Simplified cooperation with South Tyrol
The SNSF has signed a Lead Agency agreement with the Italian province of South Tyrol. The submission deadline is once a year on 1 April.
Thanks to the Lead Agency process, researchers in Switzerland and in South Tyrol can jointly submit applications to the SNSF. The key requirement is that the applications must have a joint research question and a joint research plan. The parts of the project conducted in each country must be inseparable subprojects that cannot be carried out in isolation.
SNSF as evaluator
The first submission deadline will be on 1 April 2020. The SNSF will evaluate the proposals and finance the subprojects conducted in Switzerland, while the subprojects abroad will be financed by the Province of South Tyrol. Applications need to be compiled according to SNSF guidelines, except for costs, which must be calculated on the basis of the relevant national guidelines.
Part of project funding
The Lead Agency process forms part of the SNSF's project funding scheme. Hence researchers may only submit a Lead Agency application if there are no thematic overlaps with applications being evaluated at the SNSF, or with ongoing projects.
The SNSF has already signed Lead Agency agreements with Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.