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	Open Science funding opportunities

Open Science (OS) is a set of principles & practices that aim at making scientific research more accessible. Open Science practices are essential for the promotion of transparency and reproducibility in research. If you are interested in OS, you may also be looking for some funding.

	Horizon Europe - OSCARS 2nd Call for Open Science (OS) projects

Call opening soon

OSCARS is a 4-year Horizon Europe project (2024-27) that will foster the uptake of OS in Europe by funding OS projects with a total budget of € 16 million for open calls.

Contact: Sara Caspani (servizio.ricerca@usi.ch)

The call at a glance

The call supports projects engaging in or developing ORD. Proposals should make available services or tools, aimed at enabling Open Research in your field. It is valued to use existing FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable & Reusable) data, object, or service to produce new scientific results.

Who can apply

Universities, individual researchers with their own affiliation, research infrastructures, companies & so on, either as consortia or individuals, can apply if based in EU & Associated Countries. Specific conditions may apply to Third Countries. CH-based researchers are eligible at any career level.

Funding and duration

Min. EUR 100K, max. EUR 250K for 12 to 24 months (typically projects last 24 months). Eligible costs: personnel, travels, equipment and other goods & services. EC funding rules apply, 25% of OH included. ~ EUR 3M in total allocated to this 2nd call, ~13 projects are expected to be funded.

Evaluation procedure

Proposals will be evaluated based on their breakthrough character, scope, scientific impacts & digital resources required for the implementation. Their relevance to the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures will also be considered. Results will be out ~2 months after the submission.

Want to know more?

Browse all the projects funded via the 1st OSCARS Open Call. Contact the Research Service to get support with your budget and overall application.

	swissuniversities – Calls for Open Research Data (ORD) projects

Contact: Igor Sarman (servizio.ricerca@usi.ch)

The calls at a glance

Swiss higher education institutions and research organizations can now apply for ORD funding to support innovative research practices. Funding covers initiatives in early-stage exploration and infrastructure enhancement.

Guiding principles of ORD projects

The calls’ objective is to fund projects that enable, facilitate, and foster the sharing of research data based on ORD principles, by developing and sharing best practices, guidelines, training activities and so on, thus allowing researchers to become Open Science leaders in their field.

Action Line A1: Explore Projects (CHORD Track A)

This call supports early-stage ORD projects that aim at exploring, prototyping, and/or building up ORD practices to improve research capabilities and support research communities. The focus is on underrepresented disciplines. Projects must foster sustainable and collaborative ORD practices.

Deadline: 2 March 2025

Funding and duration

Decision: June 2025 Earliest start: 1 July 2025 Latest end: 31 July 2026 Budget: up to CHF 200’000 in federal funding per project (the rule of Matching Funds applies).

Action Line B3.2: Strategic RI Enhancement

This call targets the consolidation and strategic development of the Swiss ORD landscape by integrating and/or enhancing ORD components within existing strategic Research Infrastructures. Projects should seek synergies with other infrastructures to avoid duplication and maximize impact.

Deadline: 2 March 2025

Funding and duration

Decision: June 2025 Earliest start: 1 July 2025 Latest end: 31 July 2026 Budget: up to CHF 250’000 in federal funding per project (the rule of Matching Funds applies).

Open Science: Communication and Awareness Raising

This call supports projects that raise awareness about Open Science (including ORD). Projects that fulfil strategic messaging, stakeholder management and/or impactful storytelling are welcome.

Deadline: rolling call

Funding and duration

Proposals are evaluated on a rolling basis. Latest end: 31 July 2026 Collaboration with other Swiss higher education institutions eligible for funding is desirable & given particular weight in the evaluation. Budget: up to CHF 100’000 in federal funding per project (rule of Matching Funds applies).

Matching Funds principle

Swissuniversities calls adopt the Matching Funds principle: higher education institutions are required to cover at least 50% of the total project costs from their own resources. For detailed procedure contact USI Research Service.

Contact: Igor Sarman (servizio.ricerca@usi.ch)

Institutional support

Applicants must receive the institutional support from the host institution before they can submit the proposal. Project applications must be signed by the Rector or President of all participating higher education institutions. USI internal deadline: 31 January 2025.