Evaluation of the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)

From molecules and cells to complex ecosystems, life sciences explore life in all its forms and at all levels. They combine various disciplines such as biology, biochemistry and genetics.

The Human Frontier Science Programme (HFSP) was established to advance life sciences. This multilateral programme, funded by the EU and eight other countries, supports original research projects that analyse the complex mechanisms of living organisms.

Prognos and Digital Science conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the programme. The evaluation focused on its two main funding mechanisms: postdoctoral fellowships and funding for international research teams. The aim was to assess the programme’s scientific added value, its international significance, and its contribution to research and innovation.

Understanding living organisms: The Human Frontier Science Programme promotes groundbreaking research

The programme focuses on international and interdisciplinary collaboration. Researchers from biology, physics, mathematics, chemistry, computer science and engineering from all over the world pool their knowledge to work together on innovative projects.

The evaluation shows that the HFSP plays a unique role worldwide. It supports projects that deliberately take scientific risks, challenge established ways of thinking and open up new fields of research.

Many of the funded projects would not have been possible without HFSP support, or would only have been realised on a much smaller scale. This is particularly true for international and interdisciplinary projects, which are often difficult to finance through other funding programmes.

Key findings

• The HFSP supports basic research that generates new insights into fundamental questions about life.
• The funding deliberately focuses on creating the knowledge base for future innovation rather than on short-term applications.
• Research funded by the HFSP ranks among the most influential scientific work worldwide. Publications are cited significantly more often than the international average.
• Many projects open up new fields of research and bring together disciplines that have rarely collaborated before.
• By supporting high-risk research, the programme enables scientific breakthroughs that often have no place in more application-oriented funding schemes.
• Findings from HFSP-funded projects contribute to technological development. Compared internationally, publications from the programme are cited particularly frequently in patents.
• The programme strengthens international research networks and promotes long-term collaboration across national borders.

Scientific excellence with long-term benefits

The evaluation also shows that researchers supported through the HFSP achieve scientific excellence more frequently than average. Many recipients later go on to receive prestigious research awards or highly competitive follow-on funding. Over the past 35 years, 31 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to scientists who had previously received HFSP funding.

At the same time, the programme’s impact extends far beyond academia. New methods, concepts and technologies emerging from funded projects provide the foundation for future developments in medicine, biotechnology and other fields of the future.

Our approach

For the evaluation, Prognos and Digital Science combined quantitative and qualitative methods. These included bibliometric analyses, international comparative studies, surveys of funding recipients, interviews, case studies, and discussions with reviewers and representatives of member countries.

Prognos was responsible for the qualitative analyses. The focus was on the career paths of funded researchers and on understanding how international and interdisciplinary collaboration contributes to scientific excellence.

Links and downloads

To the evaluation (PDF)

Further information on the HFSP

Project team: Michael Astor, Jakobus Jaspersen, Isabel Schöfl, Dr Thomas Stehnken, Miguel Wahle

Last update: 10.09.2026