If research funding is to remain "healthy", the available funds need to develop in line with demand. The Federal Council's Dispatch on the Promotion of Education, Research and Innovation (BFI Dispatch), however, paints a rather gloomy picture in this respect: although the average annual increase in project funding (incl. Sinergia for the promotion of small research networks) at the SNSF between 2008 and 2011 corresponds to 8 percent for applications and as much as 13 percent for requested amounts, the Federal Council envisages an average increase in funds of merely 3.7% for the 2013-2016 period. Due to the growing demand, the funding rate dropped to 41% during the last four-years despite an above-average increase in federal contributions. The comparatively low growth of the next few years weighs all the more heavily in view of clear signs that demand for SNSF funding will continue to grow in future.

Inevitable compromises
According to the BFI Dispatch, a total of 3.65 billion Swiss francs will be made available to the SNSF for all its research funding activities between 2013 and 2016. This corresponds to approximately 900 million less than the amount requested by the SNSF in its current multi-year programme - an amount that is needed for the SNSF to be in a position to fully implement the measures set out in the programme. It is hence clear that some important measures aimed at optimising conditions for researchers in Switzerland cannot be financed. In order to prevent the funding rate of applications from declining even further, additional funds in project funding and for Sinergia are of prime importance.

As the demand for funding is expected to keep on rising strongly, the SNSF regards the funds envisaged by the Federal Council in its BFI Dispatch as insufficient for the next four years. Unless the endowment is corrected, there is a risk of the SNSF not being able to fulfil its task of competitive research funding in line with the needs of researchers.