SNSF Advanced Grants

Applicants whose project was rejected in Step 2 of evaluation for the SNSF AdG 2021 call may apply under SNSF AdG 2022. However, if the application was rejected in Step 1, submission under the SNSF AdG 2022 call is not possible.

Researchers can apply for SNSF AdG 2022 even if they do not yet have ten years of research experience, regardless of the date of their PhD or PhD equivalent. All applicants should be active, established researchers and team leaders with an outstanding track record, which must be detailed in the application. For more information on the expected profile of applicants under SNSF AdG 2022, please refer to the call document.

Yes, in principle an applicant should hold a PhD. Applicants without a PhD must generally have completed 3 years of research work (as their main job) since obtaining their higher education degree. Such research work will be regarded as equivalent to a PhD.

Researchers from abroad can apply for SNSF AdG 2022. However, they must provide confirmation from their host institution stating that they will have a job of at least 50% (0.5 FTE) for the entire duration of the project, if the project is funded.

According to section 1.4 of the Funding Regulations (PDF), eligibility to submit applications ends with the conferral of emeritus status or with retirement. Retired persons or persons with emeritus status continue to be eligible to submit applications if employment of at least 50% (0.5 FTE) at the Swiss research institution is guaranteed. The employment must cover the entire duration of the project, irrespective of the project start date.

SNSF AdGs 2022 are limited to one applicant.

Information from pre-registration is used to search for suitable members of the international evaluation panel. The following information is required: applicant details, host laboratory/institution, basic data I (incl. project title and disciplines), basic data II (summary and keywords). Changes can be made to the information up to the time of final submission. Applicants must send an email to adg@snf.ch confirming completion of their pre-registration.

It is sufficient to store the corresponding information in the appropriate data containers on mySNF.

The host institution commitment letter must be submitted at the time of the final submission of the application, and not at the time of pre-registration. The document must be signed by a person who can legally represent the institution and thus authoritatively confirm the information in the host institution commitment letter (PDF).

Under the SNSF AdG 2022 call, the research plan should not exceed 14 pages (not including the bibliography).

Under the SNSF AdG 2022 call, proposals are evaluated in two steps:

In Step 1, at least three panel members acting as referees independently evaluate the research project’s general scientific merit (based on the extended synopsis, max. 5 pages) and the applicant’s CV and track record. All panel members then discuss the proposal, and a ranking list is compiled based on the individual ratings of panel members. Based on the panel’s ranking list and the available budget, the SNSF AdG 2022 Steering Committee determines the number of proposals that advance to the next selection step (Step 2). Proposals that do not advance to Step 2 are rejected.

Proposals advancing to Step 2 will be assessed in detail by at least three panel members and external reviewers (based on the research plan and the applicant’s CV and track record). Based on the written assessments of the external reviewers and panel members, an interview with the applicant and the discussions at the panel meeting, the evaluation panel generates a ranking list of the Step 2 proposals. The panel submits the final ranking to the SNSF AdG 2022 Steering Committee, which formulates a funding proposal based on the ranking list and the available budget for approval by the SNSF Presiding Board.

The SNSF makes every effort to ensure the high quality and international recognition of reviewers.

The SNSF currently pursues a policy of prioritising reviewers who are based outside Switzerland in order to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest in undertaking objective evaluations.

Under the SNSF AdG 2022 call, the requested budget needs to be entered in the data container “Requested budget” in mySNF (no specific budget table is required).

The justification of resources must be provided in a separate document (see Section 3.1 of the SNSF AdG call document (PDF)) and uploaded to the mySNF data container “Research plan and resources”. All eligible costs must be in line with the aims of the project for its entire duration and fully justified. Project costs should be estimated as accurately as possible. The evaluation panels assess the estimated costs carefully and are entitled to reduce unjustified budgets items. The applicant should not include any description of resources or budget details in the scientific part of the application.

SNSF AdGs are awarded up to a maximum of CHF 2,175,000. Overhead is calculated separately and paid directly to the host institution in keeping with SNSF practices (see Section 3. of the SNSF AdG call document (PDF)).

Applicants may request funding of up to CHF 870,000 over and above the maximum budget of CHF 2,175,000 as additional costs:

• for costs in connection with the move to Switzerland
• for the acquisition or use of scientific infrastructure/major equipment (these costs must be project-specific and not usable for other research groups); standard infrastructure and equipment are partially financed with overhead
• other major experimental and fieldwork costs, excluding personnel costs.

Additional costs may be requested regardless of whether the maximum budget has been reached.

Yes, this is possible.

Applicants are expected to dedicate a minimum of 30% of their working time to the project.

Yes, holders of an SNSF AdG 2022 can submit proposals under other SNSF funding schemes (such as project funding or R’Equip), as long as the proposals address different topics and have different aims and methodologies.

SNSF AdG 2022 does not restrict the number of parallel projects since SNSF project funding is not linked to current ERC calls.

Evaluation of SNSF AdGs takes place independently of ERC frontier research grants.

Applicants can apply for SNSF AdG 2022 and for an ERC frontier research grant in parallel. Should both proposals be funded, the applicant would have to choose one project. Applicants have 12 months from the date of the decision letter to choose which project to pursue. In general, funding is not available for projects that have already been funded by the SNSF or third parties. Researchers who apply for SNSF AdG 2022 must inform the SNSF about any existing ERC frontier research grants and parallel applications for funding, as well as any thematic overlaps.

Researchers with an ongoing ERC frontier research grant may not submit a proposal to SNSF AdG 2022 unless the current project concludes before the end of July 2024. An SNSF AdG 2022 project can only start once the ERC frontier research grant has been completed.

The funds allocated and the expected success rate are not communicated. However, the selection process will be very competitive, similar to the ERC frontier research grants.

The earliest possible start date is 1 August 2023. The project start date can be postponed for up to 12 months after receipt of the decision.

Applications to transfer project funds from an SNSF Advanced Grant to move abroad (see also "Money follows Researcher" procedure) are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Salary components of the grantee are not remitted abroad. As a rule, such applications can only be submitted to the SNSF two years after the start of the grant.