Summary

The Federal Council has launched three new National Research Programs with a total budget of 17 million francs. The programs address mental health of adolescents, digital security of critical infrastructure, and supply chain robustness. They will be implemented by the Swiss National Science Foundation over three to four years.

Persons

  • Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER)

Topics

  • Mental health of adolescents
  • Cybersecurity and critical infrastructure
  • Supply chain stability and deglobalization
  • Multidisciplinary research funding

Clarus Lead

The Federal Council is investing 17 million francs in three new research programs that address key societal challenges. The programs respond to acute problems: mental health crises among adolescents exacerbated by Covid-19 and geopolitical crises, growing cyber threats to national infrastructure, and supply chain fragmentation in a deglobalized environment. For decision-makers, the combination of technological and social science perspectives is relevant – a paradigm shift in cybersecurity research.

Detailed Summary

The NRP Mental Health of Adolescents receives 7 million francs and focuses on 10- to 24-year-olds. The goal is to develop innovative prevention and intervention approaches. The urgency stems from significantly increased mental health burdens caused by the pandemic, consequences of war, and social instability.

The NRP Digital Resilience of Critical Infrastructure (5 million francs) systematically integrates social and humanities sciences into cybersecurity research for the first time. Background: Increasing cyber attacks endanger system-critical sectors such as energy, water, and telecommunications. The program aims to build a technologically modern and agile collective defense structure.

The NRP Deglobalization and Supply Chain Robustness (5 million francs) develops practice-relevant solutions for a fragmented global trading system. Given geopolitical tensions and protectionism, Switzerland should secure its competitiveness and welfare.

All three programs are targeted short-term programs – an innovation form of the federal government since 1975 (84 NRPs in total). They combine humanities, social, natural, and life sciences. Project calls will be issued by Q3 2026. Financing runs through the BFI Message 2025–2028.

Key Messages

  • 17 million francs for three research programs with 3–4-year duration
  • Focus on adolescent mental health, cyber resilience, and supply chain stability – three crisis areas of the present
  • Social sciences integrated into cybersecurity research for the first time
  • Practice-oriented rather than basic research: solutions for immediate application
  • Calls for proposals from Q3 2026; results publicly available after program completion

Critical Questions

  1. Data Quality: How will success metrics for "mental health" and "digital resilience" be defined? What baseline data exists for comparability?

  2. Conflicts of Interest: What role do private security companies play in cybersecurity research? Do dependencies arise?

  3. Causality: To what extent do these programs address causes (e.g., system deficits) versus only symptoms (e.g., individual resilience)? Have alternative intervention approaches been examined?

  4. Feasibility: How is knowledge transfer into political decisions ensured? What obstacles exist for implementation?

  5. Supply Chain Realism: Can national robustness be achieved in globalized systems without protectionism? What target conflicts arise?

  6. Interdisciplinarity: How is collaboration between natural and humanities sciences operationally designed? Do methodological conflicts exist?

  7. Financing Logic: Why 7 million for adolescent mental health, but only 5 million each for cyber and supply chains? Is this based on problem size or political priorities?

  8. Time Horizon: Are 3–4 years sufficient for sustainable solutions in such complex systems?

Sources

Primary Source: Press Release: Three New National Research Programs – news.admin.ch, March 20, 2026

Verification Status: ✓ March 20, 2026

This text was created with the support of an AI model. Editorial responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-check: March 20, 2026