approved by the National Research Council of the SNSF.
The International Exploratory Workshops allow for researchers working in Switzerland to organize workshops with partners from abroad. The aim of this funding instrument, which is open to all fields of research, is to allow researchers working on a similar question to meet and advance their knowledge on the issue.
In a measure aimed at increasing the appeal of a career in science, the SNSF is funding stays abroad at an early career stage: doctoral students will be able to apply for "mobility grants in projects" as of June 2012 if they are employed in an SNSF project, or for the redesigned mobility fellowships "Doc.Mobility" as of 2013.
In spring 2012, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) received a similar number of funding applications as in the previous year: by 1 April, researchers had submitted 1142 applications requesting a total amount of CHF 448 million. While the numbers remained stable, the requested funds increased by no less than 13%.
Each year, Chist-ERA and the SNSF support two different emerging communities working on high-potential ICST topics in Europe. This year, researchers interested in "intelligent user interfaces" and "user-driven, context- and content-aware communication networks" are invited to share their views on upcoming trends and help define the upcoming call.
In 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) invested CHF 713 million in basic science, 1.8% less than in the record year 2010 (CHF 726 million). As in previous years, the SNSF was forced to reject many promis-ing projects.