Feasibility studies: Extended Reality Sweden, 6G Sweden, Neuromorphic Sweden

As well as in Sweden and internationally, intensive research and innovation is currently taking place in emerging technology areas. In order to promote development, access to competence and collaboration for emerging technology areas, agenda work or innovation platforms can be used as an instrument. We already do this in Sweden within AI and quantum technology.

Aim and objective of this call for proposals is to stimulate feasibility studies that will investigate whether the conditions exist to apply and start innovation platforms for three designated technology areas: Extended Reality, 6G and neuromorphic technology.

The purpose of the subsequent national the innovation platforms shall be to initiate and scale up national cooperation in global competition. This is to nationally accelerate competence and skills, technical leadership, entrepreneurship, industrialization, intellectual property leadership, standardization work, use cases and attraction of nationally sustainable risk capital.

The platforms for these technology areas must therefore develop ecosystems of common assets. This is to reduce costs for knowledge transfer, utilization and value creation. These platforms must also promote interfaces between different parts of the ecosystem. In addition, the platforms must distribute tools and opportunities for development and business for various independent and sometimes competing teams.

These innovation platforms must thus also contribute to national resilience regarding emerging technologies. By resilience we mean in this context national knowledge security regarding these technologies as well as business integrity regarding the future system solutions that the technologies enable.

More about transformative technology can be found at Transformative technology areas - cutting-edge technology

The technology areas that we address in this call for proposals are:

• XR (extended reality): so-called immersive technology (hereinafter referred to as XR)
• 6G: Sixth generation wireless communication system
• Neuromorphic: Neuromorphic technology and information technology, “Neuromorphic Engineering”

Funding per project can amount to a maximum of SEK 1,000,000.

Funding can amount to a maximum of 80 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

This call for proposals intends to finance feasibility studies for subsequent Swedish innovation platforms. This is for innovation in XR, 6G and neuromorphic technology. These feasibility studies must have project durations of up to eight months.

The call for proposals aims at project with the following project results:

• Knowledge to assess the conditions for and prepare a national platform for sustainable innovation with technologically transformative solutions regarding any of the respective transformative technologies; XR, 6G, and neuromorphic technology.
• Environmental monitoring that reports the need for and prerequisites for a platform in a regional, national and international context.
• Various feasibility studies whose results complement each other to create knowledge and technology for national success and resilience within the technical themes of the call in subsequent innovation platforms.

If the assessment is that there is a prerequisite for a platform, the project must also present a plan that:

• describes how it is practically possible to develop a platform in line with the call's aim. The plan must be coordinated with national actors.
• describes a long-term and sustainable financing of the platform. The plan must include opportunities for co-financing the platform through regional, national, EU programme and other international funds.
• describes international connection to actively contribute to entrepreneurs, partners and users also seeking EU funding.

Vinnova intends to make targeted efforts after this effort. In these subsequent efforts, Vinnova intends to engage in dialogue with approved project within feasibility studies. An approved feasibility study enables but does not guarantee Vinnova's decision on subsequent funding.

Based on the outcome of the feasibility studies financed within this initiative, Vinnova plans to finance national platforms at a subsequent stage. These envisaged subsequent platforms are estimated to last for five years or longer, and the maximum funding is five million per year for each platform. Vinnova requires at least 50 percent co-financing.

Themes for the call for proposals

In this call for proposals the terms XR, 6G and neuromorphic technology are intended to be interpreted as innovations and transformative technology for sustainable and resilience utilization within the respective technology area:

• XR: Takes the user into the computer generated world
• 6G: Sixth generation wireless communication system
• Neuromorphic technology: Technology inspired by the biological brain

This call for proposals aims to finance project with the following expected project results:

• Documented and established knowledge to assess the conditions for a national platform for sustainable innovation with technologically transformative solutions regarding any of the respective transformative technologies; XR, 6G, and neuromorphic technology.
• Documented monitoring of the environment that reports possible needs and conditions for a platform in a regional, national and international context.
• Documented feasibility studies that strengthen and complement each other, where the results together should be able to help create the conditions for national success within the technical themes of the call.
• Prerequisites for subsequent platforms, the latter to contribute to marketing, development, resource sharing, information transfer, experimentation, use, identification and attraction of capital, entrepreneurship, commercialization, exploitation, internationalisation, sustainability and the spread of sustainable innovation within the call's respective technology themes.

In Inom Agenda 2030, Vinnova has specifically identified climate and gender equality as two central sustainability perspectives to which our funded investments should contribute positively. Project financed by Vinnova are thus expected to take special account of climate and gender equality aspects.

