Foundations
Subsidising research is an ongoing challenge. While some funding agencies such as the Swiss National Science Foundation or European Research Funding Agency are well known, Swiss, European or US Foundations, Innosuisse, COST are less known.
In Switzerland, the majority of foundations fund research in medicine, the environment and the natural sciences, but there are around 60 that support research in theology, 30 in law, around 100 in economics and almost 400 in the social and socio-political sciences, for example.
They issue calls for projects, but most donor organisations expect original project proposals from researchers.
Steps
As a first step, it is advisable to have a summary of the project, your CV, the timetable (total duration and stages) and a budget ready.
Foundations can be selected from existing funding databases using carefully chosen keywords, and help can be sought either from your faculty or from the research department. It is important to check that the foundation or foundations are donor organisations and that the project is fully in line with the aims of these foundations.
Institutions hosted at UNIL or supporting the UNIL academic community
In addition to the foundations hosted at the direction of the University of Lausanne, several other foundations are hosted at UNIL. Here below there is a list of foundations and organisations supporting more specifically our students and researchers.
EPFL Press (avant PPUR - Fondation des Presses Polytechniques et Universitaires Romandes)
Publication of books or other teaching aids
Fondation Michel Tossizza
Encourages biomedical research carried out in institutes and hospitals of, or affiliated to, UNIL
Fondation Anna et André Livio Glauser
Supports research into medicine in general, and orthopaedics and surgery in particular. Prizes for students and young doctors in training.
SAV - Société académique vaudoise
Grants, scholarships and prizes
Fondation Fern Moffat
Grants, scholarships and prizes
Fondation Pittet
Grants, scholarships and prizes
Fondation Émile et Odette Moser
Grants, scholarships and prizes
Fondation vaudoise Jérémine, Lugeon et Rabot pour la géologie
Fondation en faveur de la Faculté des HEC de l'Université de Lausanne
Fondation Reinhard & Raja Klarmann
Awards a prize for a master's thesis.
Fondation romande pour l'étude de la fiscalité
Promotes teaching and research in the fields of Swiss, comparative and international taxation.
Fondation Huguette et Pierre-Robert Gilliéron
Awarding grants, subsidies or prizes, research in the field of enforcement.
Fondation Georges Paillard
Support for business and economics teaching at HEC.
FEJUNIL - Fondation pour l'enseignement du judaïsme à l'Université de Lausanne
Awards a prize for a student's written work on Judaism.
Fondation de l'École suisse d'archéologie en Grèce
Training young archaeologists by taking part in internships. Support for student researchers at the Greek site of Eretria, on the island of Evia.
Fondation du prix lémanique de la traduction
Awards authors of translations from German into French or from French into German
Fondation pour des bourses d'études italo-suisses
Grants to Italian students wishing to study at a university in Switzerland, or to Swiss students wishing to go to Italy for a similar purpose.
Fondation Zdenek et Michaela Bakala
Scholarships to help students and researchers pursue their academic career at a university in the UK and the USA.
Fondation Brocher
Encourages multi-disciplinary research into medical development, and welcomes visiting scientists.
Other funding agencies supporting students, PhD students, post-docs or professors can be found in the registers listed here
Once your list of funds and foundations has been drawn up, contact them to :
- Confirm your eligibility
- Check whether there is a platform for submitting projects, whether there is a template, a list of required documents or guidelines, and check how many files you need to send and in what format.
- Ask about the maximum amounts that can be awarded.
- Ask whether the foundation is requesting exclusivity for the project or whether other sources need to be approached in parallel.
Once the project has been accepted, the contract/agreement must be checked by the Legal Department.
When opening the fund, it is advisable to mention the name of the foundation. You should be aware, however, that if the foundation is abroad, the transfer of the money may take quite some time.