Closed offer - International individual mobility for cutting-edge technology 2024

With this the call for proposals Vinnova wants to strengthen strategic competence in Sweden. A partial goal is to initiate and develop lasting collaborations internationally. An important step to get there is to enable individual mobility, so-called personnel exchange, between Sweden and Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore, Great Britain, Germany and the USA.

The investment is thematically limited to the areas:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Immersive technology (XR, AR, VR, both hardware and software)
• Quantum technology
• Synthetic Biology
• 6G

Individual mobility must last for at least four weeks and up to six months. The exchange described in proposal must take place physically on site. We therefore do not finance digital presence.

The call for proposals finances two types of individual mobility:

• A Swedish organization that applies for funding to give an employee the opportunity to work in an organization in one of the above-mentioned countries. The exchange should strengthen the employee's skills.
• A Swedish organization applying for funding to invite an expert from one of the countries above. The exchange should strengthen the organisation's competence.

Each project can be financed with a maximum of SEK 400,000. Funding can be granted up to 100 percent aid intensity per project. Support is paid for direct costs, mainly travel costs and accommodation.

The offer is open to Swedish companies, regions, municipalities, universities and research organisations.

Applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis, and Vinnova makes decisions every month provided that allocated funds remain.

With the call for proposals Vinnova wants to increase strategic competence in Sweden through individual mobility, and at the same time pave the way for lasting collaborations between organizations in Sweden and actors in Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore, Great Britain, Germany and the USA.
The investment includes individual mobility in the areas of artificial intelligence, immersive technology, quantum technology, synthetic biology and 6G.

Focus on gender equality in all our investments

Vinnova works for equal social development and an inclusive innovation ecosystem. Therefore, we follow up and assess whether both women and men equally share in the contribution, participate in and have influence over the project. We also want to increase the participation of actors who have not applied for international funding before.

Another aspect is that applicant needs to analyze and decide whether there are gender or gender aspects that are relevant in connection with the project's problem area, solutions and utilization.

Applicant is recommended to have a drawn up and publicly published equality action plan (GEP) in accordance with Horisont Europas regulations.

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

Free access to scientific publications and results

Results from research and innovation that are made freely available increase the opportunity for more people to contribute to solutions to societal challenges. This the call for proposals should contribute to making more results freely available to everyone. Therefore, all scientific publication must be open access.

The offer is open to applications from Swedish companies, regions, municipalities, universities and research organisations.

The funding can cover individual mobility for at least four weeks but no more than six months. The exchange can be spread over a 12-month period. The support must cover travel costs, accommodation and other additional costs. The support is not intended to cover ordinary research and development, but is limited to related costs arising from individual mobility.

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 between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participating participant can receive.

How much funding can a participant receive?

Funding will be granted up to 100 percent aid intensity and a maximum of SEK 400,000 per project.

We grant funding in accordance with the EU Commission Regulation (2023/2831) on support of minor importance.

An organization can receive a maximum of 300,000 euros over a three-year period in this form of support, regardless of funder and project. This means that if the same organization has received support of less importance in other project from other funders, it affects how big the support can be in this the call for proposals.

To be granted this support, you need to submit a certificate of de-minimum support when you submit proposal. See form for certificate of minor support

In this the call for proposals we also provide support to organizations that do not carry out economic activities. This generally includes universities and university colleges, research institutes and other organizations that do not offer a service or product on a market.

How do you determine whether an organization carries out economic activities?

An organization that offers any kind of service or product on a market is considered to be conducting economic activities and cannot be granted this form of support. It does not matter how the organization is financed, whether it is public or private, or whether it has a profit motive. It also does not matter what legal form the business takes - that is, whether it is a limited liability company, a trading company, an economic association, a non-profit association or a foundation.

If you are unsure whether an organization in your project carries out financial activities, contact call manager. However, the organization itself is responsible for assessing whether it carries out economic activities.

All details about support levels for different purposes and organization types can be found in a table in the document "Support levels, definitions and more for funding according to Vinnova" on the website State support to economic activities.

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:

• Other direct costs: Extra costs within the host organization for the exchange, such as accommodation, insurance, allowances and travel necessary to carry out the project

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

What eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

For a cost to be eligible, 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.

In order for us to take a position on and assess your proposal it must meet certain basic requirements, so-called formal eligibility requirements. If these eligibility requirements are not met, our evaluator will not process your proposal:

• Proposal must be about an individual's mobility.
• Individual mobility must last on site for at least four weeks and at most six months.
• Individual mobility must apply from or to a company in the form of a limited company, region, municipality, university or research organization in Sweden.
• The individual or partner organization must come from or be located in Brazil, France, India, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea, Singapore, Great Britain, Germany and the United States.
• The Swedish and international organization do not belong to the same group or owner.
• Funding is not granted to organizations that are insolvent, that are undergoing liquidation or company restructuring, that have unpaid debts or payment notices with the Swedish Enforcement Agency.
• If the organization is a limited company, half or more of the share capital must not be used up.
• Vinnova takes credit information on all applicant who are not public actors, and funding is not granted to organizations with the lowest credit rating C.
• The 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.
• The Swedish organization sends in proposal and acts as coordinator for individual mobility.
• Proposal must contain a project description that is written in the template on the call's website, and that follows the template's limitations regarding content and number of pages.
• Only attachments in the form of the project description may be attached to proposal, as well as the certificate of Support of minor importance if relevant.
• Proposal is written in Swedish or English.
• The requested funding is a maximum of SEK 400,000.

What do we assess?

The applications will be assessed according to the main criteria Potential, Actors and Feasibility, which are described below.

We assess proposal according to how well it fulfills the purpose of the call for proposals: to increase strategic competence in Sweden through individual mobility and at the same time establish cooperation between Sweden and international organizations.

Potential

• Knowledge transfer for the applicant organization.
• Long-term cooperation between the countries and the organisations.
• Knowledge transfer outside the organizations.
• Positive impact on the global goals in Agenda 2030, with a particular focus on objective 17 where applicant must justify how their project increases lasting and sustainable collaborations and relationships via the personnel exchange.
• To what extent the partnerships create added value in Sweden and internationally.

Actors

• The actors' ability to contribute to knowledge transfer.
• The degree of relevant thematic expertise within the project team as well as with the person making the exchange.
• How well composed the project team is in terms of gender distribution.
• How well power and influence are evenly distributed between the genders in the project team.

Feasibility

• The plan for the project and the personnel exchange is feasible within the envisaged budget.
• The plan for knowledge transfer both inside and outside the organization is realistic.
• Aspects relating to gender equality have been integrated into the project plan.

How do we judge?

Applications that meet the requirements of section 6 will be assessed against the above assessment criteria in competition with each other. The applications are assessed internally by Vinnova.

Applications are read every month and decided continuously, except for the month of July.

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.

To apply for funding you fill in a proposal in our e-service. Proposal contains questions about the project, other project parties and budget.

You also attach these attachments to proposal:

• Project description, maximum six A4 pages, written in the template on the call for proposals website
• Intyget Stöd of minor importance, in cases where it is relevant.

Start proposal in good time

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal. Filling out templates can take several days, as it is based on analyzes you will be doing. Therefore, start in good time. You can start filling in information and continue at a later time. When proposal is ready, you mark it as ready.

You can unlock proposal and make changes at any time, right up until the last application date. If you unlock proposal, you must then mark it as ready for it to be registered when the call for proposals closes.

2024-05-23
Added in Section 5:

Other direct costs: Extra costs within the host organization for the exchange, such as accommodation, insurance, allowancesand travel necessary to carry out the project