Annual report 2025

Investing in scientific research for the benefit of our country

Switzerland’s key to success has been its understanding that it needs to invest in ideas and innovation since it possesses neither natural resources nor geopolitical power. This is how Switzerland ensures its economic appeal and the commercial success of its small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations. This innovative strength, which puts Switzerland in 1st place every year in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) rankings, stems from scientific research. This is often public basic research, which is largely funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Yet this winning formula for our country is now under threat. The federal government’s relief package 27 will lead to a reduction in the SNSF’s budget as early as next year. The problem is that, already now, we are unable to fund countless innovative projects.

The funds that the SNSF receives from the Confederation are allocated to the best researchers at universities, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education in the various cantons, following a rigorous but fair competitive process.

Through the research it funds, Switzerland also ensures its resilience and independence. Over the last ten years, for example, the SNSF has supported more than 1,300 AI-related research projects. Today, our country is in a position to develop its own AI algorithms and make them available to industry and society. This research also strengthens our economy’s capacity for innovation and its competitiveness, creating jobs and tax revenue.

Faced with current budgetary pressures, the SNSF has shown that it can react quickly and set priorities to maintain effective research funding. This comes at a time when our competitors in Europe and elsewhere are increasing their investment in research and innovation to counter growing geopolitical dangers and uncertainties. In the absence of power, Switzerland must protect the real weapon at its disposal: scientific research.

Jürg Stahl
President of the Foundation Council

Torsten Schwede   
President of the Research Council

Katrin Milzow
Co-director

Thomas Werder Schläpfer
Co-director

Funding approved in 2025

Over the past year, following rigorous competitive evaluation processes, the SNSF evaluated 8,997 proposals and approved 2,849. These received a total of 1,218 million Swiss francs. Most of the money went to funding 2,442 research projects (including 508 scientific exchanges). These research projects included 414 fellowships, allowing early-career researchers to conduct research abroad.

The SNSF also funded 407 open access publications (books and book chapters). In addition to the 2,849 approved proposals, 1,355 open access journal articles were funded with 4.5 million francs via our partner ChronosHub.

The SNSF invested a total of 743 million francs (2024: 685 million) in Project Funding (716 million excluding Spark and special projects). The Project Funding scheme enables established researchers and their teams to work on topics of their own choosing. The SNSF approved 206 million francs (2024: 136 million) for early-career researchers and 126 million francs (2024: 15 million) for infrastructures. Additional funds were allocated to research programmes (105 million, 2024: 105 million) and science communication (21 million, 2024: 20 million).

More resources were invested in Project Funding in 2025 than in 2024. However, these were far from sufficient to meet researchers’ demand for the SNSF’s largest funding scheme. The SNSF could only approve 30% of Project Funding applications (excluding Spark and special projects), compared to 36% in 2024, and consequently was unable to fund numerous outstanding projects.

Around one third of the newly awarded funding went to the life sciences (35%), and another third to the mathematics, informatics, natural sciences and technology research domain (32%). A quarter was allocated to the social sciences and humanities (26%), and 6% to interdisciplinary projects.

The SNSF approved 690 million francs for proposals from universities, 301 million for institutions within the ETH Domain, 53 million for universities of applied sciences and 14 million for universities of teacher education. In addition, supplementary grants and measures amounted to 15 million francs last year, supporting researchers with expenses such as childcare.

Around 60% of the funding is used for researchers’ salaries. In general, these are early-career researchers who are working as part of a project or carrying out their own project. Around 40% finances research and material costs.

Over the course of 2024 and 2025, Swiss researchers were gradually able to participate again in the world's largest research programme Horizon Europe. As a result, the SNSF only allocated 18 million francs for transitional measures in
: 189 million).

In addition to the grants, higher education institutions received 143 million francs from the SNSF to cover the indirect research costs (overhead) incurred by the newly approved projects in 2025.

Ongoing projects 2025

At the end of 2025, 6,190 SNSF-funded projects were underway. These involved 23,796 researchers from universities and other institutions, 41.8% of whom were women. Most projects last several years. The share of female researchers leading a project rose to 34.9%. This represents an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared with 2024.

Detailed interactive key figures for 2025 and the key figures for previous years are available on our Data Portal at data.snf.ch.

In line with its strategy, the SNSF intends to identify challenges at an early stage and collaborate with its partners in education, research and innovation to address them. That is why, in addition to evaluating proposals and funding research projects, the SNSF carried out a wide range of other activities in 2025.

