Spain

The SNSF and the Spanish State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, AEI) are working to strengthen cooperation between the Swiss and Spanish scientific communities. Inspired by the Weave collaboration model, two calls will be launched during a pilot phase to enable research groups to submit joint research project proposals.Proposals must be submitted to the lead agency for the relevant call year: to the AEI in 2026 and to the SNSF in 2027. Applicants should check the current call information for the applicable deadlines.For the call led by the AEI with the deadline of 24 November 2026, the Spanish-Swiss proposal should be submitted to the AEI’s PID2026 call. In parallel, the Swiss research group should submit a copy of the same proposal to the SNSF via the mySNF platform within seven days of the AEI deadline. The duration of the projects is the same in Switzerland and in Spain, and the authorised duration is 36 months or 48 months. The project should start on the same date in both countries. Kindly note that for the call led by the AEI the starting date shall be the 1st of September 2027. Please note that certain areas (e.g., certain topics in clinical research) are not eligible for funding in the AEI Weave program. Please consult the AEI for information on thematical restrictions. Trilateral proposals are not possible.The pilot Weave process with Spain is part of the SNSF's Project Funding scheme. There is no additional budget, and the usual national eligibility and funding requirements apply. Researchers may only submit a proposal if there are no thematic overlaps with other proposals or ongoing projects. Applicants may have a maximum of two simultaneous project funding grants. One of these must be a Weave/Lead Agency/International Co-Investigator Scheme projectEach agency will fund its own national beneficiaries through its respective national funding schemes and calls.The SNSF and the AEI have agreed to alternate in the role of lead agency. Following the call led by the AEI at the end of 2026, the SNSF will take the lead for the call with the deadline of 1 October 2027. For the latter, Swiss applicants should submit the joint Swiss-Spanish proposal to the SNSF under the Project Funding scheme, and Spanish applicants should submit a copy of the proposal to the AEI. Please note that, for calls led by the SNSF, projects must start in 2028. This is an exception to the SNSF's standard rule requiring projects to begin within 12 months of the funding decision.
Practicalities:
Exception to the 12-month rule for Lead Agency proposals with SpainThe following exception applies to Lead Agency proposals with Spain: researchers who have submitted a Lead Agency proposal with Spain may submit another Lead Agency proposal with Spain within twelve months, provided that all other eligibility criteria are met.This exception applies exclusively to two consecutive Lead Agency proposals with Spain. For proposals involving other partner countries, the standard 12-month rule remains in force.