Investment Fund for Cost-Intensive Equipment for Research

The fund supports faculties, departments, institutes, and clinics, as well as strategic centers, competence centers with a mandate from the university management, and platforms/core facilities (with the exception of university core facilities) at the University of Bern in financing high-cost equipment primarily intended for research purposes. The equipment must be used within the perimeter of the University of Bern, meaning access must be ensured for university researchers, and the equipment must not be used for healthcare or commercial purposes. Equipment is typically considered high-cost if its value exceeds CHF 500,000.

The fund serves as a supplementary source of financing. This means that applicants must have additional secured sources of funding ("matching funds"). These typically include faculty or institute funds, funds from research communities, and external third-party funding.

The following evaluation criteria apply:

• Equipment intended for interdisciplinary and cross-faculty use will be given priority.
• Applications related to strategic focus areas will be given priority.
• The acquisition of equipment with innovation potential or the upgrade/conversion of existing equipment takes precedence over replacement investments.

To submit an application, please complete the application form and submit it, including all attachments, as a single PDF file via email.

Please note that only applications submitted through this method will be considered.

The form may also be completed in English.

Within one week of receiving the application, you will receive a confirmation along with information on the expected decision timeline.

The application must provide details on the following:

1. Purpose of use in research, as well as potential use in service provision and/or education and training. The equipment must be used for research purposes at least 70% of the time. Service/commercial use and education/training should only play a secondary role. In the case of mixed use, the operational concept must provide a detailed description of usage.
2. Alignment with the University of Bern’s 2030 Strategy.
3. Type of acquisition, distinguishing between:
4. Equipment with innovation potential (new technology or significant new insights),
5. Replacement of equipment (existing technology), or
6. Upgrading or modification of existing equipment (new hardware/software, additional functions, capacity expansion).
7. Investment costs and funding sources, including investment funds, other funds, third-party funding, faculties, institutes, clinics, external partner institutions, and sponsors.
8. Investment cost estimates are approximate figures and should not be based on supplier quotes due to procurement regulations.
9. User groups within the University of Bern and, if applicable, external users. The significance of the acquisition in the context of networking and strengthening the university through collaborations.
10. Potential to promote interdisciplinarity.
11. Necessary structural and operational adjustments, such as IT infrastructure, data connections, security, access, special connections, and space requirements.
12. Key aspects of an operational concept, including details on operating, maintenance, and development costs.
13. Key aspects of a user policy, specifying the pricing structure for researchers and access rights. The user policy must also comply with Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) regulations regarding core facilities.

Multi-year planning for high-cost equipment acquisitions over the next five years, including prioritization.