One reason that funding for the SNSF has become such a problem is that people are constantly questioning the relevance and usefulness of such projects. That is why it so important that scientists not only publish their findings, but also use them as the basis for programs and technology that will benefit society -and make sure that everybody knows it.

This is the goal of the National Research Programs (NRPs), which are projects with practical applications for Swiss society as a whole.

Matters of the heart

The first such project, 1978-1980, was a study of cardiovascular disease among the Swiss. Up until then, research had focused on treatment; this groundbreaking study was the first to consider prevention.

Today, regular exercise and healthy diet are taken for granted as ways of avoiding heart problems. Actually though, it is only relatively recently that such practices have become widespread. In Switzerland, awareness of ways to decrease the likelihood of heart disease came primarily from this first NRP.

The findings were quite simply that the best solution to the country's health problems was to teach people how to start living more healthily and to encourage them to do so.

Bringing science to life, keeping mad cows at bay

Government funding for scientific research has become increasingly scarce in recent years, but many researchers in the field of life sciences now have a way around this problem. In 1994, the SNSF started the "Swiss Priority Program: Biotechnology" (SPP Biotech).

SPP Biotech is basically an exchange program between universities and companies. The companies provide funding for the research. They can then turn the scientists" discoveries into concrete products that will help the public.

One such "technology transfer" resulted in the test for mad cow disease that is now used throughout Europe. In 1996, SPP Biotech division of the SNSF supported scientists who were developing such a test.

The next year these scientists wanted to turn their findings into a marketable product, so they took advantage the technology transfer program, founding their own company, Prionics.

The breakthrough for Prionics came in early 2001, when the entire European Union began monitoring its beef for mad cow disease. At that point, their rapid test became a crucial technology, and Prionics began to work with the pharmaceutical company Roche in order to develop it further. Thanks to the success of this collaboration, Prionics Check is now sold worldwide.