Guidelines "How do I enter the budget in the SNSF Portal?"
Based on your budget information, we will estimate the funding you will need for the project. Please note: the planned costs must be reasonable and comprehensible.
These guidelines are intended to help you submit an appropriate budget. You should only plan costs that are directly related to your project and fundable by the SNSF. Please provide a justification for each expense so that third parties can understand why it is necessary.
Find out more here about:
- the three basic principles
- the principles for the individual cost categories
Detailed rules can be found in the requirements for the relevant funding scheme and in the General Implementation Regulations.
Principle 1
You may only use the SNSF grant for costs that are directly related to your project. Costs for basic equipment or normal operation of a scientific facility are not covered.
Eligible costs
Costs not covered
Salaries of persons employed specifically for the project.
The personal salaries of applicants or project partners.
Costs for equipment you acquire because it is central to your project.
Equipement informatique standard, matériel et logiciels inclus.
Costs for the direct use of infrastructures. Detailed rules on the use of infrastructure can be found here: Infrastructure use.
General costs relating to the purchase, amortisation, maintenance and repair of this infrastructure.
Costs for data storage during the lifetime of your project if data volumes are exceptionally large and exceed the capacity of the infrastructure available at the higher education institution.
Principle 2
Justify all expenses and set out clearly why they are necessary.
- “Attending various conferences” is not sufficiently specific as a justification for travel expenses.
- Costs become comprehensible if you can show how they are linked to the activities envisaged in the research plan.
- Budgeted costs are often an estimate. Not every cab ride needs to be itemised. However, you should clearly show what the budgeted costs consist of and on what considerations they are based (e.g. experience from a comparable project).
Principle 3
Calculate costs based on cost-efficiency and proportionality criteria.
- In a reasonable budget, the costs are proportionate to the goals set for the project. The costs may exceed the usual range only in exceptional cases and only if justified.
- Avoid air travel, both for sustainability and cost reasons. If flying should still be necessary, choose cheap flights and use the same trip for multiple purposes.
Travel, conferences and workshops
Travel must be directly related to the research project. In addition to travel expenses (e.g. for attend-ing conferences), you can also include costs for organising meetings and workshops.
Apply the following principles when travelling:
- Whenever possible, use public transport.
- Fly economy class. Choose the offer with the best price-performance ratio. The SNSF will only pay business class supplements in cases where this is absolutely necessary.
- Calculate room and board costs based on the rates applicable at your institution. The costs at mid-price hotels and restaurants constitute the maximum reference price.
Equipment and material of enduring value
The SNSF will reimburse the costs of equipment and material of lasting value up to a maximum amount of CHF 100,000. Such equipment is necessary for the research project and is purchased specifically for it. It is not part of the basic equipment of a scientific institution.
The following basic equipment costs cannot be included in the budget:
- Standard IT equipment including hardware and software;
- Laboratory facilities and equipment;
- Other facilities and equipment that are standard in an institution for the relevant area of re-search.
Specification for applications for project funding
The SNSF will reimburse the costs of equipment and material of lasting value up to a maximum amount of CHF 300,000. A minimum of 50% co-funding by the institution is required for the cumulative costs of equipment exceeding 100,000 francs.
Providing access to research data (Open Research Data)
The SNSF supports researchers in making data from their project accessible with up to CHF 10,000.
Eligible costs for making research data accessible:
- Costs for data preparation (e.g. cleaning up data, creating metadata and anonymising data)
- Costs for publication in scientifically recognised, digital data repositories.
The data repositories must fulfil the FAIR principles (see Checklist (PDF)and Clauses 2.13 and 11.8 of the General implementation regulations for the Funding Regulations). The SNSF does not cover any costs for commercial data repositories.
Infrastructure use, data acquisition, consumables and other material costs
The SNSF covers other material costs that are directly related to your research project and are not part of the basic equipment or normal operation of a scientific institution.
Eligible costs for infrastructure use:
- expenses for consumables
- field expenses
- direct costs for the use of infrastructures or costs for computing time
- costs for procuring data.
Detailed rules on the use of infrastructure can be found here: Infrastructure use
You must not add the cost of basic equipment or normal operations to the budget.
Costs for infrastructure use not covered:
- IT equipment, literature, aids and objects that are part of the basic equipment or usual operation of a scientific institution, as well as any related translations
- Photocopies, postage, phone calls, IT accessories (hardware and infrastructure) and soft-ware (e.g. licences, support services, subscriptions)
- Rent, electricity, water, insurance, with the exception of liability insurance premiums for research involving human subjects
- Maintenance and services, service centres and repairs
- Acquisition, amortisation, maintenance and repair of used infrastructure
Budget ceiling for project funding
Per project applicant, the SNSF awards an average budget ceiling of CHF 250,000 p.a. for the duration of the funding period. For the project as a whole, the SNSF sets the budget ceiling at CHF 1 million. The applicants can decide on how to divide up the funding among themselves.
A project lasts a maximum of four years. Thus the maximum possible funding amount is CHF 4 million. The minimum funding amount for a project is CHF 100,000. The minimum duration of a project is 1 year.
Applicants abroad are not eligible for more than their mathematical share (1/n for n applicants).
Applicants abroad under Weave / Lead Agency / International Co-Investigator Scheme agreements are exempt from this rule:
- Applicants under the International Co-Investigator Scheme can receive a maximum of 50% of the total budget.
- For applicants in countries with Weave / Lead Agency agreements, the respective national guidelines apply exclusively.
Budget share for Weave / Lead Agency partner organisations
Request material costs and salaries for project employees of applicants in countries with Weave or Lead Agency agreements solely from the SNSF partner organisations. The respective national guidelines apply to the calculation of costs.
File this budget share separately in the Weave/Lead Agency Budget Table (Excel). For projects with applicants from South Tyrol, use the Financial Plan (Excel).
Upload the relevant budget as a PDF document in the “Budget” section.
The budget share for Weave or Lead Agency partner organisations does not count towards the calculation of the budget maximum in project funding nor towards the maximum budget share for project partners.