Gabriele Gendotti, a lawyer from the canton of Ticino, is the new president of the Foundation Council of the SNSF. The former national councillor and member of the cantonal government replaces Hans Ulrich Stöckling at the helm of Switzerland's most prominent research funding organisation.
In mid-December 2011, the Executive Committee of the Foundation Council unanimously re-elected the members of the Presiding Board of the National Research Council. Additionally, they chose new presidents in three divisions and elected five new members to the National Research Council due to the expiry of various mandates as of 1 April 2012.
On 11 January 2012, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) got together with 250 participants from science, higher education institutions and politics to discuss the forward-looking topic "What more can we do to support young researchers?". Different workshops were held in which young researchers were able to formulate their needs. The subsequent committed and constructive discussions with decision makers were crowned by the first appearance of federal councillor Alain Berset at a public event. The event was organized in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the SNSF.
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 19 December 2011, the State Secretariat for Education and Research and the SNSF signed the service level agreement (SLA) for 2012. The SLA, which is effectively a continuation of the previous agreement, defines the activities of the SNSF in the coming year. It sets budgetary limits and describes strategic areas of work. The Federal Council also approved the permanent overhead regulations issued by the SNSF.
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.
On 9 November, the Federal Council approved the Dispatch and the draft of the comprehensive revision of the Federal Act on the Promotion of Research and Innovation (RIPA) and submitted it to parliament for discussion. The SNSF welcomes the comprehensive revision and has made a significant contribution to the draft. Most of its demands have been considered.
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.
On 14/15 November 2011, an international conference on mobility and networks will take place, celebrating ten years of equal opportunities in SNSF research funding. Well-known researchers will present their work on issues such as mobility patterns and impact factors in their relationship to gender. An international discussion panel chaired by Dieter Imboden, President of the Equal Opportunities Commission, will conclude the event.
The SNSF invites young researchers to formulate what it is they need from the SNSF, from the institutions of higher education and from the political authorities and to put their demands before decision-makers from these realms at a special event to be held on 11 January 2012. Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter will be among those speaking on this topic at the high-level event.
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 SDC and the SNSF are continuing their longstanding co-operation in research funding in the framework of the Swiss enlargement contribution: the "Romanian-Swiss Research Programme" was launched at the end of September and is soon to be followed by the "Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme".
If all genders are to enjoy the same opportunities in research, there is a permanent need for equal opportunity efforts. For this reason, the SNSF created its own Equal Opportunities Commission and the position of an equal opportunities representative.
SNSFinfo print No 14: Editorial
The SNSF's progress report on the overhead introduction phase shows that the simple implementation model has proven effective, although the medium-term target of a contribution rate of 20% has not yet been reached. According to a survey, the rectors of institutions of higher education generally use the overhead contributions for their research and administration infrastructure.
SNSFinfo print no 14: "In Focus"
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.
Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and teaching are steadily gaining ground in Switzerland and around the world. Switzerland has recently hosted national and international conferences aimed at improving the general conditions for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) decided to change the salarie rates for doctoral candidats as of 1 January 2012: CHF 41,400 during the first year, CHF 44,400 during the second year and CHF 47,400 during the third and fourth year.
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 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has renamed certain divisions within its Administrative Offices as well as one of its specialised committees. Furthermore, it has reclassified its funding schemes and made the corresponding changes on its website. Finally, the SNSF has published online new guidelines and descriptions to help researchers in selecting an appropriate funding scheme.
As of mid-August, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will collect data on the output of SNSF-funded research. During and after a project, researchers will be able to enter details regarding publications, research events and communication activities along with other types of research output on mySNF.
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 Swiss National Science Foundation this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) programme for the promotion of women in science. Not only has the MHV programme enabled scores of women to continue their research careers - it has also enormously enriched Swiss science as a whole. It may hence be regarded as a success story which the SNSF aims to continue, and to which a collection of portraits of successful former MHV grantees is a fitting tribute.
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"
At the end of 2010, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) conducted its traditional round of visits to the Swiss universities, known as the "Tour de Suisse". This opportunity for discussion was highly valued by both sides, particularly in view of the federal government's Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (BFI), which is currently under preparation.
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”.
The Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize ceremony held by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) will take place on 28 June 2011 at the University House in Berne. The ceremony will be attended by personages from science, such as Ulrike Landfester, Vice President of the National Research Council, and Dietmar Braun, President of the Specialised Committee Individual Funding of the SNSF. Subsequently, an opening event will be held for the commemorative brochure issued on the occasion of the MHV programme's 20th anniversary.
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.
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.
The aim of SystemsX.ch has been to bring systems biology in Switzerland to world class level. In October 2010, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) performed an intermediate evaluation of the initiative in collaboration with experts from abroad. Based on the positive results and in view of areas where further work is desirable, the SNSF recommends that the government extend funding for SystemsX.ch at the current level for another four years.
Researchers have submitted 1,145 applications requesting a total of 401 million Swiss francs in project funding on the 1 April 2011 submission date. The number of applications submitted is thus higher than on 1 March 2010 (1,067 applications) even discounting Sinergia applications, for which separate deadlines apply as of this year. As until now, the number of applications received in spring is slightly lower than the number received last autumn in spite of the submission date being moved from 1 March to 1 April.
Since 2009, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) annually has awarded the Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) Prize. The prize is awarded in recognition of outstanding scientific achievements during an MHV subsidy. The winner of the 2011 prize is the classical philologist Dr Rebecca Lämmle. In her dissertation she explores the poetics of Greek satyr plays.