In the P³ database the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) makes available data on the projects, people and publications that it has supported, as part of its mandate to inform the public about its research funding activities. Grant holders are responsible for the data content that they supply to the SNSF.

P³ is updated daily. As soon as a grant is released, the relevant data is published to P³. Grants are not necessarily released when they are awarded, but sometimes only much later (for example if authorisations are required before research can commence).

P³ contains information on the SNSF's most important funding schemes. You will find more information on the funding schemes funded by the SNSF on our website.

The earliest data included in P³ goes back to 1975, but the SNSF's procedures, databases and funding schemes have evolved over time. We therefore recommend not searching too far back, if possible, in order to ensure better, more uniform data quality.

One of the problems that may arise concerns the completeness of the data, for two main reasons:

• The definition of what is and is not a project (main grant) may have changed over time. For example, the Division III “Bonus of Excellence” grants were entered as supplementary grants and therefore do not appear in P³) until 2007, and then as main grants (thus appearing in P³ in the project funding scheme) as of 2008. Similarly, return grants awarded in the context of Advanced Postdoc.Mobility fellowships (Return CH Advanced Postdoc.Mobility) were introduced in 2014, but only the grants awarded in 2015 are in P³ (if the grant has been released) as the SNSF considers them to be separate projects.
• The SNSF’s funding schemes have developed, new schemes have been launched, and others have been replaced or have expired. For example, fellowships for advanced and prospective researchers were replaced by Early Postdoc.Mobility and Advanced Postdoc.Mobility in 2013. The same is true of SFGMB (Swiss Foundation for Grants in Biology and Medicine) fellowships for advanced researchers, which were replaced by the SFGBM Advanced Postdoc.Mobility fellowships in 2013.

To a lesser extent, there may also be a problem with data quality, for example data on fellowships for prospective researchers is incomplete for the 1990’s. Moreover, data on SFGBM for advanced researchers is incomplete before 2005.

In general, the data was continually improved and completed over time, particularly since digitisation of the data in the 2000s.

If you find any errors in the database, please inform the SNSF in order to help us improve the data.

The P³ data can be freely downloaded by users who wish to undertake more detailed analyses. The data is provided in CSV format. Since the CSV format is not well suited to multi-dimensional data, and in order to guarantee reasonable scope, the data is limited to the key fields and attributes.

• P3_GrantExport.csv
• P3_GrantExport_with_abstracts.csv
• P3_PersonExport.csv
• P3_PublicationExport.csv
• P3_GrantOutputDataExport.csv
• P3_CollaborationExport.csv

The data is presented multiple separate files, one each for Projects, People, Publications, and Output Data (and a larger version of the Projects file that includes abstracts). These files can be linked via the project number (Project Number) field, in order to create a relationship between people and projects or publications and projects. Descriptions of the various fields are given below along with comments on data quality.

This data is subject to the SNSF Open Data Policy.

This file lists all of the projects contained in the P³. database. Details and comments on each field are provided below. Please also see the general information about the data.

The evaluation procedure starts once the application has been submitted. Approved applications are awarded funding in the form of a grant. These grants (main grants) have been entered in P³. as “projects”.

Completion grants (additional payments made to an ongoing project to ensure completion) or overheads payments to cover the indirect research costs of SNSF projects (paid in two annual instalments to the applicant’s home institution) are not included within P³.

Unique identifier of the project. Can be linked to the fields Projects as responsible Applicant, Projects as Applicant, Projects as Partner, Projects as Practice Partner, Projects as Contact Person or Projects as Employee in order to link projects and people, or to the field Publications/GrantNumber to link projects and publications.

A grant number with a prefix. The prefix is used to determine the responsibility within the SNSF.

Name of the project. Mandatory field.

Name of the project in English. Optional field.

Name of the responsible applicant. This is the person who submitted the application to the SNSF; in the case of research groups it refers to the applicant to whom all communications are addressed. Mandatory field.

In line with the concept of fair competition, the SNSF has established various funding schemes for research and scientific communication, each of which has its own budget, objectives and conditions.

Schemes funded by institutions other than the SNSF and any additional measures such as mobility grants in projects or equality grants, or 120% support grants, are not contained in P³.

In addition, sub-projects of the National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCRs) are not listed in P³. An NCCR is composed of a network of research groups and projects. P³ contains only one project for each network and each four-year phase. Further details about the NCCRs and links to the sites of each NCCR can be found on www.nccr.ch.

