The Swiss National Science Foundation has announced adjustments to its project funding scheme in response to a sharp rise in grant applications and increasingly constrained financial resources. The revised measures aim to preserve fair access to funding for researchers while safeguarding the quality of evaluations. These changes will apply to all proposals submitted by the call deadline of 1 April 2026.
Project funding remains the SNSF’s most important instrument for supporting outstanding basic research in Switzerland. However, federal funding for research has grown only modestly in recent years, with future budget cuts anticipated. At the same time, demand for project funding has surged significantly, placing growing strain on available resources.
Since October 2021, the number of submitted proposals has increased by more than half, while the total amount of requested funding has risen by nearly 70 percent. This growth has accelerated further since late 2024, leading to declining success rates. As a result, many researchers are spending substantial time preparing proposals that ultimately cannot be funded, despite their scientific quality.
The mounting volume of applications has also pushed the evaluation process toward its operational limits. Ensuring high-quality peer review has become increasingly challenging, reinforcing the need for structural measures to manage demand more effectively and sustainably.
To address these challenges, the SNSF has decided to further restrict both the number of proposals that individual researchers can submit and the amount of funding that can be requested per project. The intention is to enable a broader group of excellent researchers to secure at least one grant, rather than concentrating resources among a smaller number of applicants.
Under the revised framework, researchers may hold a maximum of two simultaneous project funding grants, with at least one required to be part of a Lead Agency, Weave, or ICIS project. In addition, applicants may submit only one project funding proposal within a twelve-month period, with limited exceptions for proposals affected by random selection or partner-organisation decisions in collaborative schemes.
The SNSF has also reinforced financial caps on project budgets. While applicants may continue to request an average of up to 250,000 Swiss francs per year over the project duration, personnel costs are now limited to an average of 200,000 Swiss francs per applicant per year. The maximum total funding per project has been set at 3 million Swiss francs.
Eligibility rules regarding international participation have also been clarified. Applicants based abroad may only participate through Lead Agency, Weave, or ICIS projects, although collaboration with international partners remains possible within funded projects.
To ease the transition, the SNSF will apply special provisions for ongoing and previously approved collaborative projects until their completion. Collaborative grants approved before 1 April 2026 will be treated in the same way as Lead Agency, Weave, or ICIS projects, allowing affected researchers to submit an additional proposal under certain conditions.
According to the SNSF leadership, the impact of these measures will be closely monitored, particularly with regard to collaborative research and early-career researchers. The Foundation has stated that further adjustments will be made if necessary to ensure that project funding remains fair, competitive, and capable of supporting a broad and diverse research landscape despite tightening financial constraints.
