With “FIT for the Future”, ETH Zurich, EPFL Lausanne, PSI, WSL, EMPA and EAWAG are evaluating two options to better integrate expertise and locations

The transformation of major scientific institutions isn't just about laboratories, budgets, and organizational charts. It's about a country's ability to translate knowledge into solutions and respond to increasingly rapid technological and social crises. In Switzerland, this challenge now hinges on the project. “FIT for the Future”, the path with which the PF Council is redesigning the organizational structure of the PF Sector.

The dossier involves one of the most recognisable public research systems in Europe: theETH in Zurich EPFL di Lausanne and the four federal institutes PSI, WSL, EMPA ed EAWA extensionThe stated goal is to build a more agile structure, capable of addressing issues such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, health, energy, climate, the environment, advanced materials, and cybersecurity more quickly.

The lever for innovation is primarily organizational. The PF Council intends to strengthen cooperation between institutions, better exploit synergies, and avoid administrative obstacles. This is a typical issue in knowledge economies: when scientific complexity increases, competitive advantage depends not only on the quality of individual centers, but on their ability to work as a system.

Six institutions and two models for a common direction

The process entered a decisive phase in 2026. After defining eight common goals in early 2024 to make the ETH Domain more future-proof, the ETH Board developed two alternatives. Both start from a fixed premise: the future structure should be based on three strategic pillars: ETH Zurich, EPFL, and the four research institutes, united under a single organizational framework.

The first variant, with the job title “Swiss National Labs”, provides that the institutions maintain their legal personality. The second, provisionally indicated as “Swiss National Lab”, instead, envisions merging into a single organization with a single legal personality. In both scenarios, PSI, WSL, EMPA, and EAWAG would present themselves with a new common identity, while retaining their names, logos, brands, and headquarters.

This is not a minor step. The plural solution maintains greater formal autonomy. A unitary solution, on the other hand, could offer more cohesive governance, useful when directing resources, infrastructure, and expertise toward high-impact scientific missions. The internal consultation, launched after the PF Council meeting on March 4 and 5, 2026, will continue until early June. A decision on the next steps is expected in the second half of the year.

In large research organizations, the issue isn't simply whether to merge or separate. The key is to design mechanisms that reduce coordination costs without weakening the scientific quality and reputation of individual institutes. The most effective structures are those that simplify working on shared missions while preserving the trust built up over time by laboratories, research groups, and local partners.

analysts in the science policy sector observe.

Digitalization, energy and health require greater agility

The project stems from a profound shift in the competitive landscape. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ), the predecessor of today's ETH Zurich, was founded in 1855 to train the engineers needed by industrial Switzerland: roads, railways, bridges, and chemistry. Today, public and industrial demand is different. Artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, the energy transition, personalized medicine, and environmental monitoring require interdisciplinary platforms and rapid response capabilities.

In this perspective, the Digital Unit It is one of the most strategic elements. The ETH Board has requested the development of a proposal for a new mission-oriented unit, with its headquarters planned in French-speaking Switzerland. Among the options being considered is the possible organizational relocation of the Swiss Data Science Center and the Swiss National Supercomputing Center in Lugano. High-performance computing, data management, and AI are no longer ancillary functions, but enabling infrastructures for nearly all fields of research.

This is precisely the project's industrial value. Companies collaborating with universities and public institutions seek faster access to specialized expertise, testing infrastructure, and knowledge transfer. If the new structure reduces redundant steps, the reorganization could also impact the competitiveness of the Swiss innovation ecosystem.

Brand, locations and roots remain part of the value

One of the most interesting aspects is the choice not to erase existing identities. The four federal institutes are not interchangeable entities. PSI is associated with large research infrastructures and fields such as matter, materials, energy, environment, people, and health. WSL works on forests, snow, landscape, biodiversity, and natural hazards. EMPA works on materials, technologies, and application transfer. EAWAG is a point of reference for water, sewage treatment, aquatic ecosystems, and water resources.

Local roots are a competitive asset. The ETH Domain is present in 13 cantons and contributes to Swiss regional development through scientific services, training, laboratories, industrial collaborations, and relations with public authorities. Maintaining our locations and brands means recognizing that innovation thrives not only in decision-making centers, but also in professional communities, campuses, experimental facilities, and the partner networks built over time.

This caution also responds to a political need. Research institutes had expressed reservations about the idea of ​​merging into a single organization with its own legal personality. The ETH Board stated that it would take these concerns seriously and incorporate them into the conceptual work. The decision to submit two variants for internal consultation therefore signals a prudent approach: not to impose a closed model, but to gauge the degree of acceptance and the possible effects on personnel, governance, and the legal framework.

Governance becomes innovation infrastructure

The Swiss case reflects a broader trend: in advanced economies, research governance has become a component of the innovation infrastructure. When missions concern climate, energy, health, or responsible digital transformation, coordination becomes part of the scientific product. Priorities, portfolios, conceptual frameworks. The decision to submit two variants for internal consultation therefore signals a prudent approach: common forms and access models also determine the speed with which knowledge reaches society and the market.

The five strategic priorities for the ERI 2025–2028 period point the way: human health, energy, climate and environmental sustainability, responsible digital transformation, advanced materials and key technologies, and engagement and dialogue with society. These are not silos. Advanced materials require data and AI; personalized health depends on secure digital infrastructure; the energy transition requires simulations, sensors, quantum technologies, industrial transfer, and public acceptance.

The project also includes hubs to promote cooperation within and beyond the PF Sector, portfolio analyses to assess potential transfers or mergers of units and departments, increased strategic coordination, and reduced administrative costs. In the lexicon of innovation, it represents the transition from a federation of excellence to a platform capable of directing distributed capabilities toward shared missions.

A project that was immediately imagined as long-term

Since autumn 2023, collaboration options have been developed, accompanied by discussions with politicians, business, and society. A preliminary internal consultation was held in 2024, and the ETH Board made a decision in principle in December. The finalization of the structure continued in 2025. An internal consultation and a Board decision are planned for 2026. Depending on the variant, federal consultations or a request to the Confederation could follow in 2026/2027.

If the changes require structural adjustments beyond the new forms of collaboration, the ETH Board may submit a request for legislative procedure to the Federal Council. In that case, Parliament will have the final say. This step is consistent with the public nature of the system: the ETH Domain is not merely a collection of scientific institutions, but a component of the national education, research, and innovation policy.

The reform will therefore be measured on two levels. The first is internal: reducing friction, duplication, and coordination costs, without dispersing expertise. The second is external: making the system more accessible to businesses, governments, scientific partners, and society. If the project is successful, Switzerland will be able to strengthen not only academic excellence, but also the industrial and civic translation of research.

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EMPA, EAWAG, WSL and PSI: Swiss research institutes