Medtech4Health: Implementation of medical technology in healthcare in 2024

A call for proposals within the strategic innovation program Medtech4Health

Medtech4Health is part of Vinnova's, the Energy Agency's and Forma's joint effort on strategic innovation programs. The purpose of the investment in strategic innovation programs is to create the conditions for international competitiveness and sustainable solutions to global societal challenges.

More information about the program

With this the call for proposals Medtech4Health wants to give organizations in healthcare the opportunity to work effectively with the introduction and implementation of new innovative medical technology solutions. The projects must support evaluation, adaptation and implementation of innovative medical technology solutions in healthcare. The implementation may, for example, require that processes or organizational structures need to be changed and adapted. The solutions must contribute to a more efficient solution to a well-defined challenge and be able to be scaled and spread.

The main applicant must be a care or care organization that conducts established activities for routine care or care and that receives patients or users and is responsible for the activities in which the solutions are to be developed, tested and used.

It is desirable that the projects collaborate with, for example, authorities, procurement units, academia, companies and patient organisations. Regional and municipal cooperation is seen as very positive.

For the call for proposals there is an allocated budget of SEK 10 million. Project can be financed with a minimum of SEK 300,000 and a maximum of SEK 1,500,000 for a maximum of two years. The grant may correspond to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs. The main part of the project budget should be allocated to the care or care organization.

The same project proposal cannot apply for several calls for proposals financed by Vinnova at the same time.

New medical technology solutions need to be implemented more quickly in healthcare. With this call for proposals Medtech4Health wants to strengthen the ability to evaluate, test and introduce new medical technology solutions in organizations within healthcare. This may involve adapting the solutions to meet the needs of applicant organisations, as well as changes to their processes and organisation.

The overall long-term goals of the strategic innovation program Medtech4Health are that medical technology innovations should contribute to the following:

• Better resource management in health care organizations
• Streamlining care processes through the use of smart and innovative medical technology solutions
• That patients, users and relatives are at the center of healthcare
• Continued national and international success for Swedish medical technology companies
• Att Sverige is internationally recognized for excellence in needs-based medical technology innovation, research and education

Sustainability, gender equality and inclusion

Cooperation, pooling of forces and innovation will be decisive in achieving the goals for sustainable development according to Agenda 2030. Project financed in this call for proposals must - within the framework of the call for proposals - contribute to achieving the global sustainability goals that are formulated in Agenda 2030. It is important both for Medtech4Health and for Vinnova.

Read more about Vinnova's work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030

The concept of sustainable development includes economic, environmental and social considerations in relation to the project's solution and how it is carried out. We expect it to permeate project design and implementation.

The call for proposals must indirectly contribute to a more egalitarian, equal and environmentally sustainable care and care, which means that all funded project must have these three perspectives. By that we mean that the parties in the project are expected to actively work for gender equality and inclusion as well as reduced negative impact on the environment and climate. This applies both when you develop the project, assemble the project team and when you analyze the effects of the solution that the project is working with.

Read more about what Vinnova's work for equal innovation means for those looking for funding

The solutions that Medtech4Health wants to prioritize in this call for proposals must:

• contribute to geographically and socially increasing gender equality and equality in care and social care
• reduce negative impact on the environment and climate
• provide a more economical use of healthcare resources through technology change and contribute to a circular economy
• reduce transport needs for people and goods
• reduce resource and energy consumption as well as emissions of toxic waste during production and use
• contribute to reducing personnel challenges in care and social care.

We encourage applicant to look at aspects such as:

• How can a product, service or process be designed as resource-efficiently as possible?
• An overall perspective on the life cycle of the solutions. For example, are they easy to maintain, repair, upgrade and implement?

Think especially about gender equality and inclusion when you:

• examines the need or the solution's problem area and benefits – that is, who develops ideas and solutions and which user or patient groups benefit from them and how this is done.
• defines the target group and how you include it in the development work.
• puts together a project group, possible steering group or focus group and invites other project participants.
• plans division of labor, participation, power and influence in the project as well
• plans how the effects of the proposed project will be evaluated

The handbook "Inclusive innovation - A handbook in medical technology" is produced by Medtech4Health as a guide for the actors who are in the initial phase of their work with gender equality and inclusion. There are also other tools on medtecharena.se that can be useful in the project, which is why applicant is recommended to look at these before proposal.

