Funding
In line with their legal mandate, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences receive the majority of their funding from the federal government. The vast majority of the activities in which the Academies are involved are of a voluntary nature.
Funding of the Academies in the education, research and innovation (ERI) period from 2025 to 2028
Funding of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences is divided into a basic sum that covers the ongoing efforts of numerous working groups, commissions, platforms and networking projects which involve science, politics and society. This basic sum comes to CHF 167 million for all the Academies for the ERI period from 2025 to 2028, or CHF 42 million annually. The so-called long-term organisations of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS) are funded separately. These encompass important long-term research infrastructures such as publications, data collections and documentation systems, dictionaries and glossaries or specialised portals (CHF 56 million for 2025 to 2028). In addition, special funding is also provided for additional mandates such as the Swiss Quantum Initiative or the Swiss Personalized Health Network project, each to its own modified funding level. A smaller proportion of financing involves third-party funding consisting of project funding which is mainly linked to specific assignments from the federal government. Some Academies also fund part of their activities through membership fees, endowments and bequests.
An overview of the funding of the Academies
Despite their size, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are some of the most efficient institutions in the funding area, thanks to the militia system. They receive less than a hundredth of the entire funding budget provided at a federal level for networking of science and the structuring of dialogue between the political community and society. Over 100,000 scientists are involved in the Academies network in areas outside their normal activities, voluntarily contributing to projects under the umbrella of the association. Each Swiss franc invested in the Academies is doubled as a result. When, for example, it comes to answering a political or ethical question, a single working group can invest voluntary working hours amounting to a half a million francs per annum. The mission of the Academies could not be fulfilled without the work of these experts.
The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are deeply concerned about the cuts proposed by the Federal Council in the 2027 relief package in the areas of education, research and innovation.