National Research Programme for NRP 85 Mental Health of Adolescents (Switzerland)

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is launching a call for the National Research Programme (NRP) 85, “Mental Health of Adolescents.” The programme supports practice-oriented and policy-relevant research to strengthen prevention and early intervention approaches for adolescents in Switzerland. The expression of interest deadline is 24 November 2026 (5:00 p.m. CET, Swiss local time), followed by a full proposal deadline of 19 January 2027 (5:00 p.m. Swiss local time). NRP 85 aims to establish a robust, practice-oriented and policy-relevant knowledge base to promote the uptake of prevention and early intervention approaches for adolescents in Switzerland. The programme is designed to improve the evidence base for scalable prevention and early intervention, deepen understanding of systemic risk and protective factors, and support policy- and practice-oriented solutions. NRP 85 funds research that contributes to prevention and early intervention approaches for adolescent mental health, with outputs intended to inform policy development, system design, and implementation. The source confirms that the SNSF is launching this call and that applicants must submit an expression of interest via the SNSF Portal by the stated deadline. However, it does not specify detailed eligibility criteria such as applicant institution types, researcher roles, or nationality requirements.

What is specified by research area:

Exclusions or additional mandatory requirements beyond the above are not specified in the source. NRP 85 focuses on two research areas: NRP 85 is intended to strengthen the evidence base for prevention and early intervention for adolescent mental health in Switzerland. By combining research on intervention approaches (including scalable, low-threshold models) with research on systemic risk and protective factors in structured environments, the programme seeks to support policy development and practical implementation. The requirement for non-academic partnership and transdisciplinary elements in Research area 1 reflects the programme’s emphasis on practice-oriented and policy-relevant solutions.

Official links (from the source):

What is NRP 85 “Mental Health of Adolescents”? NRP 85 is a National Research Programme call by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) focused on improving prevention and early intervention approaches for adolescent mental health in Switzerland. How much funding is available for NRP 85? The programme operates with overall funding of CHF 7 million. The source does not specify how much is available per individual project. What are the key deadlines? You must submit an expression of interest by 24 November 2026 (5:00 p.m. CET, Swiss local time). The full proposal deadline is 19 January 2027 (5:00 p.m. Swiss local time). Do I need to submit an expression of interest before a full proposal? Yes. The source states that it will not be possible to submit a full proposal if an expression of interest is not submitted by the appropriate deadline. What research areas does the call cover?

The call covers two research areas: (1) Prevention and early intervention approaches, and (2) Systemic risk and protective factors.

Are non-academic partners required? All projects are encouraged to engage with non-academic partners. Additionally, Research area 1 projects are required to have a non-academic project partner. Where do I submit my application? The source states that the expression of interest must be submitted via the SNSF Portal. Full proposal submission details are referenced as being available in the call document. Review the official NRP 85 call document and the participation requirements before preparing your expression of interest and full proposal. Pay close attention to the two-stage submission process and, if you plan to apply under Research area 1, ensure your project design includes the required non-academic partner and transdisciplinary elements. For more information, visit SNSF.