Swiss National Science Foundation
Switzerland’s principal public agency for competitively funding research across all academic disciplines.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is Switzerland’s leading public research-funding organisation. Established in 1952 as a foundation under private law, it operates under a public mandate from the Swiss Confederation and is financed primarily through federal contributions. Its role is to strengthen Swiss science by allocating funding through peer review and by supporting researchers, institutions and collaborative programmes across the full range of academic disciplines. The SNSF funds investigator-driven research projects, scientific careers, national and international collaborations, thematic programmes, conferences, infrastructures and activities that connect research with wider society. Most of its resources are directed toward project funding, allowing researchers to pursue independently developed programmes. Career schemes provide salaries, fellowships or grants that help researchers establish themselves, lead teams and undertake research abroad. Postdoc.Mobility, for example, supports competitive postdoctoral research stays outside Switzerland and has become particularly significant for early-career researchers during periods when Swiss participation in European framework programmes has been restricted. The organisation also implements programmes commissioned by the Federal Council. National Research Programmes address issues of national importance through coordinated, time-limited research efforts involving academic and practice-based stakeholders. National Centres of Competence in Research build long-term networks around strategically important fields, combining research excellence with institutional capacity and international connections. In addition, the SNSF funds science communication through the Agora scheme, supports equality and career development, and participates in international research cooperation. Governance is divided among the Foundation Council, the Research Council, the Delegates Assembly and the administrative offices. The Foundation Council provides strategic oversight, while a Research Council of several dozen researchers evaluates proposals and makes funding decisions with assistance from specialist review panels. A Delegates Assembly, created in 2024, represents higher-education institutions, research organisations, the Swiss Academies and early-career researchers. The administrative offices coordinate evaluation, programme administration, communications and national and international networking. The SNSF has increasingly emphasised access, inclusion and public value. Since 2023, articles resulting from SNSF-funded research must be made immediately open access under a suitable Creative Commons licence. Its 2024 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion vision formalised a commitment to addressing representation and equal opportunity across funding mechanisms. The organisation also contributes to the research ecosystem through scientific prizes, image competitions and the jointly published Horizons research magazine. In 2025, the agency reported investing federal contributions of CHF 1.2 billion in 2,400 new research projects, illustrating its central position in Switzerland’s national research system.
History
Before the SNSF was founded, Switzerland had universities, ETH Zurich and professional scientific societies, but no single national institution responsible for distributing public research funds. During the 1930s the federal government began using public money to support research through employment and economic programmes. A 1941 attempt by Otto Zipfel, the federal delegate for job creation, to establish a national research-funding foundation failed in the country’s strongly federal political environment. After the Second World War, renewed international scientific exchange intensified concern that Switzerland needed a stronger national mechanism for research support. Alexander von Muralt, a physiology professor at the University of Bern, became a leading advocate. In 1948 he convened a commission involving universities and national scientific organisations. Its 1951 memorandum proposed a Swiss National Science Foundation for the Promotion of Scientific Research, with a Foundation Council, a National Research Council and annual federal support. Parliament approved the Federal Council’s proposal without opposition in March 1952, and the foundation was established on 1 August of that year. Von Muralt became the first president of the Research Council. The organisation expanded as Swiss science became more institutionalised. During the 1960s, the National Research Council was reorganised into disciplinary divisions covering the humanities and social sciences, mathematics and engineering, and medicine and biology. The economic and energy crises of the early 1970s encouraged a more strategic role. In 1974, the SNSF added a fourth division and began implementing National Research Programmes commissioned by the Federal Council. These programmes linked research to problems considered important for Swiss society and public policy. Over subsequent decades, the SNSF developed a broader portfolio. It moved beyond conventional project grants to include career funding, international mobility, thematic programmes, long-term research networks and support for scientific communication. National Centres of Competence in Research became a major instrument for building durable national and international networks in fields regarded as strategically important. The organisation also became involved in the administration or awarding of prizes, including the Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize, the Optimus Agora Prize, the Marcel Benoist Swiss Science Prize and the Latsis Prize. The SNSF’s relationship with international research changed as European cooperation expanded. Mobility and collaboration schemes became important components of its offer, while national alternatives such as Postdoc.Mobility gained significance when Switzerland temporarily faced limits on participation in parts of Horizon Europe. The agency also strengthened its public-facing role through the Agora scheme, the annual scientific image competition and Horizons, a research magazine published jointly with the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences since 1988. In the 2020s, the SNSF placed greater emphasis on open science and inclusive research careers. It assumed responsibility for the AcademiaNet database of outstanding female researchers from 2020 until the database’s dissolution in 2025, and earlier career measures such as PRIMA were integrated into later schemes while retaining dedicated funding for women. From 2023, SNSF-funded scientific articles were required to be immediately open access. In 2024, the foundation adopted an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion vision and established a Delegates Assembly representing the wider research community. In 2025, Torsten Schwede became chair of the National Research Council, while Jürg Stahl continued to chair the Foundation Council.
