SPIRIT - Swiss Programme for International Research projects by Scientific Investigation Teams

The SNSF is launching a new programme for international cooperation between Swiss researchers and their colleagues in 127 selected countries that are receiving development assistance.*

Funding is awarded to research projects with clearly defined goals that are submitted by excellent research consortia from 2 to 4 countries. The requested budget can be between CHF 50’000 and 500’000 for 2-4 years. At least 30% of each grant must be allocated to the partner country/countries and at least 30% to Switzerland.

Swiss applicants must meet the eligibility requirements applicable to SNSF project funding.

The evaluation process comprises two phases: pre-proposals can be submitted all year round, full proposals only by invitation after approval of the pre-proposal. If the pre-proposal is rejected, all the applicants involved in it will be barred from submitting any further pre-proposals for 6 months or for 18 months if the pre-proposal is assigned to one of the three lowest ranking categories (out of six).
The whole evaluation process generally takes 14 months.

Only one SPIRIT grant may be awarded per person.

For further information, please contact Ms. Dafne Pedrazzoli.

*The SNSF determines the eligible partner countries on the basis of the list of official development assistance recipients established by the OECD Development Assistance Committee. Eligible partner countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.