Spark funds the rapid testing or development of novel and unconventional scientific approaches, methods, theories, standards and ideas. It is designed for projects that show unconventional thinking and introduce a unique approach. Spark is open to all disciplines. More in the Spark evaluation form.
Applicants at any career level, from postdocs to full professors, holding a doctorate or equivalent qualification, are eligible to apply. They must be employed at a CH higher education or research institution for the duration of the grant and have developed the idea for the proposal themselves.
Applicants can request between CHF 50'000 and CHF 100'000 for a project duration of 6 to 12 months. The grant can cover the applicant’s salary.
You need a written confirmation from USI if:• your salary is to be funded on the grant, • your contract ends before the grant, • you are not employed at USI at the call deadline.To obtain the letter, please contact USI Research Service now.
• 1 applicant per project.• If you get the grant or get rejected and rated among the weakest third, you cannot reapply for 4 calls.• Proposals that are not anonymized will be discarded.• PhD students cannot be employed on Spark.• No parallel submission of the same project to other SNSF calls.
Check out the USI instructions to learn about the most common critiques raised by reviewers and much more. Contact the Research Service as soon as possible to get feedback on the project description, to check its anonymization and for budget and admin support.
