Joint Research Projects (JRP)

Curiosity-driven and application-oriented research will be evenly supported. In case of application-oriented proposals, applications should include a detailed dissemination plan specifying how project findings will be used for the benefits of the community, e.g., through incorporation into products and services.

Depending on the complexity of the projects, the designation of a project coordinator ensuring coherence, consistency in the consortium, management of the project budget and responsibility for the timely delivery of reports may be required. The Swiss main applicant will be considered as the project coordinator by default.

The forming of inter- and multidisciplinary research teams is highly encouraged.

- To create synergies across borders and institutes and between private and public sectors

- To benefit from pooled research efforts and expertise

• Nanosystems and materials.

• Life sciences, in particular systems biology.

• Natural resources, energy and energy management.

• Transportation systems.

• Economical sciences.

Earliest possible project starting date: 01.01.2010.

Latest possible project ending date: 30.06.2012.

These projects will be additionally evaluated by the KTI/CTI (Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency). For identical scientific quality, public-private partnership projects will be given priority.

Eligible Swiss Institutions: Universities of higher education, Swiss federal institutes of technology, Swiss universities of applied sciences, federal and cantonal research institutions, international research institutions located in Switzerland and for-profit organizations with strong capabilities in scientific research (as co-applicants).

Eligible Russian Institutions: open to groups from Russian universities who can guarantee their own funding.

Additional information 26.02.09: open to groups from Russian universities and other research institutions who can guarantee their own funding.

The Russian applicants must provide their own funds. The contribution of the Russian partner institution should be stated in a letter of commitment to be annexed to the project. A template for such a letter of commitment can be downloaded from the web platform www.mysnf.ch (see below for more details). Projects submitted without a guaranteed contribution from the Russian partner institution will not be evaluated.

Submission:

Swiss applicants are required to submit the proposals electronically through the SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation) web platform www.mysnf.ch. This service will be available February 9th, 2009 onwards.

Please note that you need a user account before you can submit your proposal to mySNF. If you do not already have an account, you must register with SNSF as a new user. Once registered, you will receive your username and password by regular mail. In most cases, you will receive your username and password within five working days.

Once you have an account and have selected the correct funding instrument (International > Bi-lateral Co-operation > Switzerland-Russia S&T Cooperation Programme), the corresponding templates (e.g. for the research plan and the letter of commitment) can be downloaded. Apart from having to complete different administrative data containers online (e.g. contact details of the applicants), documents (e.g. research plan based on the research template) will need to be uploaded onto the system.

For the purposes of evaluation logistics, it would be greatly appreciated if you could notify SNSF of your intent to submit a proposal well in advance of the deadline. To do this, please send an email to mentioning the tentative title of your application, the names and addresses of the applicants, the area of research, and a few keywords.

General questions about the application procedures may be directed to the Leading House (Mrs Irina Niggli, +41 22 379 71 96, ). If you have specific questions related to www.mysnf.ch, please call the technical support hotline at 031 308 22 00.

Application deadline

Completed joint applications must be submitted to SNSF no later than:

30th of April 2009.

Late and incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Grant information

A detailed budget for the Swiss applicants will be required. Projected expenses must be justified and related to the proposed research activities.

Allowable budget items for Swiss applicants:

- Salary for 1 Ph.D. student (2.5 years) or 1 postdoctoral fellow (1.5 years) according to SNSF guidelines,

http://www.snf.ch/SiteCollectionDocuments/ allg_doktorierende_d.pdf.

- Consumables required to do the proposed research

- Travel expenses connected with visits to the partner institute(s) in Russia.

- Living expenses of visiting project partners (faculties & students) from Russia (Please see the Financial Guidelines, to be found on the website of the Programme. Students: 120 CHF per day up to 14 days, then 2500 CHF per month. Faculty members: 160 CHF per day up to 14 days, then 3200 CHF per month).

- Other costs, e.g. conference participation fees, publication fees, patent fees, etc. (max. CHF 2,000 per year)

Allowable budget items for Swiss private sector applicants:

- Travel expenses connected with visits to the partner institute(s) in Russia

- Living expenses of visiting project partners (faculties & students) from Russia (Please see the Financial Guidelines. Students: 120 CHF per day up to 14 days, then 2500 CHF per month. Faculty members: 160 CHF per day up to 14 days, then 3200 CHF per month).

Depending on the number of applicants per project, Swiss grants for projects lasting 2.5 years will generally be in the CHF 190’000-300’000 range. Requests for higher amounts will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Grant funds may not be used to cover overhead costs.

The Russian applicants must guarantee their own funds (see “Submission”).

The scientific evaluation will be conducted by the SNSF and KTI/CTI (for public-private partnership projects) based on the following criteria:

(1) Scientific merit, significance and potential impact of the proposed research

(2) Originality of the proposed research

(3) Suitability and originality of the proposed methods

(4) Experience and past performance of applicants

(5) Specific qualification of applicants for the proposed research

(6) Complementarities of expertise between involved partners and potential for synergy

(7) Feasibility of the project

(8) Potential for exploitation/commercialization of results

(9) Existence of an active public-private partnership in the project (if applicable)

Following recommendation based on their scientific merit, the projects to be funded will be selected by the Swiss Steering Committee.

For more information on the committee, please check the "Organisational structure" on the website of the programme. The judgment will be based on:

i) the scientific evaluation results,

ii) the extent to which the proposal is consistent with the goals defined under this call, and

iii) the likelihood of successful cooperation of the project partners in the long term perspective.

Swiss applicants will be notified of the outcome of the evaluation by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education & Research (SER).

Evaluation and selection procedures may take about seven months.

Reporting

The funded partners will have to submit an annual scientific and financial report to the Leading House. Scientific reports will be evaluated by Advisory Board members and/or a panel of experts proposed by these Advisory Board members. Financial reports will be examined by the Leading House or an auditing firm mandated by it to do so.