Solution-oriented Research for Development (SOR4D)

Research Open Call 18 May 2026 Multiple Countries SNSF & SDC
Description Informations
Description
Status
Open Call
Deadline
18 May 2026
Type
Research
Countriess
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank and Gaza Strip, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe 
Institution
SNSF & SDC
Call Details

New scientific knowledge and innovative approaches are required to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and generate solutions for poverty reduction in the Global South and East. International transdisciplinary research partnerships have the potential to generate such knowledge for more impact and build the capacity of researchers and institutions in partner countries. At the same time, a robust evidence base strengthens effective development cooperation.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) are launching a second phase of their flagship transdisciplinary development research programme: Solution-oriented Research for Development (SOR4D). Building on Swiss expertise in innovation and excellence in research and international partnerships, the SOR4D programme aims at producing knowledge and innovative solutions through needs-driven, transdisciplinary research that generate impact and accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in partner countries.

The programme is aligned with the International Cooperation Strategy (ICS) 2025-28. Research projects will support its four objectives: human development; sustainable economic development; climate and environment; peace and governance. SOR4D is a contribution to Swiss Science Diplomacy, the Foreign Policy Strategy 2024-27, and the Education, Research and Innovation Dispatch 2025–28.

The call for proposals issued on 19th Jan 2026 on the Open Calls webpage of the SNS. (deadline for proposals: 18 May 2026).

The call is open to consortia consisting of (1) researchers based at a Swiss research institution, together with (2) researchers and (3) non-academic/development actors from ODA eligible countries. The non-academic actors are development related public or private sector actors from the local context where the projects are implemented (e.g. local government, NGO, local company, etc.).

We kindly ask you to actively share this information with your network and with potentially interested research and development partners in Swiss international cooperation priority countries and regions. Effective outreach and participation of the Swiss network abroad will greatly contribute to the success of SOR4D.

You will find more information on the SOR4D website and the SOR4D LinkedIn page.

If you are interested, please attend one of the information sessions on MS Teams (link below; CET/Local Bern Time):

*   Wednesday, 28 January 2026 09:00-10:00 (UTC+01:00) in English
*   Thursday, 29 January 2026 11:00-12:00 (UTC+01:00) in French
*   Thursday, 29 January 2026 16:00-17:00 (UTC+01:00) in English
Link to register:  SOR4D 2nd phase call information webinar.

For additional questions, please contact sdc.researchdesk@eda.admin.ch