One aspect that Vinnova follows up and assesses is whether both women and men take part in the grant in an equal way, participate in and have influence over the project.

Another aspect involves analyzing and deciding whether there are gender aspects that are relevant to the project's problem area, solutions and utilization. In this the call for proposals that aspect is also assessed.

Our work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030

Equal innovation - what it means for you who seek funding from us

With regard to 6G, the government has tasked Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council with strengthening basic research, applied research and innovation within the sixth generation wireless communication system (6G). The aim is to strengthen the position of Swedish research and innovation within wireless communication systems, increase the competitiveness of Swedish companies in the field and strengthen the conditions for Swedish research environments to participate in international research collaboration and gain access to international research infrastructure. The investment includes a total of SEK 390 million and the assignment must be finalized in March 2027.

Read about the government mission: Research investment should contribute to the development of 6G

Vinnova can only finance legal entities, which are Swedish organizations or foreign organizations with a branch or place of business in Sweden. Other foreign organizations can participate, but are not financed by Vinnova.

Activities for which funding can be applied for

In this call for proposals Vinnova finances feasibility studies that aim to investigate and prepare a platform for collaboration and innovation within the respective transformative technologies; XR, 6G and neuromorphic technology. The types of project activities that can be financed in this the call for proposals must be of the nature of industrial researchregarding companies.

Approved activities within the scope of this the call for proposals are, for example:

• Development of the idea within a specific area of innovation that is relevant to the focus of the call.
• Identification of new collaboration partners and building of networks with complementary actors in a selected area.
• Evaluation and analysis of the potential of a full-scale project, in this context an innovation platform, as well as identification of the resources required to implement it.

Examples of what is not funded in this call for proposals:

• Individual demonstration project or test bed
• Individual research center or research school
• Tied to a single actor
• Individual regional interest
• Individual trade association
• Alternative or competitor to any existing research platforms
• Project proposals that do not address XR, 6G or neuromorphic technology.

Eligible costs

Our funding takes place through funding. Funding for organizations that carry out economic activities is covered by rules on state support.

The rules govern, among other things, which types of costs and what proportion of them may be covered by funding.

The level of support depends on the size of the organization and the nature of the project activities carried out. The document "Support levels, definitions etc. for funding according to Vinnova's support scheme" Support levels, definitions etc. for funding according to Vinnova's support scheme clarifies what applies to various large organizations that conduct economic activities.

Which costs are eligible for support can be seen from our term and our Guide to eligible costs which you can find here

Basic prerequisites for a cost to be eligible for support are that it must:

• Carried by applicant participant
• Be attributable to the project
• Have arisen during the project period
• Be determined in accordance with the company's usual accounting principles and good accounting practice
• Be in accordance with the company's internal policies and guidelines.

Our funding is covered by rules on government support. The rules govern both what kind of costs and what proportion of the costs we can finance. This is determined for each organization individually. We therefore distinguish how much funding the project can receive in total, and how much each participating participant can receive.

How much funding can the project receive?

Funding per project can amount to a maximum of SEK 1,000,000.

Funding can amount to a maximum of 80 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

The total budget for the call for proposals is SEK 6,000,000.

How much funding can a participant receive?

How much funding each participating participant can receive mainly depends on:

• which activities the party will carry out in the project
• party size and activities.

Support is provided according to:

• Regulation on minor support (EU No. 1407/2013)
• Industrial research in accordance with § 9 regulation (2015:208) on state support for research and development and innovation article 25 of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 (GBER)
• "Non-state aid".

What costs can we finance?

Our funding may only go to certain types of costs. These are called eligible costs. In this the call for proposals these types of costs are eligible:

• Personnel costs: Salaries, social security contributions and other personnel costs
• Equipment, land and buildings: Instruments, equipment and rent for premises other than regular business premises
• Consulting and licensing costs: Consulting services, knowledge and patents purchased or used under license from an external actor
• Other direct costs: For example materials, stock items and travel necessary to carry out the project
• Indirect costs (overhead): Costs that are not incurred as an immediate consequence of but can be related to the project, for example regular premises and cleaning. Please note that the indirect costs may constitute a maximum of 30 percent of the personnel costs.

For more detailed information on which costs we can finance, see our instruction on eligible costs.

Which eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

For a cost to be eligible for support, it must be necessary for the activities of the project. Project costs must also be properly accounted for and reported separately from the organization's other costs. An organization may also not take up someone else's costs as its own.

