FAQ

Yes, already during the preparation of the proposal, it is possible to benefit from the knowledge of a patent expert from the respective field of expertise during a day accompanied patent search. Please check the “Assisted Patent Search for the Promotion of Research and Innovation” section of our Patent searches page.

No, the BRIDGE funding does not require such an agreement. However, you have to be aware of the current regulation applicable at your institute and within the scope of your contract in order to know your rights regarding the intellectual property of your innovation and your rights of use.

Yes, all persons involved in the evaluation of the proposals are bound to confidentiality.

The panel members are composed of experts from science, business and industry. You can find the list of the members on our website.

The BRIDGE Proof of Concept is a one-person grant. Therefore, it is not possible to apply as several co-applicants. However, if compatible with the project, further persons can participate in the project as co-workers and profit from the funding granted to the applicant.

Yes, if you find a Swiss host institution that supports you for the duration of the project. Please carefully read Article 6 in the regulations.

For the duration of the grant, you must dedicate your entire work-time corresponding to a work-time percentage of 100% to the approved project, i.e. you cannot commit to both your PhD and your Proof of Concept project at the same time. As the grantees must start their project within 6 months of the date on which the ruling was issued, candidates who will obtain their doctoral degree in more than 6 months are not eligible.

BRIDGE would like to support young researchers to apply their recent research results. Therefore, the limitation to applicants max. 4 years after their respective graduation is strict.

We expect you to dedicate 100% of your time to your BRIDGE Proof of Concept project and entirely focus on the set goals.

Companies or any other institution having commercial purposes cannot directly receive funding by BRIDGE. An implementation partner can however be considered as a collaboration partner.

No, the overhead contributions are directly paid by the SNSF to the institution if your project is funded. It should not be considered in the budget you provide on mySNF.

The following costs cannot be charged to the grant:

• IT hardware and software, scientific literature, tools and aids, and objects comprising the usual basic equipment of an operational scientific facility
• Outlays for rent, electricity, water, insurances, maintenance and service, service centers and repairs
• General user fees of special infrastructure (e.g. cleanroom facilities)
• Expenses for postage, phone calls, photocopies, translations, etc., are also not eligible

The interviews will take 15 min in total, max. 10 min for the presentation and 5 min for questions & answers by the evaluation panel.

No, candidates are interviewed individually.

No, the panel would like to see the applicants in person. Please contact the BRIDGE Office if you are invited to an interview but are not able to attend.

In general, the evaluation process takes 3 months. If not stated differently, all decisions are communicated in the week before the earliest possible starting date (see the regulations, Article 17).

Funded BRIDGE Proof of Concept projects of the different calls are published on our website under ”Projects”. You may also find the projects on the SNSF Data Portal.

Please use the phrase “funded by BRIDGE” to mention your BRIDGE grant in all scientific publications and communication activities. In addition, you are required to use the BRIDGE logo in presentations, brochures and videos as well as on posters and websites, adding whenever possible the phrase “funded by”.

An Innosuisse project without implementation partner aims mainly at preparing an Innosuisse innovation project with an already targeted implementation partner. For this reason, these projects are limited to 18 months. BRIDGE Discovery projects may include a larger scientific and research part without the requirement of having a defined implementation partner.

As BRIDGE Discovery projects are directed towards innovation, it is important to provide a clear strategy how you plan to implement your scientific achievements on the market. We do not expect a full business plan, but key points of a business case (e.g. unique selling proposition (USP), existing market, market access, competitive environment, IP situation, regulatory situation, scalability, etc.) should be addressed.

Yes, grantees are obliged to define such rights together with their employers in the form of an agreement before the start of the project. In BRIDGE Discovery projects that involve grantees from more than one institution, the institutions involved shall agree among themselves on ownership, rights and commercialisation strategies.

There is only one call per year. The current submission date is announced on the Bridge website.

Yes, all persons involved in the evaluation of the proposals are bound to confidentiality.

The panel members are composed of experts from science, business and industry. You can find the list of the members on our website.

The Letter of Intent is a formal requirement for the submission of a full project proposal. The letter of intent is not evaluated but enables the BRIDGE Office to prepare for the forthcoming evaluation and plan the call.

No, the budget can be adjusted when submitting the full project proposal.

No, the Letter of Intent is a prerequisite for the submission of a BRIDGE Discovery project proposal. If you miss the deadline for the Letter of Intent, you won’t be eligible to submit a full proposal.

Companies or any other institution having commercial purposes cannot directly receive funding by BRIDGE. An implementation partner can however be considered as a collaboration partner.

Project partners are researchers who contribute to a research project through cooperation without being responsible for the project. Within the scope of their contributions, such as analyses etc., project partners benefit from the BRIDGE grant (see the regulations, Article 7 and 11).

No, the overhead contributions are directly paid by the SNSF to the institution if your project is funded. It should not be considered in the budget you provide on mySNF.

The following costs cannot be charged to the grant:

• IT hardware and software, scientific literature, tools and aids, and objects comprising the usual basic equipment of an operational scientific facility
• Outlays for rent, electricity, water, insurances, maintenance and service, service centers and repairs
• General user fees of special infrastructure (e.g. cleanroom facilities)
• Expenses for postage, phone calls, photocopies, translations, etc., are also not eligible

The interviews will take 22 min in total, max. 12 min for the presentation and 10 min for questions & answers by the evaluation panel.

Yes, it is expected that all the applicants are present.

In general, the evaluation process takes 7 months. If not stated differently, all decisions are communicated in the month before the earliest possible starting date (see the regulations, Article 20).

In case you are applying as a consortium, you must provide a document confirming that you came to an agreement or are working on an IP agreement between all the institutes applying for the grant. The agreement itself is not required, only a written confirmation of the existence of such an agreement. A template is provided.

Funded BRIDGE Discovery projects of the different calls are published on our website under ”Projects”. You may also find the projects on the SNSF Data Portal.

Please use the phrase “funded by BRIDGE” to mention your BRIDGE grant in all scientific publications and communication activities. In addition, you are required to use the BRIDGE logo in presentations, brochures and videos as well as on posters and websites, adding whenever possible the phrase “funded by”.