Identified success factors for the core team:

• Leadership and core team in the project group have proactive leadership:
  - with an appointed leader
  - a suitable format and functioning team
  - an active collaboration between relevant parties and actors.
• Manage different interests and conflicts within different work groups.
• Understand the driving forces of the individual actors and at the same time get specialists to work for the whole.
• Create a dynamic environment where project partners and project participants work together cross-sectorally and are participatory and inclusive.
• Create a base of values, psychological security, a good working environment and a community based on cooperation, learning and productivity.

The call for proposals is aimed at health care organizations that want to streamline their activities by evaluating, adapting and introducing new medical technology solutions. Applicant are welcome from both public and private health and care organisations.

The area that defines medical technology is very broad. A product is medical technology if its aim is to diagnose, treat, relieve or cure an illness. Medical technology includes a variety of products such as X-ray and radiotherapy equipment, orthopedic implants, stents, scalpels, record systems, walkers, pacemakers, dialysis machines and apps.

It is desirable that the projects collaborate with, for example, authorities, procurement units, academia, companies and patient organisations. Regional and municipal cooperation is seen as very positive.

Terms used in the call text:

• Health care provider: state public authority, region, municipality, other legal person or sole trader who conducts established health care activities for routine care and who receives patients.
• Caregiver: Public authority that is responsible for or performs interventions for the elderly persons or persons with disabilities (public care provider) and legal entity or sole trader that performs such interventions (private care provider).
• User: Person who receives individually needs-tested interventions from social services.
• Patient: Person who receives or is registered to receive healthcare.
• Medical device: product used to detect, prevent, monitor, treat or alleviate a disease; detect, monitor, treat, alleviate or compensate for an injury or a disability; examine, alter or replace anatomy or a physiological process or control conception.

Activities for which funding can be applied for

To be eligible for funding the project must include at least one of the following activities:

• Test and evaluate new medical technology solutions, and analyze the need to adapt services, processes and organization in order to introduce the solution.
• Evaluate the value and benefit of the solution to patients, relatives and staff, or the financial gain of implementation.
• Define eligibility requirements and needs to enable adaptation or procurement of a new innovative medical technology solution.
• Broad introduction of a specific medical technology solution.

The project application must clearly describe:

• The challenge you intend to solve or improve in the applicant's activities.
• The assessed benefit for the patient, user and society when the solution is implemented.
• How the expected end result should be implemented and how the solution should be scaled up or attract follow-on investments for further development.
• How the effects of the introduction are to be measured.

In the long term, the project's results should mean that the applicant's activities are improved and made more efficient, provide increased quality for the individual and activities, and contribute to the company's growth.

This call for proposals is not aimed at project that refer to:

• A physical product or service that is already widely accepted in the market.
• Medicines or biotechnology*.
• A veterinary idea.

* Medicines can, however, be a component of a concept where medical technology is used for, for example, dosing or injections. It can also be project with implants that are surface-treated with drugs for the prevention of complications.

Eligible costs

The project budget reported in proposal must only include so-called eligible costs. However, any project costs that are not eligible for support should appear in the project description, as they may be important for the assessment.

The following costs are eligible:

• Personnel costs.
• Depreciation costs for instruments, equipment and buildings to the extent that they are used.
• Costs for consultants and licenses.
• Other direct costs, for example materials and travel costs.
• Indirect costs (overhead) if they occur.

More detailed information about eligible costs can be found in Vinnova's instructions for eligible costs, which you can find on this page

SEK 10 million has been set aside for the call for proposals, spread over two years. Project can apply for a minimum of SEK 300,000 and a maximum of SEK 1,500,000. The grant may correspond to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

The majority of the budget should be allocated to the care and social care organization.

Permitted aid intensity for each beneficiary varies depending on whether you are an economic or non-economic activities and which basis for support is used.

Funding for organizations that carry out economic activities is covered by rules on government support. The rules govern, among other things, which types of costs and what proportion of them may be covered by funding.

Read more about government support on Vinnova's website

All activities that involve offering goods and services on a market constitute economic activities. This means that even non-profit organizations can be classified as economic activities if they offer goods and services on a market. It is not decisive what legal form the business takes, how it is financed, whether it is public or private, or whether it has a profit motive. The organization itself answers and is ultimately responsible for the assessment of whether they conduct economic activities or not.

