Research in Migration and Health FAQ

The program supports projects which explore innovative ways to deliver high-quality healthcare to migrants and migrant communities in Switzerland, particularly to those currently underserved or with high vulnerability. Focus is set on intervention studies, over purely observational research.

Two research areas have priority: 

• Evaluation and testing of programs and interventions to support migrant health; 
• Documentation of migrant health and associated medical needs and resources, considering the diversity of circumstances and trajectories among different groups. 

Possible research topics include, but are not limited to, disease prevention – notably non-communicable diseases and emerging infectious diseases; promotion of health – including resources of migrants and migrant communities; determinants of migrants’ health; health of children and elderly migrants; migration and mental health; barriers in access to healthcare, stigma and discrimination, and strategies to overcome these adverse factors; training of healthcare professionals; integration of migrants in the primary healthcare system; climate change, migration, and health. 

• Applicants bear main responsibility for the proposed project.
• Project partners make a partial contribution to the project but are not responsible for it.
• Employees, primarily early career researchers or other staff members, contribute to the project and their salary is charged partially or fully to the grant.
• Corresponding applicant: A single applicant must be designated as corresponding applicant to represent the collaborating research groups towards the SAMS. This person becomes responsible for the application, her/his institution manages the grant and is responsible for forwarding funding to the other applicants and to project partners.

Applicants must be experienced researchers working at research institutions in Switzerland, have a proven track record in research in migration and health and have the necessary scientific qualifications and experience to make a substantial contribution to the project. These personal requirements must be met by every applicant. The salaries of applicants cannot be requested as part of the project costs. 

Two or more applicants can jointly submit an application for a collaborative project and share the responsibility for it. The collaboration must bring an added-value to reach the proposed research aims.
Since the program intends to support research networks at the national level, the collaboration of applicants from at least two distinct Swiss research institutions is strongly encouraged and is an important evaluation criterion. 

Researchers based outside of Switzerland cannot be among the applicants but can participate as project partners, provided that the added expertise is necessary for realizing the project. In general, there cannot be more than one partner based abroad per project. 

It is not possible to submit more than one project proposal as applicant. Applicants can however contribute to other submitted projects as project partners, provided that their expertise brings added-value to reach the project aims.

• Projects must be in the planning stage; ongoing projects cannot be supported. 
• Projects must include experts from several disciplines, e.g., clinical and community medicine, public health, epidemiology, ethics, implementation science, health services research, social work, sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics. 
• Members of migrant communities and, if applicable, patients who stand to benefit from the proposed research must participate in the design and implementation of the project. 
• Early-career researchers (e.g., doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, medical researchers who have recently completed their medical studies) must be included in the project realization.

There are two kinds of Project grants: 

• Grants for the realization of collaborative projects involving at least 2 groups from distinct Swiss research institutions
• Grants for the realization of smaller projects

Collaborative projects are in general funded with CHF 200’000 to 300’000 per project and year, for a maximal duration of 3 years. Smaller projects are in general funded with up to CHF 65’000 per project and year, for a maximal duration of 3 years.

A Project grant can support project-related salaries of scientific and technical staff, including doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. It can also cover research costs necessary to the realization of the project, including costs for scientific collaboration, networking, and communication. 

The costs of short research stays abroad for early-career staff can be requested in the grant budget if they bring added-value to the project (allowance for travel, accommodation, and subsistence on top of the project-related salary). 

The salaries of applicants cannot be covered by the grant.

Applications and all requested documents must be submitted in English.

Applications must be registered on the SAMS website and submitted electronically. They have to contain all the necessary information and documents to be considered. Details about the application format and the submission procedure are available on the registration page.

The submission deadline is 1 June 2026.

Grants can start on 1 December 2026 at the earliest. The start date can be postponed until 1 December 2027 at the latest. Grants start on the first day of a month. 

Funding decisions will be communicated by mid-November 2026.

A single call for proposals is planned. Depending on the evaluation results, a smaller, complementary call may be launched to address important missing research topics within the limit of the CHF 2.7 mio program budget.
 

The evaluation of applications takes place in one stage and is based on the submitted documents. Each application is evaluated in writing by two members of the program Evaluation Committee. In addition, applications may be assessed by external experts.

The Evaluation Committee makes funding recommendations which are submitted for formal approval to the Johnson Foundation. Corresponding applicants are informed in writing by the SAMS about the approval or rejection of their application.

Applications are evaluated based on:

• the scientific quality of the proposed research project;
• the impact of the project on the health of migrants in Switzerland and on their access to high-quality care; 
• the added value of the project in view of strengthening the research community at the national level;
• the interdisciplinarity of the project, the diversity and suitability of methods; 
• the innovation in design and field of research; 
• the inclusion of migrant communities and, if applicable, patients across the various stages of the project; 
• the promotion of early-career researchers; 
• the qualifications of the applicant(s) for their respective tasks, scientific track record, and ability to carry out the research project; 
• the complementary nature of the applicants’ qualifications, if applicable. 

Following the award of a grant, the corresponding grantee must request the opening of the grant by the SAMS, in accordance with the conditions set out in the decision letter. Funding is then paid in annual instalments by the Johnson Foundation to the institution where the corresponding grantee is employed. For collaborative projects, funds are transferred from there to the institutions of the other grantees.

The corresponding grantee must submit intermediate financial and scientific reports to the SAMS at intervals defined in the decision letter, as well as a final scientific and financial report covering the entire grant period within six weeks of completion of the grant.

Scientific reports must provide information on the progress in the project, on the results obtained, on a possible deviation from the original research plan, on the output from the project, and on next steps planned.

Financial reports must provide an account of the use of the funds. They must be compiled by the grant administration office of the institution where the corresponding grantee is employed.

Grantees are obliged to use the grant in accordance with the conditions set out in the decision letter and to comply with the program regulations. Minor changes in the approved research work and budget can be made and described in the intermediate and final reports. Significant changes affecting the research aims, institutional affiliation of the research team members or use of the grant budget, must however be notified immediately to the SAMS by the corresponding grantee. Such changes require explicit approval. If in doubt whether an envisaged change is significant, it is best to contact the SAMS. 

Unused funds must be returned to the Johnson Foundation. In the event of a premature termination of the grant, the remaining amount must be returned pro rata temporis.

Grantees are expected to mention the support from the Stanely Thomas Johnson Foundation and the SAMS in all publications, posters, and presentations resulting from the funded project. 

Grantees are expected to ensure open access to all peer-reviewed scientific publications resulting from the funded project. 

Research activities and methods that have ethical implications must be declared in the application. If applicable, a copy of the ethics committee’s decision and all other necessary authorisations must be submitted to the SAMS at the latest when requesting the opening of the grant. Furthermore, the rules of scientific integrity must be respected.