Grants
Submitted projects must have a duration of up to three years and a budget of between CHF 5,000 and CHF 200,000.
Applicants
Researchers based in Switzerland or doing their research abroad under an SNSF fellowship may submit applications for Agora projects irrespective of their career stage and their experience in science communication. Agora applicants must be employed with a work-time percentage of no less than 20%. All applicants must make a significant contribution to the project and assume personal responsibility.
In line with the principles of the DORA declaration, Agora projects are considered scientific output; the SNSF will therefore take them into account when evaluating the scientific track record.
Principles of DORA
Communicated topic
The topic communicated by the Agora project must be clearly linked to research recently conducted by the applicant(s).
The communicated topic must be of interest to the target audience and the underlying research must have been peer-reviewed. This implies that the research has been published in at least one peer-reviewed journal and/or has received competitive funding as approved by the SNSF or another funding institution in Switzerland or abroad. .
Project team
The applicant or applicants can choose to work with other people who have the expertise required to carry out the project successfully. The role of project partner is available to persons who make a contribution to the project without bearing individual responsibility. Non-academics can also collaborate on the project, e.g. if they know the target audience, are communication experts or have artistic qualifications. Sub-projects that cannot be run by the applicants or by project partners can be sub-contracted as an external mandate.
Sub-projects that cannot be run by the applicants or by project partners can be sub-contracted as an external mandate.
It is highly recommended that applicants work with the communication service of the host institution. In this sense, a contact with the communication officer of the institute is required prior to the release of the fund (art. 10.3). A list of all communication services of higher education institutions in Switzerland is available on the website of SUPRIO (Swiss Universities Communications Officers Conference).
Swiss Universities Communications Officers Conference
Other stakeholders in the area of science communication may also be able to offer assistance, e.g. the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and their competence centre for dialogue "Science et Cité".
Target audience(s) and means of communication
Agora projects always address an audience that is non-specialised in the communicated topic. This includes adults, adolescents, schools or people generally distant from cultural centres. Agora projects can also address smaller target audiences who play a pivotal role in society such as politicians, social workers or teachers.
Applicants can freely choose the means of communication. But the chosen means must encourage a dialogue between researchers and target audience.
Target audiences and means of communication need to be clearly specified in the project plan.
Restrictions
The following types of projects are excluded:
- Communication with other researchers.
- Communication linked to academic teaching, technology transfer.
- Projects whose primary goals are to promote the profile or reputation of an institution (e.g. marketing initiative).
- Projects whose primary goals are to generate public acceptability for a scientific achievement or technology.
- Research into science communication (such projects are financed under the research funding schemes of the SNSF)
- Projects linked exclusively to National Research Programmes (NRPs) or National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) as these programmes have a science communication budget of their own.
Costs
Costs for the development and realisation of the project are assumed by the SNSF (salaries, fees, materials, production costs, project management etc.) as well as advertising and distribution costs in Switzerland and abroad. The applicant's salary is not included in the budget. Material and service costs exceeding CHF 20,000 must be accompanied by competing offers from more than one supplier/service provider.
Third-party funding
The SNSF is open to third parties contributing to the funding of the project. You must specify the amount, the source and the stage (approved, requested) of your third-party funding so that the SNSF can assess whether the project is feasible. Make sure that the communication project does not rely on sponsors and is not mistaken as a marketing measure.
mySNF
Proposals have to be submitted using the mySNF platform:
mySNF
It is advisable to start entering the application data on mySNF as soon as a call is launched (beginning of June). New user accounts must be requested at least five working days before the submission deadline.
You will find detailed instructions on how to prepare and write an application on mySNF.
Project plan
The project plan must be uploaded as a PDF file. It will be sent to international experts. For this reason, it has to be written in English. Exceptions may be granted for German, French and Italian in justifiable cases if a corresponding request is made prior to the submission of the application.
Closely follow the instructions provided in mySNF or in the following document:
CV and research output list
Each applicant has to submit his or her CV and research output list; they need to be uploaded to mySNF as two separate documents. These documents will be sent to international experts. For this reason, they have to be written in English.
Closely follow the instructions provided in mySNF or in the following document:
Guidelines for CV and research output list
Assessment criteria
The evaluation of the proposals is based on the Agora Regulations (Article 9):
- Expertise of the project team (applicant(s), project partner(s) and collaborators).
- Quality of the content to be communicated
- Suitability of the methods or of the communication design in view of the defined target group
- Feasibility of the project
- Expected impact in terms of quality and quantity
Evaluation
The evaluation consists of three stages:
1) Formal verification: the Administrative Offices of the SNSF verify whether the submitted application meets the personal and formal requirements. They may also check if the application meets the rules of scientific integrity:
2) International peer-review process: each application is evaluated by at least two international experts using a list of questions based on the evaluation criteria of Agora. At the end of the evaluation process, applicants have access to the anonymised external reviews on mySNF.
List of questions for the assessment of Agora applications (PDF)
3) Assessment by the Agora evaluation commission: each application is examined by two members of the evaluation commission; they assess the external reviews and classify each application according to the evaluation criteria defined for Agora. In a plenary session, the members of the commission then discuss and compare all the applications and make a provisional funding decision on each application. Subsequently, the Presiding Board of the Research Council examines whether the procedures have been correctly applied and the budget and other conditions complied with. If this is the case, it endorses the decisions of the evaluation commission.
Composition of the Agora evaluation commission
Communication of the funding decision
Final decisions are generally taken five-and-a-half to six months after the submission date. The Administrative Offices of the SNSF forward the final decisions to the applicants as soon as possible in the form of a ruling (in accordance with the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure).
The list contains the names of the members of the evaluation body Agora Evaluation Commission. For the SNSF, interaction between applicants and members of evaluation bodies over applications is not compatible with academic best practices.
Agora Evaluation Committee
The SNSF has joined forces with swissnex San Francisco to offer a scientific communication traineeship to winners of the Optimus Agora Prize. Chosen from the submitted proposals, the prize acknowledges the communication potential of the winning project.
Only projects with a budget of more than CHF 50,000 and a duration of over a year are considered for the Optimus Agora Prize..
Winners since 2018