The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provides evaluation services to third parties and conducts joint programmes together with external partners. Based on the experiences gained up to now, the SNSF set out the principles and requirements for the assumption of such tasks more precisely in mid-December. They apply with immediate effect to all new mandates or partnerships as well as to extensions of contracts.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is promoting dialogue between researchers and the public by funding 18 communication projects this year. Each of the projects sheds light on different areas of current scientific research.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) activated the research database P3 on its website (www.snf.ch) on 9 January. P3 replaces the existing project database and includes extended information on the content and, as a new feature, also on the output of projects funded by the SNSF. P3 is available in English, French and German and offers expanded and user-friendly search options.
On 6 and 7 February 2012 a Partnering Event will be organised in Seoul/Korea to launch the KORANET Joint Call on Green Technologies. The three main sub-topics of the Call (proposal submission from 6 February to 6 April 2012) will be: Reduction of carbon footprint - Technologies for a sustainable development - Renewable energies and energy efficiency.
Between October 2010 and September 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) investigated ten cases of possible plagiarism in applications. Five of these were detected by experts, five others via a new software used by the SNSF. The subsequent internal investigation came to the conclusion that only two cases involved actual plagiarism. The others were deemed to be cases of minor negligence.
Researchers interested in the Romanian Swiss Research Programme 2011-2016 are now able to link up via a social network. By creating a new group on XING, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) offers support to researchers who are looking to find suitable partners in Romania or Switzerland respectively.
These Fellowships enable young scientists planning to follow an academic career to benefit from a stay abroad in order to increase their knowledge and scientific reputation. The fellowships are supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in any discipline, except experimental and clinical medicine.
The Swiss Foundation for Grants in Biology and Medicine (SFGBM) allocates fellowships for advanced researchers in experimental and clinical medicine, and in biology as a basic medical science in coordination with the SNSF and in accordance with its regulations. These Fellowships enable young scientists planning to follow an academic career to benefit from a stay abroad in order to increase their knowledge and scientific reputation.
With Ambizione, Ambizione-PROSPER, Ambizione-SCORE, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) would like to promote junior researchers in all disciplines. The programme is geared for young researchers who would like to conduct, manage and lead an independently planned project at a Swiss university.
As part of the Research Day, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will be visiting on 7 december 2011 the University of Geneva to present the SNSF's funding schemes with information stands and lectures. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and to participate in workshops where individual funding schemes will be discussed in more detail. Researchers from all universities are welcome.
On 2 November, the SNSF welcomed advanced researchers from the whole of Switzerland to a special event at its offices in Berne. The aim was to inform applicants about the funding options offered by the SNSF. Approximately 150 persons attended the event. The responses received afterwards emphasised the event's usefulness and praised the high quality of the information and advice offered.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has issued a call for proposals for innovation projects within the scope of ongoing National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs). The call is part of the Swiss Confederation's package of measures for 2011. A total amount of 10 million Swiss francs has been made available for the projects. The deadline for the submission of project proposals is 15 February 2012.
For the first time since 2007, fewer project proposals were submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for the autumn semester 2011: by 1 October, 1,079 research proposals requesting a total amount of 410 million Swiss francs had been submitted. This represents a decline of 12% in the number of proposals and the requested funding as compared to the autumn semester 2010.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) funds young academics in all disciplines through the Ambizione, Ambizione-PROSPER and Ambizione-SCORE programme. This year’s call for submission was concluded in August with the award of 49 new Ambizione grants.
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 October edition is devoted to the topic "Enlargement contribution: co-operation with researchers from Bulgaria and Romania".
The Specialised Committee Interdisciplinary Research and the Presiding Board of the National Research Council have made amendments to the regulations on Sinergia grants. The amendments concern the budget for applications, the number of groups and sub-projects involved and the specific evaluation criteria. Furthermore, the structure of the research plan as well as the applicants, follow-up projects and scientific overlaps have been defined more precisely.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has received 77 proposals for public science communication projects covering a wide range of disciplines and communication formats. The success of this initial call confirms the scientific community's eagerness to pass on its knowledge and engage in dialogue with the public.
