SERI Leading House Pilot Activities

SERI Leading House Pilot Activities — Seed

Provides SERI Leading House pilot support for new research collaboration with LATAM, MENA, Africa, and Asia.

SERI's Leading House Pilot Activities programme provides small seed grants, mobility awards, and workshop support to Swiss researchers building new international research relationships in regions not fully covered by the main bilateral joint research programme: Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of Asia. The programme is delivered through five Swiss higher education institutions commissioned by SERI as Leading Houses under the 2025-2028 mandate. Each Leading House sets its own call schedules, award amounts, and application procedures for the regions within its scope; SERI does not issue a single centralized call.

Eligibility is restricted to Swiss researchers affiliated with Swiss higher education institutions or research institutes. Companies cannot apply directly. Nonprofit organizations with a research affiliation may participate depending on individual Leading House rules. The awards are by design small — seed grants intended to pilot new research relationships that could eventually grow into full bilateral joint research projects — though specific CHF amounts are not centrally disclosed by SERI. There are no fixed national deadlines; timing depends entirely on each Leading House's calendar for the 2025-2028 cycle.

Researchers interested in Leading House Pilot Activities should identify the Leading House responsible for their target region and contact it directly for current call information. The programme is particularly valuable for establishing first contacts in emerging research partnerships before a full bilateral project is justified. Proposals that clearly articulate the long-term research collaboration potential and the scientific rationale for the new international partnership are most competitive, as the programme's purpose is to catalyze new relationships rather than to fund mature ongoing collaborations.