In October 2023, the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU) together with the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) announced the launch of a joint call for research and development projects ‘Ukrainian-Swiss Joint Research Projects: Call for Proposals 2023’.
The Call was designed to enable researchers working in Ukraine to undertake ambitious research activities in any scientific field together with Swiss researchers. The Call was thematically open for fundamental research. Interdisciplinary joint research projects (JRPs) were also welcome.
In the course of the Call, the NRFU and SNSF received applications for JRPs on the most important issues of scientific and technical, socio-economic, socio-political, and human potential development to ensure Ukraine’s competitiveness in the world and sustainable development of the society and the state.
At the start of the call, the budget provided funding for about 10 JRPs. Later, the number increased to 15. After reviewing the projects, Swiss National Science Foundation increased the budget again: it was decided to fund the work of 20 research groups, which would include 80 Ukrainian researchers.
Swiss colleagues have repeatedly expressed their respect and admiration for Ukrainian researchers, noting the high level of projects submitted to the call.
In terms of geography, Ukrainian groups represent the east, the center, and the west of the country. Two groups keep working in Sumy city despite the russian shelling, and one group – in the frontline Kharkiv. The winners also include groups from Kyiv, Lviv, and Uzhhorod.
Switzerland is represented by groups from Lausanne, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Zürich, Winterthur, Würenlingen, Dübendorf, Lugano, and St. Gallen.
The procedure for evaluating JRPs and determining the winners of the Call was non-standard for the NRFU.
External reviewers were appointed jointly by the SNSF and the NRFU Call Commission. The reviewers assessed the scientific quality of JRPs. At least three reviews were obtained per proposal. Each reviewer assessed only one application.
A separate evaluation panel was set up composed of members proposed by the SNSF and the NRFU. It included prominent active researchers from Ukraine, Switzerland, and other countries. The joint panel rated and ranked the proposals based on the peer reviews.
Based on the results of the ranking, 17 winning JRPs were determined automatically. But the next 8 applications were equally strong and important. Therefore, the last 3 JRPs were selected by random selection. Read more about the procedure here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2330443X.2022.2086190
“I would like to emphasize that the researchers were completely free to choose their topics”, said Professor Stanislav Vilchynskii, Head of the NRFU. ”The topics of the projects are very broad, from the study of elementary particle physics, compact galaxies, Alzheimer’s disease to the study of changes in land cover which is especially important for understanding the consequences of hostilities. The list of winners shows that Ukrainian researchers keep working despite the war and perform world-class projects”.
The work of both Ukrainian and Swiss teams will be funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The total budget of the call is 7.6 million Swiss francs, 2.7 million of which will be allocated to finance the work of Ukrainian researchers.
We express our sincere gratitude to the Swiss National Science Foundation for supporting Ukrainian researchers in the most difficult time for our country. After all, the most significant value of such cooperation is solidarity, support, and understanding that colleagues from other countries will come to the rescue in a difficult moment. And the biggest added value of the Call has become the formation of strong Ukrainian-Swiss teams. We are confident that the Call will develop into a fruitful and long-term cooperation for both researchers and our institutions.
The NRFU plans further cooperation with the Swiss National Science Foundation. We are sure that the results of this cooperation will matter to people, the economies of both countries and the development of science.