As the number of applications to Project Funding goes up (+55% since 2021) while the federal budget, that had been stagnating, goes down (-10% in 2027, -11% in 2028), the SNSF had to introduce measures to curtail the applications and award at least one grant to more outstanding researchers.

Applicants can still request up to CHF 250K per year. However,
• personnel costs cannot exceed CHF 200’000 per applicant per year.
• the maximum funding amount per project is limited to CHF 3 million (and no longer CHF 4M).

You may hold max. 2 simultaneous SNSF Project Funding grants, provided one is a Lead Agency/Weave/ICIS project.
Exception: did you win a collaborative Project Funding grant (with other applicants) prior to April 2026? Then you may apply for a “traditional” Project Funding.

You can only submit an SNSF Project Funding application every second call.
Example: if you applied in October 2025, you cannot apply in April 2026; if you apply in April 2026, you can only apply in April 2027.
You cannot submit, in parallel, the same proposal to the SNSF and another funding agency

Only if your project was (1) rejected in random selection or (2) recommended by the SNSF within the Lead Agency / Weave scheme, but rejected by the national funding agency abroad, you may revise and resubmit your project at the next call. In all other cases you must skip a call before reapplying.

Applicants abroad are no longer eligible except within a Lead Agency/Weave/ICIS project.
You can always involve them as “project partners”. However, note that project partners and subcontractors can request, in total, up to 20% of the grant.

Do not miss the opportunity to ask questions directly to the SNSF!
Register now for the online info event.

The application form is now available on the SNSF portal. All applicants and project partners must create an account and link it to their mySNF and SWITCH edu-ID profile before they can contribute to an application and fill out their CV. Add the Research Service under “Contributors” for support.

Check out the USI instructions to learn about the most common critiques raised by reviewers and much more.
Contact the Research Service (servizio.ricerca@usi.ch) as soon as possible for feedback on your proposal and admin support.

The SNSF is more than just Project Funding. Whether you are looking to fund a visit, a conference or science communication, or whether you are seeking funding to address global challenges, or to do research with applicants in Europe, India and other countries, the SNSF has got you covered!

You can find many other calls on the Research Professional database.
Access is available through your university account, either on campus or VPN.