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, see our instruction on eligible costs.

Subsequent bet (after this one)

Note that granting a project in this effort for feasibility studies does not guarantee that Vinnova will finance its subsequent effort for a national innovation platform.

Any granted subsequent project for a national platform is expected to run for a maximum of five years.

Vinnova's funding for the granted subsequent project is expected to amount to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's eligible costs.

Vinnova's funding for a subsequent platform can amount to a maximum of five million kroner per year.

In order for us to take a position on and assess your proposal it must meet certain basic requirements, so-called formal eligibility requirements.

We will only assess applications that meet the following formal eligibility requirements:

• Coordinator for proposal must be the legal entity at whose place of business the project in question will be carried out.
• All project parties must be legal entities.
• Proposal must be designed in accordance with the guidelines, described in section 9
• Funding is not granted to organizations that are insolvent or that
  undergoes liquidation or company restructuring, or has unpaid debts or a payment notice with the Swedish Enforcement Agency
• If the organization is a limited company, half or more of the share capital must not be used up.
• We take credit information on all applicant who are not public actors, and funding is not granted to organizations with the lowest credit rating C.
• An organization seeking funding for personnel costs must be registered as an employer with the Tax Agency at the latest when the grant decision is made.

What do we assess?

Decisions on funding are made after a balanced assessment of the following criteria:

Potential

How proposal clearly and credibly describes a feasibility study for a subsequent platform within one of the respective transformative technology areas, where the platform must be able to:

• Contribute to the call's aim for the innovation platforms
• Support and bring innovation
• Coordinate activities with existing organizations today
• Collect existing and new relevant actors
• Collaborate for an upcoming Swedish agenda and strategy
• Achieve national and international recognition
• Stimulate and support experimentation and learning
• Contribute to sustainable social development
• Contribute to increased gender equality
• Contribute positively to the global goals of Agenda 2030, and how well it is judged to minimize the negative effects.

Actors

How proposal clearly and credibly describes that the feasibility study is carried out by actors who possess:

• Knowledge and competence in the field
• Ability to engage and coordinate a wide range of actors
• Access to relevant networks
• A team of key people that is well composed with regard to gender distribution, as well as the distribution of power and influence between women and men.

Feasibility

How proposal clearly and credibly describes a feasibility study with:

• The credibility and effectiveness of the project plan for the implementation of the project within the established time, within the budget and with expected results
• Project methodology, control, organization and involvement of project parties and other relevant actors, including users. A project plan that shows all parties' activities, commitment, participation and mutual communication
• Pronounced support from own principals, who are characterized by strong leadership and the ability to bring out and "market" their collective competence in an impactful way
• Content and credibility in vision and strategic idea to be able to achieve a Swedish platform
• How well aspects relating to gender equality have been integrated into the project plan

How do we judge?

Applications that meet all formal eligibility requirements are assessed by an assessment group appointed by Vinnova consisting of technical and organizational experts. All evaluator are appointed and appointed by Vinnova.

Based on an overall recommendation from the evaluators Vinnova then makes the formal decision to reject or grant funding and communicates this decision to all applicant. The assessment of the applications is done in competition between received applications.

When we have assessed all applications, we will send a decision in which we either grant or reject your proposal. In the decision, we state how much funding each party in the project is granted. Our decision cannot be appealed.

What if you are granted funding?

If we grant your proposal you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms and conditions include this:

• That you must sign a special document in which you undertake to carry out the project
• That you must report your costs and results to us regularly during the project
• That you, if you are several parties, must agree on what applies to the project in a project agreement
• How the results will be used, and how any scientific publication will take place.

See our general terms and conditions and get help understanding and fulfilling them

We can also decide to add supplementary special conditions for individual project. In that case, they appear in the decision.

Can you have to pay back funding?

If you do not follow our term you may be liable for a refund. This also applies if you have been granted funding incorrectly or with an amount that is too high.

When your proposal has been registered, we send a confirmation to the person responsible for the user account as well as to the project manager and the signatory.

If you submit a proposal on the same day as the call for proposals closes, it may take a few hours before you receive a confirmation. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours after the call for proposals closes, please contact us.

When the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. Then you can only supplement if we ask for it.

Who can read your proposal?

Your proposal will be read by employees at Vinnova and the evaluator appointed by Vinnova who work in this the call for proposals. Everyone works under confidentiality.

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if they are requested.

However, we keep confidential information that we believe could mean financial damage if disclosed, for example information about the business, inventions or research results.

This is how we handle public documents and confidentiality