Research Pool
The Research Pool is aimed at stimulating research at the University of Fribourg by supporting projects that cannot be financed by third-party funding. It thus acts as a complementary instrument to such external programs as those of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). The Research Pool complies with the criteria established by the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
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Conditions
The Pool's funds are accessible to researchers employed at least 50% by the University of Fribourg as:
- Professor
- MER (Maître d'enseignement et de recherche)
- MA - (Maître-assistant.e)
- Lecturer
This rate may be lower for clinical researchers who are also under contract with the HFR, but their total occupancy rate must be at least 50%.
Other research positions may be eligible upon presentation of a duly documented written justification.
Funding is only granted for research conducted at the University of Fribourg or in close connection with the institution.
The allowable amounts are between CHF 7,000 and CHF 70,000 (CHF 100,000 for large-scale projects), except for the matching fund's category, which is limited to CHF 50,000. Applications for amounts below CHF 7,000 should be addressed to the Centenary Research Fund (if eligible).
Funding is not retroactive (unless it is demonstrated that the submission was not possible at the previous deadline, and upon reasoned written justification).
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Eligible categories
Matching funds - enables third-party funds to be obtained where their granting is conditional on a financial contribution by Unifr. Requests for matching funds can only be submitted to one entity of the University (Rectorate, Faculty, or Research Pool). The maximum grant for this category is CHF 50'000.
Preparation of third-party projects - supports the preparation of external projects of significant size, up to submission to the third-party fund.
Teaching relief -funds the hiring of auxiliary staff when the applicant has obtained third-party funding for a major project.
Development of research clusters -promotes the creation of new research clusters recognized by Unifr, or the development of already existing clusters.
Promotion of junior researchers - supports the recruitment of researchers at the beginning of their career (from abroad to Unifr or vice versa) for a maximum of 12 months.
Proof of Concept / Prototype realization - funds studies to test the applicability of new technologies (prior agreement of the KTT Service required).
Supplement to a third-party project - contributes to the realization of an existing external project, or to the finalization of such a project (upon presentation of the application file to the third-party programme).
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Ineligible costs
- Funding refusals by a third-party funding institution
- Financing of serial "additional slices" coming in addition to an initial project previously financed
- Participant compensation or purchase of cohorts if these constitute the sole purpose of the application
- Contribution, even partial, to the applicant's salary
- Costs related to scientific events
- Publication, translation, or proofreading costs
The Regulations and Implementation Guidelines set out the criteria and conditions of the program and need to be consulted before applying.
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Application submission
The Regulations (Art. 11 to 15, and Guidelines) and the information provided on this page are to be consulted before any application.
Only requests that comply with the required criteria and requirements will be eligible.
Applications may only be submitted via the online form (opposite), at the latest by the submission deadline.
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Evaluation and decision
Applications are evaluated by the Research Promotion Committee at its biennial meetings, normally in April and October.
2024 Committee meetings:
18 April 2024
11 October 2024
The Committee's recommendations are submitted to the Rectorate, which makes the final decision.
The decision is communicated to the applicant in writing only, at the earliest 3 months after the submission deadline.
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Project completion
At the end of the project, the beneficiary submits a scientific final report to the Committee (forms on the right) for final validation. Any resources not used for the project remain with the Research Pool.
Submission deadlines
- January 31
- July 31