Agora - where research meets the public

​Grants

Submitted projects can have a duration of up to three years and a budget of between CHF 5,000 and CHF 200,000.​

Applicants

Agora projects must be submitted jointly by a researcher and a communications expert. These experts will be assessed in a similar way to researchers, on the basis of a narrative CV (see details below).

• Researchers: Researchers based in Switzerland may submit applications for Agora projects irrespective of their career stage and their experience in science communication. Agora applicants must be employed at an eligible institution with a work-time percentage of no less than 20% during their project. They cannot apply for their own salaries.
• Communication experts: People working on projects as communication specialists can lead or co-lead a project. Their own salary on the project may be financed, with the exception of people employed at Swiss higher education institutions.

All applicants must make a significant contribution to the project and assume personal responsibility.

Communicated topic

The topic communicated by the Agora project must be clearly linked to research recently conducted by the researcher applicant(s).

The communicated topic must be of interest to the target audience and the underlying research must have been peer-reviewed. This implies that the research has been published in at least one peer-reviewed journal and/or has received competitive funding as approved by the SNSF or another funding institution in Switzerland or abroad.

Project partner(s)

The applicant or applicants can choose to work with other people who have the scientific expertise required to carry out the project successfully. The role of project partner is available to researchers who make a contribution to the project without bearing individual responsibility. They may not describe the funding from the SNSF as funding received individually. Project partners do not have to meet the eligibility requirements for applicants and can therefore also work abroad.

Subcontractor(s)

Sub-projects that cannot be run by the applicants or by project partners can be subcontracted as an external mandate.

Communication services and network

It is highly recommended that applicants work with the communication service of the host institution. In this sense, a contact with the communication officer of the institute is required prior to the release of the fund. A list of all communication services of higher education institutions in Switzerland is available on the website of SUPRIO (Swiss Universities Communications Officers Conference).

Swiss Universities Communications Officers Conference

Other stakeholders in the area of science communication may also be able to offer assistance, e.g. the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences and their competence centre for dialogue "Science et Cité". The independent think tank Reatch promotes a science-friendly culture in which science, society and politics pursue the same goal.

• Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
• Science et Cité
• Reatch - Research. Think. Change - Reatch

Target audience(s) and means of communication

Target audiences and means of communication need to be clearly specified in the project plan.​

Agora projects always address an audience that is non-specialised in the communicated topic. This includes adults, adolescents, schools or people generally distant from cultural centres. Agora projects can also address smaller target audiences who play a pivotal role in society such as politicians, social workers or teachers.

Applicants can freely choose the means of communication. But the chosen means must encourage a dialogue between researchers and target audience.

Restrictions

The following types of projects are excluded:

• Communication with other researchers.
• Communication linked to academic teaching, technology transfer.
• Projects whose primary goals are to promote the profile or reputation of an institution (e.g. marketing initiative).
• Projects whose primary goals are to generate public acceptability for a scientific achievement or technology.
• Research into science communication (such projects are financed under the research funding schemes of the SNSF)
• Projects linked exclusively to National Research Programmes (NRPs) or National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) as these programmes have a science communication budget of their own.

Costs

Costs for the development and realisation of the project are assumed by the SNSF (salaries, fees, materials, production costs, project management etc.) as well as advertising and distribution costs in Switzerland and abroad. The applicant's salary is not included in the budget. Material and service costs exceeding CHF 50,000 must be accompanied by competing offers from more than one supplier/service provider.​

Third-party funding

The SNSF welcomes co-financing by third parties. It is important to specify the exact amount, the source and the status (approved, submitted) so that the SNSF can assess the feasibility of the project. However, the communication projects must be scientifically independent of sponsors and must not be confused with marketing campaigns.

Impact and Outreach

Agora projects are communication projects. Therefore, we highly recommend to include from the start aspects like the project impact, evaluation plan, as well as the communication and outreach strategy (see further links for thoughts below).

​mySNF

Proposals have to be submitted using the mySNF platform: ​mySNF

It is advisable to start entering the application data on mySNF as soon as a call is launched (beginning of June). New user accounts must be requested at least five working days before the submission deadline. ​

You will find detailed instructions on how to prepare and write an application on mySNF. ​

Project plan

The project plan must be uploaded as a PDF file. It will be sent to international experts. For this reason, it has to be written in English.

