Funding mode and eligible costs:
The PIRE Program pursues a two-fold aim of promoting excellent science, as well as education of young scientists from the undergraduate level onwards. For both of these aspects, PIRE awards funding to the applicants in the US. Generally, these grants cover funding for students and scientists to go abroad and conduct projects in collaboration with the group from the partnering country.
For Swiss scientists participating in PIRE, the SNSF has decided to focus on the “excellence in science” aspect, which is in line with the project funding efforts of the SNSF. Hence, the eligible costs for collaboration in a PIRE project correspond to the eligible costs in project funding.
Project duration:
PIRE projects typically last 5 years. As explained below, the participation of teams based in Switzerland is governed by the Project Funding Regulations of the SNSF, which means only four-year collaborations can be funded.
Grant amount:
The funding amount awarded to Swiss teams participating in the programme is in line with the Project Funding Regulations of the SNSF and counts as a separate budget. The PIRE grants awarded by the NSF to scientists in the US usually amount to approximately USD 4-5 million.
Reporting:
As there are separate budgets, the PIRE applicant from the US has to meet NSF reporting requirements, while the PIRE applicants from Switzerland would need to report to the SNSF for their part of the project and of the budget.