Record number of submitted proposals

While the funds provided by the Confederation have increased only modestly in recent years and are set to be reduced, the number of proposals submitted and the funding amounts requested have risen sharply. In autumn 2025, the SNSF's Project Funding scheme, which supports high-quality basic research, reached new records: 1,451 proposals were submitted, requesting a total of 1.3 billion francs. For comparison, here are the figures for 2021: 944 proposals requesting 774 million francs.

This increase means that researchers’ chances of success are constantly decreasing, and the SNSF has to reject many projects that would be worthy of funding. Consequently, the economy and society are already being deprived of the much-needed results of numerous research projects. In order to ensure a fair chance for all researchers, the SNSF adopted new measures and limits for its Project Funding. These apply to all proposals submitted by 1 April 2026.

New Research Council and co-directorship

The new Research Council took office on 1 April 2025 with Torsten Schwede as its president, succeeding Matthias Egger. Equipped with a new structure, the Research Council is responsible for defining and supervising the SNSF’s funding policy and evaluation procedure.

With its recent reform, the SNSF has responded to developments in research and research funding. It has given itself a more adaptable structure, based on the principles of good governance. It can continue to perform its tasks effectively and meet future challenges with flexibility and competence.

2025 was also marked by a change at the helm of the SNSF Administrative Offices. Katrin Milzow and Thomas Werder Schläpfer took over from Angelika Kalt on 1 April. Their objective is to guarantee an agile and innovative organisation that supports the competitiveness, quality and independence of research. To this end, the co-directorship is committed to ongoing dialogue with stakeholders in the scientific system, with a particular focus on ensuring resilient international cooperation.

In 2025, the National Research Programmes celebrated their 50th anniversary. For 50 years, they have been helping to solve current challenges and fostering dialogue between science, politics and society. The past year was also marked by another anniversary: The SNSF has been digitising data on research funding in Switzerland since 1975. These data are not only a strategic tool for the SNSF to develop funding measures and optimise internal processes, they are also accessible to the public.

Here is a more detailed summary of the SNSF’s activities in 2025.

Foundation Council

As the supreme body of the SNSF, the Foundation Council is responsible for ensuring that the SNSF remains true to its mission and for overall governance of the different bodies. On the recommendation of the Research Council, it endorses the main pillars of the SNSF's funding policy, in particular the Multi-Year Programme. In addition, it is responsible for approving the financial statements and the annual report.

Members of the Foundation Council: Jürg Stahl (President), Prof Nikola Biller-Andorno, Prof Astrid Epiney, Dr Matthias Essenpreis, Prof Urs Frey, Jörg Gasser, Dr Agnès Petit (until
), Dr Laetitia Philippe (SERI representative, until
), Prof Lothar Thiele.

Committees of the Foundation Council

The Foundation Council appoints the Finance and Audit Committee and the Nomination and Compensation Committee as standing committees.

The Foundation Council elects two to three of its members to these committees for a term of two years. For the 2024–2025 period, Agnès Petit and Jörg Gasser sit on the Finance and Audit Committee, while Astrid Epiney and Nikola Biller-Andorno sit on the Nomination and Compensation Committee. Neither committee has any decision-making powers.

Delegates Assembly

The Delegates Assembly is a body of the Swiss National Science Foundation that convened for the first time in March 2024. As an advisory body, it plays a crucial role in shaping the development of the SNSF by bringing the diversity of opinions of the Swiss research community into the discussions.

According to the SNSF’s Statutes, the Delegates Assembly comprises a maximum of 40 members. In total, 28 seats are allocated to members representing the universities, the ETH Domain, the universities of applied sciences, the universities of teacher education and the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. Early-career researchers are represented by three members in the Delegates Assembly.

The Bureau of the Delegates Assembly presides over the Assembly. It consists of President Prof Elisabeth Stark (University of Zurich), Vice President Prof Christine Pirinoli (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland), Prof Christian Bochet (University of Fribourg) and Prof Annette Oxenius (ETH Zurich, from 1.7.2025).

Universities: Prof Hugues Abriel, Prof Patrick Gagliardini, Prof Felix Kessler, Prof Klaus Möller, Prof Francesco Pepe, Prof Sara Rubinelli, Prof Primo Schär, Prof Marianne Schmid Mast.

ETH Domain: Prof Martin Ackermann, Prof Martin Hairer.

Universities of Applied Sciences: Dr Beate Böckem, Prof Corina Caduff, Prof Emanuele Carpanzano, Prof Andreas Gerber-Grote, Prof Falko Schlottig, Prof René Hüsler (from 1.9.2025), Prof Viktor Sigrist (until
), Prof Alex Simeon, Prof Ulrike Zika.

