The education/research/innovation dispatch 2025-2028 (ERI dispatch / “BFI Botschaft” in German / “Message FRI” in French / “Messagio ERI 25-28” in Italian) is the central document of the federal ERI policy, which the Federal Council submits to Parliament for approval every four years. The 2025-28 ERI dispatch (French version/German version/Italian version) contains an assessment of the current funding period (2021-24), defines the priorities, objectives and measures for the new period , and requests the necessary funding (“guarantee credits”) for their implementation. For the first time, the Federal Council has decided to publish an early draft and to put it out for consultation for relevant stakeholders to give feedback on it. The consultation procedure was open from June 2nd to September 24th, 2023.
Because the midlevel staff of Swiss higher education institutions is highly impacted by the ERI dispatch, actionuni wrote a response to the consultation, taking position on the issues most relevant to doctoral students, post-docs and non-professorial scientific employees:
- the budgetary cuts of the ERI dispatch, which we oppose;
- the objectives for higher education institutions, which we salute, but would like to see completed with more attention to representation, to scientific integrity, and to improve research culture;
- international cooperation, which is essential for to quality research – in particular, a quick association to Horizon Europe ;
- academic career and next generation scientists, who need support and career prospects ;
- the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF);
- Equity: diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity, which is rightly identified as a priority, but should be accompanied by concrete measures from all HEIs ;
- open science, which strategy should go hand in hand with guidance and resources for its practical implementation ;
- ESKAS grants for international students, which urgently need to be increased.
You can find our full response below, in French and in English: