[ SNSF Agora | Funding for scientific outreach ]
Event details
| Date | 16.09.2025 |
| Category | Call for proposal |
Agora funds communication projects that foster dialogue between science and society, enabling researchers to share their current research directly with a lay audience.
Funding is available for communication projects by researchers that are developed and realised in collaboration with experts from communication, knowledge transfer, culture, media and similar. The researchers themselves should mainly carry out direct communication with the public.
In this call, particular attention will be paid to the dialogue-with-society component, the applicant teams' communication skills and the diversity of communication formats and target audiences.
There are 2 different formats:
Agora rolling call projects:
Agora projects:
The project must:
Who can apply:
a. costs of Agora specialists;
b. costs of project partners;
c. costs of employees whose positions are approved by the SNSF;
d. subcontracting costs;
e. expenses that are directly linked to the project's execution, such as production costs and the cost of
materials;
f. costs for the publication and communication of the product resulting from the project in Switzerland
and abroad;
.
For further information, please have a look at the call webpage and regulations.
Funding is available for communication projects by researchers that are developed and realised in collaboration with experts from communication, knowledge transfer, culture, media and similar. The researchers themselves should mainly carry out direct communication with the public.
In this call, particular attention will be paid to the dialogue-with-society component, the applicant teams' communication skills and the diversity of communication formats and target audiences.
There are 2 different formats:
Agora rolling call projects:
- Funding & Duration: between CHF 5’000 and 50’000 for max. 36 months
- Deadline: Rolling call, apply at least 4 months before the start of the project.
- Decision: communicated within 4 months
- A rejected rolling-call proposal may be resubmitted only once if significantly changed.
Agora projects:
- Funding & Duration: between CHF 50’000 and 200’000 for max. 36 months
- Deadline: 16 September 2025 at 17:00 (CEST)
- Decision: March 2026
- Earliest possible start: 01 April 2026
The project must:
- make the target group familiar with the current scientific research conducted by the applicants;
- target groups that are freely defined but do not consist of the professional addressees in academic teaching and research or members of the applicant’s research institution. The primary target groups are located in Switzerland;
- have a significant impact on the target group in terms of raising awareness, engagement and participation in scientific topics; and
- have links to research that is or was awarded funding by the SNSF or another qualified institution under a competitive procedure and/or is the subject of a recognised (peer-reviewed) scientific publication.
- Projects conducted within the scope of implementation and technology transfer partnerships.
- Projects that involve marketing campaigns or institutional communication measures and media relations.
- Projects that conduct research into science communication.
- Projects with links to ongoing National Research Programmes (NRPs) or National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs).
- Projects aimed at achieving commercial goals.
Who can apply:
- Projects must be submitted jointly by a researcher and a communications expert
- Researchers employed at least 20% at a Swiss higher education or research institution.
- Communication experts: People working on projects as communication specialists can lead or co-lead a project.
- Applicants need to work with the communication service of the host institution: Applicants must contact Mediacom before the submission
a. costs of Agora specialists;
b. costs of project partners;
c. costs of employees whose positions are approved by the SNSF;
d. subcontracting costs;
e. expenses that are directly linked to the project's execution, such as production costs and the cost of
materials;
f. costs for the publication and communication of the product resulting from the project in Switzerland
and abroad;
.
For further information, please have a look at the call webpage and regulations.
Practical information
- General public
- Free