Last December, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) issued a second call for proposals in the framework of SCOPES, the ongoing Eastern Europe programme 2009-2012. The available funds were sufficient for approval of 28 of the 85 applications submitted. The co-operation networks, which stretch from the Western Balkans to Central Asia and from Ukraine to Moldova, are creating a lot of interest among researchers in both Eastern Europe and Switzerland.
The Romanian-Swiss Research Programme 2011-2016 is about to be launched in Romania. Funded through the Swiss contribution to the EU enlargement, this programme will finance three-year Joint Research Projects (JRP) between Swiss and Romanian researchers. The total budget available for the JRPs is CHF 10.35 mio (85% from the Swiss contribution, 15% from the Romanian contribution).
As the DORE programme will expire in autumn, the DORE publication grants will be integrated into the general publication funding of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). As of 1 October 2011, all publication grants will be paid from the normal publication budget. As of this date, all applications for publication grants will need to be submitted via the mySNF portal. The manuscript will have to be sent both electronically (PDF or CD/DVD) and in printed form.
On 2 November 2011, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will welcome advanced researchers (postdoc level and higher) from all over Switzerland to its head office in Berne. The day for advanced researchers 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, French and German and enough time will be set aside for answering questions from the researchers. Register now! There is no charge.
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.
As under the old system, projects funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) can get underway as of 1st April (if the project was approved in spring) or 1st October (if the project was approved in autumn). Researchers can nonetheless delay the start of their project by up to one year after the official decision, if necessary.
From 14 -16 September 2011, the fourth international conference of td-net, the network for transdisciplinary research of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, will take place in Bern. The conference will focus on the challenges of evaluating inter- and transdisciplinary project proposals. It will be organised in cooperation with the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) at the University of Bern.
Ninety Sinergia applications were submitted to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) by 15 January 2011. A total amount of 147 million Swiss francs was requested by researchers. Thirty-four applications were approved and awarded grants worth a total of 49 million Swiss francs. On average, the approved applications were granted 20% less than the amount they requested.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Sci-ence Foundation (SNSF) have jointly created a fund for research on global issues in and with developing and emerging countries. The Fund has been endowed with some CHF 100 million for its first eight years.
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 categorisation of scientific research, especially to “use-inspired basic research”.
In the past eight years, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has supported practice-oriented research at universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education by funding a total of 302 DORE projects in seven areas of research.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) knows that research cannot be pigeon-holed and labelled, yet in practice it uses various categories for funding policy reasons. In its multi-year programme 2012-2016, the SNSF reconsiders the categorisation of scientific research.
SNFinfo print No 13: Editorial
SNSFinfo print no 13: "In Focus"
In 2010, researchers submitted substantially more projects to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) than in previous years. A steep increase of 17% compared to 2009 means that competition for research funding has become very intense. With overall funding of 726 million Swiss francs, the SNSF supported more projects than ever before (+2.7 % compared to the previous year).
As of the second half of 2011, all candidates for a fellowship for prospective researchers applying through a SNSF Research Commission will have to submit their application via mySNF. Each Research Commission has its own submission deadlines.
Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) are a research instrument of the European Union that comprises voluntary research partnerships between countries. Its aim is to tackle significant societal challenges through a combination of different national research programmes. A JPI on "Neurodegenerative Diseases" has been running with Swiss participation since 2008. An initial public call for proposals for this initiative is to be launched in May 2011.
The research initiative Nano-Tera.ch is expected to bring Switzerland to the cutting edge of 21st century technology. Based on engineering sciences and information technology, the initiative focuses on human health and security as well as on the environment. In November 2010, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) performed an interim evaluation of the initiative in collaboration with experts from abroad. Based on the positive results, the SNSF recommends that the government extend funding for Nano-Tera.ch for another four years.
Agora 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. These projects can take the form of events, debates, exhibitions, films, books or works of art.