SNSF establishes replacement for ERC grants
Researchers at ETH Zurich are currently unable to apply to the European Research Council for ERC grants. The SNSF is now offering the researchers a replacement as an interim solution.
Researchers at ETH Zurich – or other Swiss research institutions – are currently unable to submit applications to the European Research Council (ERC) for the prestigious ERC grants. Proposals from foreign researchers looking to conduct research in Switzerland are also no longer being accepted by the ERC since the European Commission suspended Switzerland’s association with Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 and gave Switzerland third-country status for 2014.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) announced today Monday that it is now stepping in to fill the gap. It is setting up temporary funding schemes as an interim measure which cover the aims, scope and funding level of the ERC grants, that is the Starting Grants, the Consolidator Grants and – if necessary – the Advanced Grants.
Original call deadlines to be maintained
The calls for these temporary research funding schemes are open to researchers who work in Switzerland or are currently negotiating positions at institutions in Switzerland.
The SNSF will set up the instruments, evaluation processes and administrative procedures during the next weeks. The ERC call deadlines for Starting Grants (25 March) and Consolidator Grants (20 May) will remain the same. If necessary, the SNSF will also launch a call for Advanced Grants in autumn 2014.
Researchers planning a research project in Switzerland who intended to apply for an ERC Starting Grant can submit their proposals between 15 March and 25 March 2014 to the SNSF via the electronic platform mySNF. They can submit the ERC applications without any major changes of content or form.
New Swiss-European Mobility Programme
The aim of this interim measure is to maintain the high competitiveness and performance as well as the international nature of research and innovation in Switzerland until a political agreement is reached with the EU, the SNSF writes. At its meeting last Friday, the Federal Council already adopted interim solutions for the education and research programmes Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020. With regard to participation in Horizon 2020, it envisages an interim solution in which researchers in Switzerland will be funded directly by the government, both in joint and individual projects.
For Erasmus+, the interim solution means that – similar to the form in which Switzerland participated before 2011 – the government will draw up independent assessment and funding criteria for Swiss institutions in order to support individuals and projects. This Swiss-financed student exchange programme will not operate under the name of Erasmus+ but will be called the Swiss-European Mobility Programme. As a result, the student exchange between ETH Zurich and its partner universities will be continued as part of the new Swiss-European Mobility Programme with bilateral exchange agreements.
The details of how the government intends to finance these interim solutions from its own funds will be worked out by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) in the next few weeks.
Submission of ERC grant applications to the SNSF
The Swiss National Science Foundation advises researchers who wish to submit a grant application to set up a user account for external pagemySNF as soon as possible. More details of how to submit an application will be published on the SNSF website by 14 March 2014. Information on Consolidator and Advanced Grants will follow as soon as possible.
Researchers at ETH Zurich can obtain further information on participation in the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation from the information and advice centre EU GrantsAccess.
Information for students wishing to participate in Swiss-European Mobility Programme (previously Erasmus) is provided by the Student Exchange Office.
Information on the current status of Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020 can be found on the homepage of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (external pageSERI).