International partners
The SNSF cooperates with partners abroad to facilitate cross-border research activities and to play a part in shaping the international research environment.
Within the scope of its cross-border research funding activities, the SNSF collaborates closely with international partners. Its key partners in Europe are SwissCore, the SNSF's contact office in Brussels, and Science Europe, the umbrella organisation of Europe's leading research and research funding institutions.
In addition, the SNSF maintains numerous direct contacts with foreign partner institutions. This has led to the signing of important bilateral and multilateral agreements for promoting global mobility and cooperative research.
All national and international partners and other organisations of the ERI domain.
SwissCore
SwissCore is the Swiss information and liaison office for European research, innovation and education in Brussels, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), and the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse. Its Swiss partners are Euresearch (in the area of research and innovation) and the ch Foundation (in the area of education). SwissCore is a member of the Informal Group of RTD Liaison Offices (IGLO).
SwissCore's mission is to connect Swiss and European research, innovation and education as well as to promote the participation of Swiss institutions in European programmes.
One of the tasks of SwissCore is to gather information and share it efficiently and comprehensively with its Swiss partners; this is achieved through maintaining and establishing contacts as well as organising information events . The contact office is also responsible for liaising and networking with Brussels-based knowledge owners. Another task of SwissCore is to showcase the strengths of Swiss education, research and innovation for decision makers in Brussels, such as the European Commission, as well as for national contact offices.
SwissCore offers free services to Swiss institutions wishing to participate in European programmes: brokering, strategic advice, organising visits to Brussels, work placements, specialised courses as well as meeting rooms and desks for visitors.
Science Europe
Science Europe (SE), founded in 2011, is the voice of the European scientific community. As an umbrella organisation, it comprises 51 leading European research and research funding institutions. By providing the first president and through its active participation, the SNSF has contributed substantially to Science Europe.
The formation of SE is the logical answer to the idea of the "European Research Area" (ERA), which was launched by the EU to encourage and facilitate cross-border collaboration in scientific research. The umbrella organisation is responsible for making the dialogue between the EU and the national organisations more homogeneous and more efficient – for the benefit of research and researchers.
Science Europe will continue the activities defined in the joint Roadmap for the development of the European research area, which was developed by its predecessor organisations ESF and EUROHORCs in the past years. It will promote the signing of multilateral agreements for scientific co-operation with the ultimate goal of developing a "European Grant Union".