Funding LArge international REsearch projects (FLARE)

• Natural persons are eligible to submit applications if they meet the general eligibility requirements for the submission of applications pursuant to Art. 10 of the Funding Regulations. The requirements set out in Art. 13 of the Funding Regulations with regard to the proposed project must also be met.

• Two or more applicants are eligible per application if needed to achieve the targets set for the proposed activities. In such a case, the requirements set out in Art. 12 of the Funding Regulations must be met.

• Only one submission for each experiment will be accepted. If an application is submitted by two or more applicants, each of them must represent one or more subprojects of the experiment.

Application

• Please refer to the call text for the list of eligible costs and for the requirements with regard to the form and content of the research plan and business plan.

• FLARE proposals must be submitted using the mySNF online proposal submission system.

• FLARE grants can have a duration of between one and two years.

• Specific funding arrangements are envisaged for the yearly Swiss contribution to the maintenance of the large hadron collider (LHC) and operation (M&O) costs for the LHC experiments with Swiss participation, and for the yearly Swiss contribution to the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) for the exploitation of the LHC data by physicists. Please refer to the call text.

• Calls for proposals 2026 (PDF)

• Template business plan (Word)

The list contains the names of the members of the FLARE evaluation panel. For the SNSF, interaction between applicants and members of evaluation bodies over applications is not compatible with academic best practices.

• The FLARE proposals are evaluated by a panel of experts (FLARE evaluation panel).

• The FLARE proposals are also examined by at least two external experts who provide written reviews;

• The evaluation of proposals is based on the following evaluation criteria:

  • the international visibility of the Swiss participation in the experiment

  • the quality and feasibility of the research to be carried out and its significance for Swiss science

  • the scientific track record of the applicants and their experience in the domain of the proposal

  • the relative long-term funding priority of the overall experiment as indicated by the representatives of the Swiss community to whom the experiment belongs

  • the long-term commitment of the employer institution to supporting the overall experiment.

• The evaluation procedure includes a presentation to the FLARE evaluation panel by the applicants. After the presentation, the panel can ask questions or request clarifications.