Top Level Hierarchy Funding Instrument.

According to the information submitted by the responsible applicant, this is the research institution where the project will largely be carried out. Typically, this is the institution or specific lab where the responsible applicant works. The institution is therefore linked to the application. This field is not structured, but its content is consolidated internally. There is no link in the database to the field University.

The country of the institution. Most international locations are related to mobility fellowships.

This is the institution where the project will largely be carried out according to the application. Pick list.

Number of the discipline. Only the main discipline. The responsible applicant chooses the most suitable discipline for the application, from a list of disciplines supplied by the SNSF. This list contains disciplines that are similar or that overlap partially (a single research project may be assigned to one discipline or another depending on the applicant’s interpretation). Even though many projects are interdisciplinary, only the single discipline entered by the responsible applicant is contained in the data.

Name of the discipline. Only the main discipline. The responsible applicant chooses the most suitable discipline for the application, from a list of disciplines supplied by the SNSF. This list contains disciplines that are similar or that overlap partially (a single research project may be assigned to one discipline or another depending on the applicant’s interpretation). Even though many projects are interdisciplinary, only the single discipline entered by the responsible applicant is contained in the data.

Top level of discipline.

Date on which the project starts, as defined in the release of funds notice.

Actual end date of the project (updated if changed).

Approved amount, changed if the award is corrected.

The grants recorded in P³ cover salaries for scientific and technical staff as well as the direct costs of materials. With the exception of the career funding schemes, the grants do not include the applicants’ salaries.

This amount is not indicated in the case of mobility fellowships since it depends on administrative factors, typically the destination, cost of living, family allowances (if applicable) and exchange rate differences.

Also in the case of NCCRs this amount is not available in P³, rather details of the funding for each NCCR can be found at www.nccr.ch.

Keywords are entered by the responsible applicant in an unstructured field. Keywords were first collected in the 1990s, initially quite irregularly, and then more regularly during the 2000s.

The scientific abstract of the research project. It is at first copied from the applications submitted. The applicants can edit it subsequently on mySNF. The researchers are responsible for the contents.

Summarise the most important information in the Lay Summary.

The lay summary is a summary of a research project aimed at laypeople. It is published at least in one national language (German, French or Italian). It complements the abstract (of the application, generally in English), the keywords and the output data. The researchers are responsible for the contents. During the research work and, in particular, after completion of the project, the lay summary must be updated and the results must be included in it.

The lay summary includes the aims of the research project at the start of research and results after completion of the project, as well as the scientific and societal context of the research project.

This file lists all of the people who have a role in a project entered in P3. Each project a researcher has contributed to is listed in the columns for individual roles: Projects as responsible Applicant, Projects as Applicant, Projects as Partner, Projects as Practice Partner, Projects as Contact Person and Projects as Employee. Details and comments on each field are provided below.

Family name, mandatory field.

First name.

The research institution of the person is not linked to the project, but only to the person. It is the most recent entry in our database for the location at which the person in question works. For this reason, this field cannot be linked to projects in order to find all the institutions involved in a project via its people.

At all times, the people in question are able to update their personal information (by logging on to the mySNF web platform, the SNSF portal used to submit and manage applications and projects). This field is not structured, but its content is consolidated internally.

City in which the research institution is located (Institute).

Unique identifier for a person in P³

ORCID is an alphanumeric code (format xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx) for identifying scientific authors. ORCID makes it possible to link publications with authors electronically across different databases. For more information, please go to www.orcid.org. The ORCID has been recorded since September 2013, but is not mandatory.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person has been or is an applicant, i.e. a member of the research group that submitted the application to the SNSF; each applicant assumes personal responsibility for the project. The projects for which this person has been or is the responsible applicant are listed only in the column Projects_as_responsible_applicant.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person has been or is an applicant, i.e. a member of the research group that submitted the application to the SNSF; each applicant assumes personal responsibility for the project. The projects for which this person has been or is the responsible applicant are listed only in the column Projects as responsible Applicant.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person has been or is a project partner. Since the introduction of the new funding regulations on 1 January 2016, project partners comprise researchers who make a partial contribution to the project, without assuming any personal responsibility. They must be mentioned as such in the application. They do not have the right to refer to SNSF funding as a grant obtained individually.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person has been a practice partner. Practice partners only existed in the scope of the DORE programme. They were potential users of the research results who generally also contributed a specific amount to the project budget. In 2012, the DORE programme was integrated into the project funding scheme as use-inspired research.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person has been or is employed as a staff member. Most of the funding schemes, incl. project funding, cover the costs of employing research personnel.

