871 new applications to be evaluated
The project funding scheme is aimed at established researchers in all disciplines. The SNSF invests several hundred million francs in this scheme each year. In the last call for proposals, 871 applications were submitted.
Twice a year, the SNSF awards grants in project funding. Thanks to these grants, researchers are able, together with their teams, to implement a project on a topic of their own choosing. The SNSF pays the team members’ salaries and the research costs and contributes to scientific cooperation, networking and communication.
About CHF 700,000 for more than three and a half years
871 applications were received at the last call for proposals. Following a record number in the spring of 2020 and 2021, the number has returned to a typical level for the last five years. 258 applications came from the humanities and social sciences, 280 from mathematics, natural sciences and engineering, and 333 from biology and medicine. The average project duration is 3.7 years and is based on a budget of around CHF 700,000.
Who is behind the projects?
61% of the applicants are doing research at a university, 23% are at ETH/EPFL, and 12% are at a university of applied sciences or a teacher training college. The remaining 4% work at other institutions. The researchers have an average age of 48 and have been in research for an average of 17 years since obtaining their doctorate.
Taken across all disciplines, the proportion of women is 30%; the figure is substantially higher in humanities and social sciences (37%) but lower in mathematics, natural and engineering sciences (21%). In the course of the last five years, these figures have risen slightly.
International experts will now be examining the applications. Subsequently, the SNSF evaluation panels will issue an assessment and classification. Based on this, the National Research Council will decide which projects are to be funded. The researchers will be informed of the results this coming March.