FAQ

We trust that interested researchers and their international and national network and outreach contacts from academia and development practice will find each other to form mixed eligible consortia, building on the respective added value, knowledge and expertise of each member. Interested applicants are encouraged to identify and approach potential partners in their field of research/work as early as possible to form strong and equitable research partnerships.

We expect Swiss academic partners who qualify as responsible applicants to exert a high degree of openness if they get contacted by new interested parties from ODA recipient countries.

Interested parties from ODA recipient countries searching for Swiss counterparts may consult the Grant Search on the SNSF Data Portal. The Swiss Alliance for Global Research Partnerships (GRP-Alliance) is also a good resource to consult.

Yes. The minimum of partner countries is 2, i.e. Switzerland and one eligible ODA recipient partner country. A SOR4D project can also involve multiple eligible ODA partner countries alongside Switzerland. Feasibility of the project must be guaranteed.

The non-academic actors are actors from policy and practice being part of the public or private sector in the local context where the projects are implemented. These actors must be experienced in societal, environmental and economic development contexts and be well connected and experienced with local, national and/or regional governmental, political, civil society or business contexts in order to ensure that the solution-oriented research addresses on site needs and sensitivities. The non-academic actors are expected to contribute to defining the research needs/questions, to the research activities and to the dissemination and application of the research results at a larger scale.

The collaboration in a consortium whose full proposal is selected for funding is further specified in a project agreement – signed by all members – which has to be submitted before the release of funds.

Eligible countries for SOR4D research partnerships are those listed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as Official Development Assistance recipient countries. The focus lies on countries in the categories Least Developed Countries and Low Income Countries. The regularly updated OECD-DAC list is the reference. Projects in Swiss International Cooperation priority regions and countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, are encouraged.

Eligible countries for SOR4D research partnerships are those listed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as Official Development Assistance recipient countries. The focus lies on countries in the categories Least Developed Countries and Low Income Countries. The regularly updated OECD-DAC list is the reference. Projects in Swiss International Cooperation priority regions and countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, are encouraged.

Yes, members of your country offices are eligible to apply as co-applicants (non-academic actor). The non-academic actor must be a person located in the country/countries where transdisciplinary research is being conducted. The SOR4D programme recommends that the co-applicant is a staff member originating from the country contexts and not an expatriate from Switzerland (or Global North) working in the country office. However, non-academic actors from the global North can act as project partners (See definition according to Art. 11 of the Funding Regulations).

It depends. The SOR4D Programme allows applications from current SNSF grant holders. However, other funding instruments might have different criteria and restrictions. Please check the relevant regulations of the respective funding instrument from the other grant (to be found on the SNSF website).

Yes.

According to Article 19 of the SNSF Funding Regulations, the SNSF only considers a re-submitted application if it is a significantly modified version of the rejected application.

The three SOR4D financial conditions are in relation to the global project budget and have to be met simultaneously at all times.

• At least 60% of the total project budget must be spent in the least developed, low income or lower middle income partner country/countries.

• At least 20% of the total project budget must be allocated to the non-academic actor(s).

• At least 10% of the total project budget must be spent for communication and dissemination, incl. transition to scale, activities to enable interaction and knowledge utilisation (i.e. website, workshops with stakeholders, production of flyers, policy briefs, training material for target groups etc.).

Salaries of doctoral students, post-docs, project coordinators and other employees working on the project as well as salaries of co-applicants from eligible ODA recipient partner countries.

The salaries of Swiss researchers comply with the currently valid SNSF rates. For researchers and non-academic actors based in ODA partner countries, the local prevailing salaries apply.

No, overhead costs are only accepted for institutions of co-applicants (research partner and non-academic actor in ODA recipient countries) as long as they do not exceed 10% of their total budget.

Yes. The SOR4D programme provides funding for projects for a period of three or four years. It is a requirement that doctoral students be supervised by one of the applicants of the SOR4D project and that doctoral students must spend most of their time working on their dissertation and may only be enlisted to perform other tasks for the institution to a minor degree. Completion of the dissertation within the regular timeframe of four years must not be jeopardised. Please refer to article 7.3 of the General Implementation Regulations for further information.

The SOR4D programme funds proposals which address one or several challenges in relation to the four objectives of Switzerland’s International Cooperation Strategy for the 2025–28 period: 1) Human development; 2) Sustainable economic development; 3) Climate and environment; 4) Peace and governance. For a detailed description of the objectives please consult the call document.

The SOR4D programme is open to all disciplines from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, health and life sciences. It particularly encourages interdisciplinary collaboration between research domains where such collaboration is appropriate.

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) refers to a research approach in which scientific and societal actors collaborate to understand complex, real-world problems and develop practical, relevant solutions and facilitate transformation. This takes place in a co-creative process, where problem definition, goal setting, and solution development are carried out jointly. The aim of TDR is not only to develop knowledge to understand the issues, but also to find ways to effectively address, solve or prevent problems.