- 2025
New National Research Council chair
[1]Torsten Schwede began serving as chair of the National Research Council.
- 2024
Delegates Assembly and EDI vision
[1]The SNSF established a Delegates Assembly and adopted an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion vision covering its funding activities.
- 2023
Open-access mandate takes effect
[1]SNSF-funded scientific articles became subject to an immediate open-access requirement with a Creative Commons attribution licence.
- 1988
Horizons magazine begins publication
[1]The SNSF and Swiss Academies began jointly publishing the research magazine Horizons, which reports on research and science policy.
- 1974
National Research Programmes introduced
[1]The SNSF took on implementation of Federal Council National Research Programmes addressing issues of national importance.
- 1952
SNSF founded
[1]The Swiss National Science Foundation was formally established on 1 August after parliamentary approval of the Federal Council’s proposal.
- 1951
Memorandum proposes a national science foundation
[1]The commission submitted a proposal to the Federal Council calling for a foundation with a Foundation Council, a National Research Council and federal financing.
- 1948
Research-funding commission convened
[1]Alexander von Muralt formed a commission bringing together Swiss universities and scientific umbrella organisations to consider a national research-funding institution.
Products and positioning
Switzerland’s national, discipline-spanning public research funder, combining investigator-led grants with strategic programmes and career development.
Research grants
Project funding
The SNSF’s core funding instrument supports researcher-initiated projects in all scientific disciplines. Proposals are evaluated competitively, and successful applicants receive resources to conduct research, employ staff and develop scientific programmes within Switzerland.
Career fellowship
Postdoc.Mobility
A selective fellowship scheme for postdoctoral researchers undertaking research stays abroad. Assessment considers academic quality, originality and the contribution of the host stay to the applicant’s professional development.
Thematic research programme · 1974
National Research Programmes
Federal Council-mandated programmes coordinate multiple projects around challenges of national importance. They normally run for a limited period and encourage collaboration between researchers and stakeholders outside academia.
Research network
National Centres of Competence in Research
Long-term centres connect Swiss higher-education institutions with national and international partners in strategically important fields. They combine excellent research with capacity building, teaching and durable networks.
Science communication funding
Agora
Agora supports projects that communicate scientific knowledge and research processes to broader publics, helping researchers engage with society beyond specialist academic audiences.
Research magazine · 1988
Horizons
Horizons is a research magazine produced jointly with the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences. It covers discoveries, research developments and international science-policy questions in German and French, with English material available online.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Equality, Diversity and Inclusion vision
Switzerland
An organisation-wide policy commitment addressing equality, diversity and inclusion in evaluation, funding schemes and targeted career-support measures.
Outcome. Established EDI as an explicit cross-cutting priority for SNSF activities.
- Agora
Switzerland
A continuing funding initiative that helps researchers explain scientific work and findings to non-specialist audiences through public communication projects.
Outcome. Supports broader public engagement with research.
Brand decisions
2024
Create Delegates AssemblyStrategyBackground
The SNSF sought a formal body representing the breadth of the Swiss research community in its governance.
Action taken
Established a Delegates Assembly with representatives from higher-education and research institutions, the Swiss Academies and early-career researcher organisations.
Aftermath
The new body became one of the foundation’s four principal organisational components.
2024
Adopt Equality, Diversity and Inclusion visionStrategyBackground
The SNSF had already operated measures supporting women and under-represented researchers and sought to integrate these concerns across its funding system.
Action taken
Adopted an EDI vision covering selection processes, funding schemes and supplementary career measures.
Aftermath
EDI became an explicit foundation-wide policy priority.
2023
Adopt immediate open-access requirementStrategyBackground
Scientific publishing is increasingly digital, and the SNSF identified broad dissemination and reuse of publicly funded research as a policy objective.
Action taken
Required SNSF-funded scientific articles to be made immediately accessible under a free Creative Commons attribution licence.
Aftermath
The policy strengthened the agency’s open-science requirements for recipients of its funding.
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