Research Partnership Grants 

1. BACKGROUND

For the 2025–2028 funding period, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), has commissioned Swiss TPH, in partnership with the University of Basel, as the Leading House for bilateral cooperation in education, research and innovation with African partner institutions. Under this framework, the funding cycle will introduce three research instruments: (i) Research Partnership Grants,  (ii) PhD graduate programme and (iii) Lectureship-Research Stays.

 2.  GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The Research Partnership Grants (RPG) aims to supports Swiss researchers in seeding or strengthening existing collaborations with researchers in Africa by funding early-stage joint activities that lay the groundwork for larger collaborative projects and position the collaboration to secure subsequent external funding.

3. ELIGIBILITY 

1. Eligible Applicants

Lead applicant: Researchers at any career stage affiliated with a Swiss higher-education institution (cantonal universities, Swiss federal institutes of technology, federal and cantonal research institutes, universities of applied sciences and universities of teacher education). Applicants must indicate their career stage in the application. The Swiss lead applicant must be employed as a scientist before, during and on the project completion date. The Lead Applicant shall submit the jointly prepared proposal, developed in collaboration with the African partner. All project-related correspondence with the Leading House will be handled exclusively through the Swiss lead applicant.

3.2 Research Career Stage Definition:

• Early Career:  final-year PhD candidates and researchers with ≤ 2 years of postdoctoral experience
• Intermediate Career:  > 2 and ≤ 5 years of postdoctoral experience
• Advanced Career: > 5 years of postdoctoral experience

3.3 Eligible Partner Countries: All African countries except the Maghreb region and Egypt (see FAQs for detailed list).

3.4 Eligible Scientific Domains and Methodologies

Open to every scientific field and supports an extensive range of research approaches and methods including laboratory research, desk studies, fieldwork, feasibility or pilot studies, archival work, qualitative interviews, surveys, artistic practices, design thinking, and other collaborative formats.

4. FUNDING AND BUDGETING 

The mutual commitment of the applicants in Switzerland and the African country will serve as an indicator of the strength of the partnership and the project’s financial sustainability. This includes financial co-funding and in-kind contributions by all partners and possibly third-party contributions. 

Grant expenditures must stay within the approved budget lines. Awardees may move up to 10% of the total grant between lines without permission from the Swiss Leading House Africa; any larger reallocation requires the Leading House’s written approval in advance.

The grant will be disbursed in two tranches: 80% after signing the grant agreement (contract) and 20% after  Swiss Leading House Africa approves the final project report. Any unspent grant must be sent back to the Swiss Leading House Africa no later than 2 months after completion of the project.

4.1 Maximum Eligible Budget (by Research Career Stage):

•  Early Career: up to CHF 15,000
•  Intermediate Career: up to CHF 25,000
•  Advanced Career: up to CHF 40,000 

4.2 Detailed Cost Eligibility

4.2.1 Cost category: Overhead

 Eligible for Swiss Applicant: No

        Eligible for African Applicant: No

        Comment: Overheads are strictly not permissible under any circumstance

4.2.2 Cost category: Salary

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: No

        Eligible for African Applicant: No

        Comment: Salaries are strictly not permissible under any circumstance

4.2.3 Cost category: Work-related institutional costs

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes, under specific conditions (see comment section below)

        Eligible for African Applicant: No

        Comment: The Research Partnership Grants may cover personnel costs for existing staff at universities of applied sciences and   universities of teacher education, but strictly for the time they devote to the project. Funds may not be used to create new positions, and no more than 20 % of the total grant may be allocated to this budget line.  

4.2.4 Cost category: Travel

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes

        Comment: Only travel expenses directly related to the research project are eligible for grant funding. Economy class airfare may be charged to the grant.

4.2.5 Cost category: Subsistence Costs

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes

        Comment: Applicants may charge up to CHF 150 per night for accommodation and meals while working on the project in Switzerland, and up to CHF 100 per night for stays in Africa.The Research Partnership Grant is intended to support broader research collaborations. Applications solely requesting support for travel and subsistence, without substantial project activities, will be deemed ineligible.

4.2.6 Cost category: Consumables

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes

        Comment: Consumables directly related to the implementation of the RPG project are eligible for funding. These may include items such as laboratory materials, field supplies, printing, documentation materials, or archival access fees. All consumables must be used exclusively for the project.

4.2.7 Cost category: Equipment Costs

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes

        Comment: Equipment and materials with enduring value are eligible for funding, provided they are used exclusively for the Research Partnership Grant project. Expenditures in this category must not exceed 20% of the total grant amount.

4.2.8 Cost category: Subcontracting

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: No

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes, under specific conditions (see comment section)

        Comment: Research activities that cannot be conducted by the Swiss partner, in particular those that must be conducted in the partner country (field work, data acquisition, interviews, surveys, translation), can be outsourced to the partner(s) in Africa or to third parties. No more than 20% of the overall grant can be used for this budget line.

4.2.9 Cost category: Conferences and Workshops (attendance)

        Eligible for Swiss Applicant: Yes

        Eligible for African Applicant: Yes

        Comment: Conferences or workshops that are essential to the project are eligible for support when clearly justified in relation to the project’s objectives. Covered costs include registration fees, travel, accommodation and daily allowances for events held in Switzerland, in the partner country, or in exceptional cases, in a third country.    

5. RESEARCH PROJECT DURATION

5.1 Permissible Project Duration (by Research Career Stage):

•  Early Career: 3 – 10 months
•  Intermediate Career: 3 – 12 months
•  Advanced Career: 3 – 10 months  

6. EVALUATION AND SELECTION

The Swiss Leading House Africa team will conduct an initial screening of all proposals to ensure eligibility and compliance. Applications that pass this initial check will be forwarded to independent experts for evaluation. All applications will be evaluated based on these criteria:

•  Scientific relevance and excellence
•  Mutual interest of the project at national and international level
• Originality of the aims and objectives
• Appropriateness of the methodology
• Feasibility of the project
• Capacity building
• Experience and past performance of applicants
• Strength of collaboration and complementary skills of research partners with respect to the project
• Budget (Cost sharing)
• Contributions by all involved partners, including funding and in-kind contributions

6.1 Decision

 Outcomes of the peer-review will be consolidated and approved by the Swiss LH Africa team. Subsequently, the Swiss LH Africa will communicate the final decision to the main applicant by means of a decision letter.   

7. EXTENSION OF COMPLETION DATE

      Projects must be completed within 10 to 12 months; no-cost extensions will not be granted. Applicants are encouraged to plan their timeline carefully and apply our risk-assessment model to verify feasibility of their projects.

8. MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING 

The Swiss lead applicant and the African partner must jointly prepare one consolidated scientific (technical) and financial report. The Swiss lead applicant submits this report via the Submittable platform and serves as the sole contact for all reporting matters. Reports are due one month after the project ends and must include both qualitative analyses and quantitative output data. Swiss Leading House Africa will provide templates and detailed submission instructions.

9. TIMELINE

Launch of call:   04.07.2025

Submission deadline:  30.09.2025;  17:00 CEST

Notification of results:  30.01.2026

Latest project start date:  30.04.2026

Final report due:   30.05.2027