Universities of Teacher Education: Prof Horst Biedermann, Prof Dorothee Brovelli.

Academies of Arts and Sciences: Prof Yves Flückiger, Prof Christofer Hierold, Prof em. Philippe Moreillon, Prof George Thalmann.

Elected members: Philipp Walch (actionuni), Rachel Démolis (actionuni), Laure Piguet (actionuni).

Internal Audit

BDO AG, Bern.

Compliance Committee

Prof Urs Frey (President); Prof Walter Reith, Prof Dominik Hangartner, Dr Rita Pikó, Ingrid Petersson.

Research Council

Each year, the Research Council evaluates several thousand applications submitted to the SNSF and makes funding decisions. It comprises up to 80 researchers, the majority of whom are based at Swiss higher education institutions. It is led by the Academic Board, which defines the funding policy.

72 honorary members, 40 percent women, 60 percent men

President

Prof Torsten Schwede (from 1.1.2025)

Academic Board (from 1.1.2025): Prof Torsten Schwede, Prof Laura Bernardi, Prof Kathryn Hess Bellwald, Prof Stuart Lane, Dr Katrin Milzow (non-voting advisory member), Prof Nicolas Rodondi, Prof Rainer Wallny, Dr Thomas Werder Schläpfer (non-voting advisory member).

Since 1 April 2025, the Research Council has been organised into a Policy Committee and five Programme Committees. These committees make the final funding decisions and ensure clear responsibilities and transparent decision-making processes. Individual members of the Research Council hold dual mandates and sit on several committees.

With this structure, the SNSF is implementing the new governance model in accordance with the 2023 Statutes. It also strengthens the role of the panels in scientific evaluation.

January, February and March 2025 are not covered in this annual report. During this period, the structure of the Research Council corresponded to that presented in the Annual report 2024.

Programme Committee Projects (from 1.4.2025): Prof Anita Auer, Prof Natalie Banerji, Prof Mohamed Bentires-Alj, Prof Kirsten Bomblies, Prof Mirjam Christ-Crain, Prof Manfred Fiebig, Prof Thomas Flatt, Prof Julia Gelshorn, Prof Fabrizio Grandoni, Prof Daniel Gredig, Prof Fritjof Helmchen, Prof Christoph Hess, Prof Wassilis Kassis, Prof Emanuela Keller, Prof Matthias Kliegel, Prof Jean-François Molinari, Prof Martin Müller, Prof John Richard Pannell, Prof Simona Pekarek Doehler, Prof Gabriele Rippl, Prof Carlo Rivolta, Prof Dominic Rohner, Prof Frank Schimmelfennig, Prof Stefan Markus Schmalholz, Prof Vera Slaveykova-Startcheva, Prof Fabien Sorin, Prof Matthias Stuber, Prof Donna Testerman.

Programme Committee Careers (from 1.4.2025): Prof Antonio Baldassarre, Prof Dominik Brühwiler, Prof Philippe Cudré-Mauroux, Prof Julia Eckert, Pre Monica Gotta, Prof em. Gudela Grote, Prof Sebastian Gurtner, Prof Henning Müller (from
), Prof Gabriele Rippl, Prof Bettina Schaefli, Prof Peter Scheiffele, Prof Margitta Seeck, Prof Verdon Taylor, Prof Donna Testerman.

Programme Committee International Cooperation (from 1.4.2025): Prof Jeffrey W. Bode, Prof Paulo de Assis, Prof Olivier Devuyst, Prof Elisa Fornalé, Prof Ravit Helled, Prof Anthony Holtmaat, Prof Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Prof Brenda Kwak, Prof Carlo Rivolta (from 4.9.2025), Prof Daniela Rubatto, Prof Thomas Südmeyer, Prof Ralph Weber.

Programme Committee Long-term Research and Infrastructures (from 1.4.2025): Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel, Prof Dominik Brühwiler, Prof Mira Burri, Prof Eleni Chatzi, Prof Roberto Coppari, Prof Ben Jann, Prof Antonietta Mira (from
), Prof Bert Müller, Prof em. Dimos Poulikakos, Prof Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser, Prof Adrian Signer, Prof Verdon Taylor.

Programme Committee Thematic and Solution-oriented Research (from 1.4.2025): Prof Mira Burri, Prof Eleni Chatzi, Prof Mirjam Christ-Crain, Prof Roberto Coppari, Prof Patrick Eugster, Prof Christoph Hess, Prof Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Prof Martin Lengwiler, Prof Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken, Prof Henning Müller, Prof Matthias Stuber, Prof Birgit Watzke.

