Amended regulations and SNSF Portal – what's new in project funding

The SNSF integrated the Sinergia programme into project funding in June 2023. This brings collaborative and interdisciplinary research together in our largest funding scheme. At the same time, we have amended the relevant regulations so that we can provide even greater support for such projects. The first call for proposals after the integration of the Sinergia programme and the amendment of the regulations will open on 3 July 2023. We would like to make researchers aware of the most important changes in advance:

• The former Sinergia programme has been integrated into project funding. Regardless of whether you submit a project as an individual or a collaborative and/or interdisciplinary project, the same rules and submission deadline (2 October 2023, 5 p.m. Swiss time) apply.
• Grants with overlapping funding periods: Researchers can now receive up to three project funding grants that overlap in time. This is allowed if at least one of them is approved for a Lead Agency/Weave project, for the International Co-Investigator Scheme or for a European consortium project (for example ERA-Net). Current Sinergia grants and SNSF career grants count as a project funding grant. All research projects must be clearly differentiated from each other thematically. You can only participate as an applicant in one proposal per call.
• Grant amount for a project: On average, the SNSF awards a maximum of 250,000 francs per applicant per year across the duration of the grant. The total costs per project may not exceed 1 million francs per year. The grant is paid out as an overall budget in fixed annual instalments and can be freely divided among the applicants.
• In the case of two or more applicants, as a rule there must be no hierarchical dependency. The collaboration must be essential for achieving the research objectives and must add value to the project. For collaborative projects, we also evaluate how the collaboration is designed and organised in view of the common research goals.
• Applicants abroad: In collaborative projects with three or more applicants, one applicant may be employed at a research institute outside Switzerland and may receive SNSF funding. Their expertise must be necessary for the project. However, this option is not available for proposals in which an applicant abroad is already involved (Weave/Lead Agency/International Co-Investigator Scheme).
• Coordination costs: If three or more applicants are involved, they can charge the costs for coordinating the research project to the SNSF grant.
• In interdisciplinary projects, research is conducted across the boundaries of existing disciplines which contribute to the project from different angles. The relevant disciplines can be represented by one or more applicants. Such proposals are designated as interdisciplinary and are assessed by a dedicated evaluation panel.
• The research plan must now comprise a maximum of 15 pages and no more than 60,000 characters (including spaces). For collaborative projects, the limits are 17 pages and 68,000 characters. Please follow the guidelines for the research plan regarding format, structure and content.

Submitting proposals on the SNSF Portal

The SNSF will open a call for project funding proposals under the amended regulations for the first time on 3 July 2023. Applicants will then have until 2 October 2023 to submit their proposal on the new SNSF Portal. Even if you already have a mySNF account, you will need to create a new account for the SNSF Portal. We recommend that you take enough time to familiarise yourself with the portal and to enter the proposal.

To find out more information, please take part in the webinar on 29 June 2023 (see box) and consult the Project Funding web page and Regulations.

• Project funding
• Amended Project Funding Regulations (PDF)
• Registration for the webinar on 29 June, 1.30 p.m. to 3 p.m.