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Efficiency thanks to voluntary work

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are mandated by the Swiss Federation. The fact that the Academies are able to provide their services at a comparatively low cost is only possible thanks to their broad network and the voluntary work of countless scientists. Due to this, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences are one of the most efficient institutions in the ERI sector, despite their size. They received a total of less than one hundredth of the total ERI budget in federal funding for the years 2021–2024.

The academies require solid funding of their core mandate

In the ERI Dispatch 2025 to 2028, hhe Academies face an average annual funding gap of CHF 6,8 million, i.e. a total of CHF 27,4 million over four years. Starting with the next funding period, the Academies are expected to fund additional projects through their core mandate – although the budget was already cut for 2024. More tasks and projects, but less funding – that does not work. The core funding gap will lead to a noticeable and lasting impairment of the Academies’ work and their network of more than 100,000 scientists who work on a voluntary basis. The reported budget increase of 5% concerns only special mandates (Swiss Quantum Initiative, Data Coordination Centre for Personalized Medicine) that are outside of the core tasks. The Academies are aware of the difficult finance situation of the Confederation. Nevertheless, it is important that the Academies' financial resources are aligned with the expectations associated with the fulfilment of their legal mandate.