Swiss National Science Foundation

About the organization

Based on a government mandate, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) supports scientific research in all academic disciplines, from history to medicine and the engineering sciences. At the end of 2017, the SNSF was funding 5800 projects involving 16,000 researchers, which makes it the leading Swiss institution for promoting scientific research. To ensure its independence, the SNSF was established as a private foundation in 1952. Its core task is the evaluation of research proposals. In 2017, it awarded CHF 1037 million to the most promising project proposals. By allocating public research money based on the principle of competition, the SNSF contributes to the high quality of research in Switzerland.