The SNSF, Switzerland’s largest research body, increased spending by 6 per cent over 2008, with 25 per cent going to the humanities and social sciences, 37 per cent to mathematics, natural and engineering sciences and 38 per cent to biology and medicine.
Last year, researchers submitted significantly more applications to the SNSF than in previous years, noticeably sharpening competition for funding.
Applications submitted for the March 2010 deadline have again reached record figures and the SNSF says the growing demand is forcing it to reject projects which, from an academic point of view it would like to support, but cannot due to financial reasons.
2009 marked the first year in which the Swiss government provided annual funding for overheads, to cover the indirect research costs incurred by universities and other research institutions taking part in SNSF-funded projects.
The SNSF Annual Report 2009 in German, French and English and other SNSF publications is available at http://www.snf.ch
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