European Partnerships and other multilateral initiatives

Integration into networks and transnational cooperation are of great importance for the success of Switzerland as a centre for science. One way of achieving this is to participate in the European Partnerships or other multilateral initiatives, in which funders join forces and jointly launch calls for transnational projects. The projects are funded directly by the participating organisations of the country where the project is based.

Ongoing multilateral initiatives

The SNSF is involved in several initiatives, including those that started before the Horizon Europe framework programme and that continue to launch calls for proposals. Researchers in Switzerland are fully eligible to participate.

• CHIST-ERA: Information and communication technologies, and related fields
• QuantERA: Quantum technology
• JPI AMR: Antimicrobial resistance
• CHANSE: Social sciences and humanities
• HERA: Humanities
• NORFACE: Social and behavioural sciences
• NEURON: Diseases of the brain: neurological and mental disorders
• EJP Soil: Agricultural land management to address climate change, water and future food security
• EJP Rare Diseases: Rare diseases
• JPND: Neurodegenerative diseases
• T-AP: Trans-Atlantic Platform for Social Sciences and Humanities
• Solar-Driven Chemistry: Photochemical transformation of molecules into more valua-ble, storable chemicals by means of solar radiation
• Belmont Forum: Interdisciplinary research on climate change
  
  

European Partnerships

With the launch of Horizon Europe, the various types of multilateral initiatives were brought together under one umbrella: the European Partnerships. Some existing initiatives will continue in their current form through to their completion (e.g. the multilateral initiatives mentioned above), while others have been merged and will continue as partnerships. A number of new thematic partnerships were also launched.

The partnerships bring together a wide range of stakeholders from research, innovation and the private sector to work towards a common goal. In particular, they want to have a social impact and make the best possible use of synergies with other national and regional initiatives.

In 2021, the SNSF analysed all newly launched co-funded European Partnerships in which its membership is a prerequisite for participation by researchers from Switzerland. Within this frame-work, the SNSF investigated where participation will have the greatest impact for the relevant Swiss research community. It also engaged with institutional partners in order to take part in joint or complementary partnerships, depending on the situation. This process led to the selection of a number of European Partnerships, in which the SNSF is now also participating:

• Biodiversa+: Biodiversity
• Clean Energy Transition Partnership (with Swiss Federal Office of Energy)
• Driving Urban Transitions (with Innosuisse, Federal Office of Energy, Federal Office for Spatial Development, Federal Office of Civil Aviation)
• Water4All: A secure water supply for all in the long term
• Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS with Innosuisse and Federal Office of Public Health)
• One Health / AMR, successor to JPI AMR (scheduled as of 2024)
• Rare Diseases, successor to EJP Rare Diseases (scheduled as of 2024)