Members of the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO) representing countries from around the world plus the European Commission ― which taken together represents a total of 40 nations ― met on Tuesday, 7 July 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland, to reaffirm their commitment to HFSPO, the only truly global program that supports and funds frontier research in the life sciences. The 2026 Triennial Conference of HFSPO Members (TCHM), hosted by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and opened by Martina Hirayama, State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation. The SNSF subsequently organized a High-Level Science Summit “Frontier Science as an Engine for Innovation” featuring prominent scientists and representatives of science policy and science funding, chaired Torsten Schwede, President of the SNSF Research Council.
The Triennial Conference attended by the governmental representatives of the HFSPO Members and other dignitaries, marks the 13th such recommitment, since the Organization’s inception in 1987. Current Members include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, the Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and the European Commission representing the 24 European countries that are not G7 members. The HFSPO program is funded in three-year implementation plans which are approved through cooperative, voluntary Member’ s Joint Communique signed during the Triennial Conference.

For its Members supporting HFSPO, represents a strategically important investment that provides added value and visibility to their domestic research and development activities. Their membership also speaks to their engagement towards the global life-science community and to their underlying commitment to human kind and global wellbeing. The program delivers exceptional scientific quality, seeds long-term innovation, strengthens international collaboration, and develops scientific talent in ways that national programs alone cannot achieve. For member states, HFSPO provides both scientific returns and value added in various ways, reinforcing its continued relevance in an increasingly complex and competitive global research landscape. The Joint Comunique signed by Members at the Geneva Triennial Conference, presents their clear commitment to maintain the impeccable reputation and relevance of their organization including its financial sustainability.

Representatives share HFSPO’s scientific vision for the future and commit to a world where frontier, breakthrough science pioneers’ new knowledge and solutions for humanity’s future. The Joint Communique states that to remain a vital and unique contributor to the global scientific enterprise, HFSPO must evolve and respond to the rapidly changing life sciences enterprise globally by continuing its core mission and remain agile to respond to the changing nature of the frontiers of the life sciences in the 21st century. “For Switzerland, the scientific excellence and innovation are deeply rooted in international collaboration, and this is where the HFSPO excels. I congratulate the HFSPO and all its members for its success and impact on life science and the human wellbeing globally, and restate the full commitment of Switzerland to this unique Organization”

“I am grateful to the HFSPO’s Members for their continued support and trust in our work. The 2026 TCHM is an important milestone in the 39-year history of the Organisation” said Pavel Kabat, HFSPO Secretary General. “Basic research in the life sciences supported by HFSPO has demonstrated to be one of the most creative wells of knowledge and harbouring enormous potential to help advance creative solutions that promote innovation and greater sustainability.

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HFSPO was established by the G7 countries at the initiative of former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone of Japan at the 1987 Venice Summit. Open to scientists of every nation, HFSPO is supported by 17 Members, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Commission. The mission of HFSPO is to foster bold, basic, frontier research in the life sciences and interdisciplinary collaborations around the world. Since 1990, more than 9,000 researchers from more than 70 countries have been supported. Of these, in the past 36 years, 31 HFSP awardees have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.