Policy Committee (from 1.4.2025): Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel, Prof Julia Eckert, Prof Thomas Flatt, Prof Sebastian Gurtner, Prof Anthony Holtmaat, Prof Martin Lengwiler, Prof Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken, Prof Mira Antonietta, Prof Martin Müller, Prof Simona Pekarek Doehler, Prof Jess Gerrit Snedeker, Prof Thomas Südmeyer, Prof Ralph Weber.

EDI Policy Group: Prof Michèle Amacker (chair until
), Prof Jess Snedeker (chair from
), Prof Antonio Baldassare (from
), Prof Yvonne Benschop (until
), Prof Sébastien Chauvin (until
), Prof Michelle Cottier (until
), Prof Stephen Curry (until
), Dr Serena Dankwa (from
), Prof Elisa Fornale (from
), Prof Monica Gotta (from
), Prof Daniel Gredig (from
), Prof Ruth Müller.

Policy Group Research Ethics and Integrity (REI): Prof Thomas Südmeyer (Vorsitz); Prof Mira Burri (from
), Prof Nadja Capus (until
), Prof Roberto Coppari (from
), Prof Olivier Devuyst, Prof Bijan Fateh-Moghadam (from
), Prof Gude la Grote, Prof Jean-François Molinari, Prof Ralph Weber (from
).

ad hoc Commission on Research Integrity: Prof Nadja Capus (President until
); Prof Bijan Fateh-Moghadam (President from
); Prof Mira Burri (from
), Prof Roberto Coppari (from
), Prof Olivier Devuyst, Dr Claudia Ellenrieder, Milva Franceschi (from 1.4.2025), Prof Gudela Grote, Dr Ladina Knapp, Sophie Kohli, Dr Daniel Krämer, Dr François Lavergne, Prof Jean-François Molinari, Dr David Möller, Dr Margot Mütsch, Dr Cornelia Sommer, Prof Thomas Südmeyer, Dr David Svarin, Prof Ralph Weber (from
).

80 to 100 evaluation panels, consisting of about 1,000 honorary members in all, lay the groundwork for the Research Council's decisions.

As at

Administrative Offices

The Administrative Offices support and coordinate the activities of the Foundation Council, the Delegates Assembly and the Research Council. They are responsible for all administrative matters as well as for the SNSF's national and international networking activities and communication. The implementation of the evaluation procedures is its core task.

As of 31 December 2025, the SNSF employed 341 people at varying work-time percentages, corresponding to 290 full-time equivalents. 58 percent of employees are women. 164 employees work between 90 and 100 percent, 166 employees between 60 and 89 percent, and 11 employees less than 60 percent.

Executive Management > Director, Chief Executive: Dr Angelika Kalt (until
), Dr Katrin Milzow and Dr Thomas Werder Schläpfer (from 1.4.2025 as co-directors). Head of Resource Management: Céline Liechti. Head of Information Technology: Sébastien Stampfli.

Heads of Staff Divisions > Communication: Christophe Giovannini. Strategic Processes (unit): Dr Roberto Sala. Legal Service: Dr Kaspar Sutter. General Secretariat (unit): Dr Anna Brandenburg (until
), Michaela Strinzel (from 1.6.2025).

Heads reporting to the Head of Resource Management > Finance Andreas Kilchenmann. Human Resources: Karim Errassas. Facility Management (unit): Guy Jaun (from
).

Heads of units reporting to the Head of Information Technology > IT Research Funding Services: Dr Laurence Krpoun-Meylan. IT Management & Administration Services: Dr Frank Neidhöfer. IT Enterprise Business Services: Dr Frank Neidhöfer. IT Data & Platform Services: Michael Sägesser. IT Service Desk: Bruno Tanner. IT Information & Collaboration Services: Peter Tomasini-Monjoe.

Heads of Research Funding (sections) > Projects: Dr Pascal Fischer. Grant Management: Dr Michael Hill. International Cooperation: Dr Laure Ognois. Careers: Dr Marc Zbinden.

Heads of Research Development > Long-Term Research: Dr Jean-Luc Barras. Thematic Research: Dr Pierre Willa. Data Team (unit): Dr Anne Jorstad. Research Funding Policy (unit): Srdjan Perko (from 1.6.2025). Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Funding: Dr Jasmine Lorenzini. Sustainability: Lea Quilitz.

As at

• Financial statement 2025 and report of the statutory auditor (PDF)

• Risk assessment (PDF)

The world of research is currently undergoing a period of profound change and faces numerous challenges. The SNSF is also concerned by these issues and is ready to address them in the coming years.