Can be linked to the Project Number field to find projects for which this person is the contact person in cases where the responsible applicant is a legal entity.

The SNSF has systematically collected scientific output data since August 2011. The entry of this data is therefore not mandatory for projects carried out before introduction of this measure.

In the case of publications, some output data is only entered towards the end of the project, or possibly even after the project has finished. The applicants are able to import their publications from publication databases or to enter the information manually. The SNSF does not conduct any verification or systematic monitoring of this data. The responsible applicants are the sole guarantors for the completeness and accuracy of this data. This must be taken into account by users who analyse the data. Details and comments on each field are given below

Since 2012, publication data has also contained publication grants that do not relate directly to the scientific output of a project, but to an entirely separate SNSF funding scheme that helps researchers in Switzerland make the results of their research known to the scientific community.

Unique identifier of the publication (for SNSF).

Unique identifier of the project.

Publication type. Pick list (peer-reviewed, not peer-reviewed). Mandatory field.

Publication format. Pick list (Book, Contribution to book, Editors, Original article, Proceedings, Review article, Other publications). Mandatory field.

Title of the publication. Mandatory field.

Authors of the publication, typically separated by a semicolon but sometimes by another or no separator. In some cases if there are many authors, only the applicants and principal authors are listed.

Publication status. Pick list (accepted, published). Mandatory field.

Year of publication, if the Status is "published".

Mandatory field in the case of Books, Contributions to book, or Editors.

The DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is an unambiguous and lasting identifier for digital objects. It is mainly used for online articles in academic journals and is similar to the ISBN.

Source from which the publication date was imported. Pick list (Scopus, Pubmed, Web of Science, ORCID, BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan, manual). Mandatory field.

Date on which the scientific output data of a project was last changed or added to mySNF.ch. This change could be a publication, but could also be data relating to a person, a scientific event, knowledge transfer, collaboration or any other type of output data that has been collected.

Has the publication been made available in open access mode? Mandatory field (true, false). A known problem is that some open access publications are not declared as such. Therefore the proportion of open access publications among these data is highly underestimated.

Form of open access publication. Pick list (journal, repository, website). Mandatory field for open access publications (Open Access Status = TRUE).

Publication URL. Mandatory field for open access publications (Open Access Status = TRUE).

Title of the book if publication format (Type of Publication) is Contribution to book.

Publishing house. Mandatory field in the case of Books, Contributions to book, or Editors.

Editors. Mandatory field in the case of Books, Contributions to book, or Editors.

Name of the journal if the publication format (Type of Publication) is original article or review article

Volume

Number of the publication.

Page on which the publication starts or article number.

Page on which the publication ends.

Name of the proceeding, only for publications in proceedings (Type of Publication = Proceedings).

Place of the proceeding, only for publications in proceedings (Type of Publication = Proceedings).

Abstract

Output data is provided by the responsible applicant during or after the completion of the project. It is not controlled by the SNSF, and may not be a complete representation of the output of each project. Applicants are able to provide more information in mySNF than the SNSF currently makes available for public download. This data has only been requested since August 2011.

Unique identifier of the project.

The type of output data. Applicants are able to provide more information than the SNSF currently makes available for public download. In this file, the following types of output data are available:

• Media relations: print media, online media
• Media relations: radio, television
• New media (web, blogs, podcasts, news feeds etc.)
• Other activities
• Print (books, brochures, leaflets)
• Software
• Speeches / events / exhibitions
• Start-up
• Video/film

The title of the output.

Link to the specific output, if available.

The year the output was released, if available.

Collaborations data is provided by the responsible applicant during or after the completion of the project, as part of the output data of the project. All the conditions of SNSF output data described above also apply.

Unique identifier of the project.

The research group or person with whom the collaboration took place.

The types of collaboration that took place, separated by semicolons. Available options are:

• in-depth/constructive exchanges on approaches, methods or results
• Publication
• Research Infrastructure
• Industry/business/other use-inspired collaboration
• Exchange of personnel

The country of the research group or person (Group/Person).

Date on which the project starts, as defined in the release of funds notice.

Actual end date of the project (updated if changed).