In this call for proposals the following applies:

• Non-financial activities
  Healthcare providers in the public sector, academia and research organizations are financed with a maximum of 50 percent of their eligible costs. The same provisions apply to private organizations that carry out the project within the framework of their non-economic (public) activities.
• Financial activities
  - For private care providers within the framework of their financial activities, the level of support depends on whether support of minor importance can be used, see section 8.
  - If it is possible to use support of minor importance, the same co-financing requirements apply as for non-financial activities. Attach the form "Certificate of support of minor importance" to proposal, which you will find on this page under the heading " Support of minor importance"
• The support levels that apply are determined with support of Article 25 of the EU Commission Regulation No. 651/2014, experimental development. They vary depending on the size of the business and the nature of the project. More detailed information on support levels can be found in "Table of support levels for government support" which you can find here
• Foreign actors who do not have a branch or place of employment in Sweden cannot apply for funds from Vinnova.

Formal eligibility requirements

Only those applications that meet the following formal eligibility requirements are assessed:

• Applicant organization ( coordinator) must be a care or welfare organization that receives patients or users and is responsible for the activities in which the solutions are to be developed, tested and used.
• The project parties must be legal entities.
• Proposal must contain all mandatory appendices and these must be written according to the call's templates and comply with the format requirements.
• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.

What is assessed?

The evaluation of proposal is done according to how well the project contributes to the call's aim and objective. The assessment takes place according to the following criteria:

Potential

• To what extent the proposed project has the potential to lead to the implementation of new medical technology solutions.
• To what extent the new solution creates benefit for patients, users and relatives and streamlines the applicant's care and social care activities.
• To what extent the solution has potential to be scaled up and spread nationally and internationally and thus create further benefit and efficiency.
• To what extent the solution contributes positively to sustainable growth and the global goals in Agenda 2030 within the Swedish medical technology industry.
• To what extent does the project contribute to increased gender equality.

Actors

• The composition of the team in terms of competence and experience
  Involvement and inclusion of patients, relatives, users and owners of needs.
• Cooperation across regional and municipal borders.
• The composition of the team with regard to gender distribution, as well as equal distribution of power and influence.

Feasibility

• To which extend:
  - care providers are involved in the implementation of the project.
  - appropriate activities are defined in the project plan so that the set project goals can be reached.
  - the project's planned activities are deemed to be able to be carried out in accordance with the budget and timetable.
• Has relevant sustainability perspectives been integrated into the project plan.

How does the assessment process work?

Proposal is assessed in competition with other received applications for the call for proposals.

The decision process looks like this:

• Proposal are made in Vinnova's e-services.
• All applications that meet the formal requirements are assessed by a composite group of evaluatorspecially appointed and appointed by Vinnova.
• The evaluators jointly discuss the results of the individually performed assessments.
• Vinnova makes decisions about which project are to be financed.
• Decision is notified to applicant.

Vinnova's decision

After a decision, Vinnova sends a message via e-mail to the coordinator for each proposal with notification of approval or rejection. The decision shows how much each party in the project is granted in funding.

The basis for support appears in the decision and also governs which costs are eligible for support.

Vinnova's decision to grant or reject a proposal cannot be appealed.

Term for granted funding

For granted funding Vinnova's general terms and conditions apply for funding. The terms contain, among other things, rules about project agreements, conditions for payment, follow-up, reporting and utilization of results.

Current term can be found on Vinnova's website, along with help to understand and fulfill the terms

Any scientific publication must take place with open access in accordance with Vinnova's instructions.

Since the call for proposals takes place within the framework of strategic innovation programs, the following instructions also apply:

• The project must be represented by at least one participant at project management meetings and other mandatory activities organized within Medtech4Health.
• When communicating about the project and at every publication of project results, it must be stated that the work was carried out within the strategic innovation program Medtech4Health, a joint effort by Vinnova, Formas and the Energy Agency.
• Funding for data collection for follow-up of Medtech4Health's activities
  At the same time as the project's final report to Vinnova, a summary of the project results must also be sent to Medtech4Health via e-mail: kontakt@medtech4health.se. The summary must be able to be distributed and published freely and must not contain confidential or otherwise sensitive information.
• In connection with the final report, the project manager must fill in a short online questionnaire that you can find here

Supplementary instructions can be decided for individual project.

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.

Read more about documents and privacy