USA
As of April 2026, the NSF will be the Lead Agency. The following US National Science Foundation (NSF) directorates have confirmed participation in the Lead Agency procedure.
Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO)
- Molecular and Cellular Biosciences core programs
- Integrative Organismal Systems core programs
- Environmental Biology core programsDirectorate for Engineering
- Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) core programs
- Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) core programs
- Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems (ECCS) core programsDirectorate for Geosciences (GEO)
- Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (Atmosphere cluster/Geospace cluster/Infrastructure cluster)
- Earth Sciences (Chemical Evolution of the Solid Earth and Volcanology/Life and Environments Through Time/Structure and Physics of the Solid Earth/ Water, Landscape and Critical Zone Processes)
- Ocean Sciences (Biological Oceanography/Chemical Oceanography/Marine Geology and Geophysics/Physical Oceanography)
- Office of Polar Programs (Antarctic Research Not Requiring U.S. Antarctic Program Field Support/Arctic Research Opportunities)Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
- Division of Astronomical Sciences (Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants)
- MPS-Math Sci (Algebra and Number Theory/ Analysis/Applied Mathematics/Combinatorics/Computational Mathematics/Foundations/Geometric Analysis/Mathematical Biology/Probability/Statistics/Topology)
- MPS- Physics (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics-Experiment / Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics- Theory / Elementary Particle Physics- Experiment/Gravitational Physics- Experiments and Data Analysis/ Gravitational Physics- Theory/ LIGO Research Support/ Nuclear Physics-Experiment/ Nuclear Physics- Theory/ Particle Astrophysics-Experiment/ Physics of Living Systems/ Plasma Physics/ Quantum Information Science)
Expression of interest
The SNSF and the NSF have agreed on a two-stage procedure. At least 60 calendar days in advance of the date the applicants intend to submit a full proposal, the US applicants are required to submit an expression of interest (EOI) to the NSF describing the entire project, regardless of whether the lead lies with the SNSF or the NSF. Additional information on the requirements for this EOI will be posted on the NSF's corresponding website. Based on the EOI, the NSF checks the eligibility of the applicants. After approval by the NSF, the full proposal can be submitted to the Lead Agency. The full proposal should be submitted within 12 months of the EOI being approved. This procedure also applies if the application is evaluated by the SNSF, and the SNSF will not consider applications without an NSF-approved EOI.
Broader impact
All proposals should address both intellectual merit and the broader economic/societal impacts or relevance of the proposed research. On mySNF, the application must be declared as use-inspired and the broader impact described in the research plan.
Submission
In 2026, submissions will be made to the NSF. An ‘Expression of Interest’ must be submitted to the NSF at least two months before applicants intend to submit the proposal.
Before submission
Upcoming submission dates: The NSF will be the lead agency as of April 2026. For Directorate specific deadlines, please refer to the NSF website. US applicants will be required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the NSF at least two months in advance.
The applicants need to meet the participation requirements and eligibility criteria defined by the SNSF and the NSF.
The research plan must conform with the guidelines issued by the Lead Agency; it can be submitted unchanged to the partner organisations. At the SNSF: seven days after submission to the NSF; and at the NSF: after approval of the project for funding.
All other data and information must be in line with the guidelines of the funding agencies involved.
Costs are calculated on the basis of the relevant national guidelines.
Applications must be submitted in English.
In both countries, the maximum project duration is 48 months, or as specified in the NSF programme. The project must start on the same date and have the same duration in both countries.
SNSF as Lead Agency
- If the SNSF is the Lead Agency, applications must be submitted to the SNSF in the calls for project funding (deadlines: 1 April and 1 October). Applicants cannot simultaneously submit any further SNSF project funding applications.
- Submit the expression of interest to the NSF by 31 January for the submission deadline of 1 April or by 2 August for the submission deadline of 1 October.
- Please enter the applicants based in the USA as co-applicants.
- Declare the application as use-inspired and describe the broader impact in the research plan.
- Enter the budget of the Swiss subproject in the in the section “Budget". For the total project budget, fill in the budget form and upload it.
- CVs of all persons registered as applicants must be submitted according to SNSF guidelines.
- The applicants based in the USA need to submit the proposal to the NSF after the project has been accepted for funding.
NSF as Lead Agency
The deadline of the NSF is decisive for the submission.
For administrative reasons, the application must be submitted via the mySNF platform no later than seven days after submission to the NSF.
Please enter the applicants based in the USA as “other applicant”.
Enter the budget of the Swiss subproject in the data container "Requested funding". For the total project budget, fill in the budget form and upload it.
The CVs of the Swiss applicants need to meet SNSF guidelines; it is not necessary to submit the CVs and research outputs of the US applicants.
If the application is submitted to the NSF a copy must be submitted to the SNSF via mySNF within seven days.
Documents and links