Stiftung zur Förderung der Erforschung von Ersatz- und Ergänzungsmethoden zur Einschränkung von Tierversuchen

The Foundation for the Promotion of Research on Alternative and Complementary Methods to Reduce Animal Testing (set) is a non-profit foundation with over 35 years of experience. Its goal is to replace animal testing with modern, reliable animal-free methods, to reduce the number of animal experiments, or—when unavoidable—to improve the experimental conditions for the welfare of the animals. Funding is provided through contributions from industry, grants from the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, as well as donations. The foundation’s committees consist of representatives from animal welfare, industry, science, and authorities, and award seed funding particularly for niche projects that are not covered by other funding organizations.

The foundation is committed to the consistent implementation of the 3R principle (Replace, Reduce, Refine) in biomedical research. It supports innovative projects that develop animal-free alternative methods or validate existing methods to reduce the suffering of laboratory animals and enhance the scientific quality of research. Through pragmatic and straightforward collaboration, the foundation aims to provide sustainable impetus for the dissemination and recognition of alternative methods.

Funding is primarily provided to small and medium-sized research groups from universities, universities of applied sciences, research institutes, and industry engaged in 3R research. The target group comprises scientists and early-career researchers pursuing independent, bold research projects for which there are insufficient funding opportunities in the market or public programs. The foundation focuses on projects with clear 3R relevance, adequate infrastructure, and the professional qualifications of the applicants.