The topics of the r4d projects in the thematically open module are defined by the researchers and serve the overall aim of the r4d programme. Researchers employed at a Swiss research institution as well as researchers employed at a research institution in African, Asian and Latin American countries that belong to the category of least developed, low income or lower middle income countries (DAC list published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)) are eligible to receive funding. The participation of researchers from upper middle income countries is optional and must be justified with regard to the relevance of the country for the topic. The partnership projects have to be composed of, at least, one Swiss research group and one research group from a developing country (group 1).
In the thematically open module each project has a running time of maximally 4 years and a total budget of about CHF 600’000.
The 1st thematically open call was launched on 6 June 2012.
The 2nd thematically open call was launched on 8 October 2014.
The 3rd thematically open call was launched on 27 March 2017.
The first 11 r4d projects in the thematically open module started in 2013. They represent transnational research partnerships between 12 countries and Switzerland, involving 51 grantees.
The second wave of 13 r4d projects in the thematically open module started in 2016. The represent transnational research partnerships between 14 countries and Switzerland.
The third wave of 11 r4d projects in the thematically open module were selected in May 2018. They represent transnational research partnerships between 18 countries and Switzerland, involving 55 principle investigators and their research groups.