Closely follow the instructions provided in mySNF and in the following document:​

• Requirements for the Agora project plan (PDF)
• And for Agora Rolling Call (PDF)

Guidelines for CV and major achievements

The SNSF has signed the “San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)”, which recommends funders to be explicit about the criteria used in evaluating the scientific productivity of applicants. The scientific quality, value and impact of the entire research output is taken into consideration (including datasets, software, prototypes) in addition to research publications. In this context, the scientific content of a paper is much more important than publication metrics or the name of the journal in which it was published.

In order to comply with the DORA principles, the SNSF defined a new structure for the CV and requests a standardised set of information from all applicants.

Specifically, applicants will have to compile their CV according to the template on the SNSF-Portal and subsequently upload a PDF in the data container “CV and major achievements”.

• Researchers: You find more information on the CV website and on the SNSF-Portal. This information, which must be provided for each scientific applicant and written in the language of the research plan, is sent out for peer-reviewing. Sample CV (PDF).
• Communication experts (Agora specialist): The Agora specialist must also create their CV in the new format. To create the CV via the portal, an ORCID identification number is required. For people who do not want to or cannot register on ORCID, we offer the option of working with a standard CV that contains the “Major Achievements” section in accordance with the format specified by the SNSF. In the form of a narrative CV, it should explain the extent to which the qualifications and expertise of the communication expert will benefit the planned project. You can use the following template (Word) as a guideline.

​Assessment criteria

The evaluation of the proposals is based on the Agora Regulations (Article 9). The following criteria will be examined:

• Expertise of the project team (applicant, co-applicant, project partner, collaborator, etc).
• Quality of the content to be communicated.
• Suitability of the methods or the communication design in view of the defined target group.
• Feasibility of the project.
• Expected impact in terms of quality and quantity.
• Contribution to the promotion of diversity and equal opportunities.

Evaluation

The evaluation consists of three stages:​

1) Formal verification: the Administrative Offices of the SNSF verify whether the submitted application meets the personal and formal requirements. They may also check if the application meets the rules of scientific integrity:​

2) International peer-review process: each application is evaluated by at least two international experts using a list of questions based on the evaluation criteria of Agora. At the end of the evaluation process, applicants have access to the anonymised external reviews on mySNF.​

Evaluation form – Agora (PDF)

3) Assessment by the Agora evaluation panel: each application is examined by two members of the evaluation panel; they assess the external reviews and classify each application according to the evaluation criteria defined for Agora. In a plenary session, the members of the panel then discuss and compare all the applications and make a provisional funding decision on each application. Subsequently, the Academic Board of the Research Council examines whether the procedures have been correctly applied and the budget and other conditions complied with. If this is the case, it endorses the decisions of the evaluation panel.

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

Composition of the Agora evaluation panel

Communication of the funding decision

Final decisions are generally taken five-and-a-half to six months after the submission date. The Administrative Offices of the SNSF forward the final decisions to the applicants as soon as possible in the form of a ruling (in accordance with the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure).​

The SNSF has joined forces with Swissnex San Francisco to offer a scientific communication traineeship to winners of the Optimus Agora Prize. Chosen from the submitted proposals, the prize acknowledges the communication potential of the winning project.​

Only projects with a budget of more than CHF 50,000 and a duration of over a year are considered for the Optimus Agora Prize.​

Winners since 2018​

Here you will find a list of Agora events and activities in Switzerland (click here to access the full map).

Are you planning one or more events or activities funded by the Agora funding programme? Please keep us informed by completing this form.

• Science Communication Toolbox (VA, Public & Science)
• Evaluation : Practical guidelines (UK Research and Innovation)
• The Communicator’s Guide to Research, Analysis, and Evaluation (Institute for Public Relations)
• La moulinette : tool for public outreach projects (Science et Cité, in French or German)
• Information et Inspiration - Impact Unit (Wissenschaft im Dialog, in German)
• Research Impact Toolkit (UCD Dublin)
• Volk, S. C. (2024). Assessing the Outputs, Outcomes, and Impacts of Science Communication: A Quantitative Content Analysis of 128 Science Communication Projects