In particular, the SNSF will continue to develop its funding schemes to support the best research projects across all disciplines and the next generation of researchers. Our country’s economic and social progress relies heavily on the results of research and the training of highly qualified personnel.

Switzerland occupies a leading position in the field of research and innovation, and the SNSF is regarded as a reliable partner in the global scientific system. The SNSF will continue and extend its collaborations in a targeted manner, both at European and global levels.

We are also committed to strengthening our exchanges and partnerships within Switzerland, whether with Swiss higher education institutions to improve working conditions for early-career researchers or with Innosuisse to develop the conceptual framework of BRIDGE, our joint funding programme.

Changes to Project Funding

The funds made available by the Confederation have increased only moderately in recent years, and cuts are expected in the future, particularly in relation to the SNSF’s largest funding scheme Project Funding.

In parallel, the number of proposals submitted has been rising steadily over the last few years. Success rates have decreased, and the SNSF is already having to reject many high-quality projects. There is therefore an urgent need to limit the demand for Project Funding. To ensure that the measures have a lasting effect, the SNSF has decided to limit both the number of proposals per researcher and the funding amount requested per proposal. This will apply to all proposals submitted by 1 April 2026. In this way, the SNSF ensures that a greater number of high-calibre researchers receive at least one grant.

Better working conditions for early-career researchers

We will strengthen our efforts to offer good working conditions and career perspectives for early-career researchers, whether they are supported via career funding schemes or other measures.

In addition, the SNSF will continue to develop its strategy and funding schemes to promote talent and non-linear scientific careers. The SNSF also intends to intensify cooperation and dialogue with higher education institutions through the Delegates Assembly as well as set higher standards regarding the conditions that higher education institutions offer early-career researchers funded by the SNSF.

Making equal opportunities a reality in research

In the coming years, the SNSF will also continue its efforts to ensure equal opportunities in research. To fulfil its mission in support of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), the SNSF will take various measures, including raising awareness of EDI during the evaluation process and promoting an inclusive academic culture.

Strengthening and expanding international cooperation

The SNSF will ensure, as far as possible, that the necessary resources are available to meet the growing demand for projects submitted under the Weave, Lead Agency and International Co-Investigator schemes. Furthermore, we will seek to enlarge the network of funding agencies involved in these agreements.

The SNSF will also continue its involvement in European Partnerships, which are replacing ERA-NET. It will maintain existing collaborations and join new ones, particularly in the fields of brain health and social transformation.

New National Centres of Competence in Research

The Swiss Confederation has launched six new National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs), which will commence in the first half of 2026. To strengthen scientific diversity in the NCCR programme, the Confederation intends to open an additional call specifically for the social sciences and humanities. The SNSF will announce this call as soon as its framework conditions have been defined.

In 2026, the 4th series of NCCRs will come to an end. On behalf of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), the SNSF is also developing a concept for the evaluation and funding of research infrastructures in Switzerland.

Greater involvement of practitioners and the public

The SNSF aims to involve practice-based professionals in the National Research Programmes (NRPs). We plan to pursue this objective through several concrete measures, such as the appointment of stakeholders outside academia to steering committees or advisory boards, or the funding of transdisciplinary research that enables collaboration between scientific researchers and practice-based partners. The SNSF will provide clear guidelines on the role expected of practice-based professionals and on their eligibility for funding.

Over the coming years, the SNSF is planning various measures regarding the Investigator Initiated Clinical Trials (IICT) programme, which funds clinical trials that are not a priority for industry. These include strengthening the involvement of patients and the public in the selection of topics, the design of studies and their implementation, and facilitating the establishment of (inter)national networks of clinical trial coordinators.

Accelerating innovation

Innosuisse and the SNSF intend to develop their joint programme BRIDGE. In particular, they aim to strengthen the funding of social innovation and take appropriate measures to increase the participation of women, researchers from universities of applied sciences (UAS) and universities of teacher education (UTE), as well as younger target groups. Other measures will also help to speed up the implementation of scientific results.

Federal contributions until 2028

According to the service level agreement 2025–2028, the SNSF will receive 4,964 million Swiss francs from the Confederation during this period, subject to changes in the Confederations annual budget decisions. Transitional measures for Horizon Europe are not included in this figure. In 2025, the contributions envisaged in the service level agreement for additional tasks and for complementary measures under Horizon Europe (international research collaborations) were each reduced by 25 percent. In view of the Confederation’s relief package 27, reductions in the federal contribution are to be expected in 2027 and 2028.