Competence centers within Sustainable industry and Digital transformation 2022

This call for proposals is aimed at groups of actors with a common vision and strategic idea for building an excellent research environment. The offer refers to research areas that have great applicability within Vinnova's areas Sustainable industry or Digital transformation and where the participating the actors can demonstrate that the knowledge developed in the environment can be widely used in business and society.

This is how Vinnova is changing for a sustainable future

The coordinator must be a university, a university college or a research institute applying together with companies and/or public organisations. We see positively that other universities and research institutes are active project partners in the competence centre.

Swedish industry has the potential to take a leading role in the transition to a more sustainable society, both within and outside the country's borders. Therefore, funded competence centers are expected to actively work with international collaboration, for example within the European research and innovation programs and other global collaborations related to Sustainable industry or Digital transformation.

Vinnova plans to approve a maximum of nine competence centers, five in the area ofSustainable industryand four in the area ofDigital transformation.

A competence center is financed to one-third by Vinnova, one-third (or more) by university/ university college/institute and one-third (or more) by business/public sector. Only universities/ university college/institutes can be recipients of funding from Vinnova.

The program offers the possibility of funding for up to 10 years. After a first stage of 5 years, an independent evaluation is made and Vinnova can offer a second financing stage of up to 5 years, based on the results of the evaluation and Vinnova's current priorities. Vinnova expects an increased share of funding from industry during the second funding stage.

Vinnova's funding for a competence center amounts to a maximum of SEK 4 million in the first year and a maximum of SEK 8 million per year during the following 4 years of the first stage. In a second funding phase, Vinnova's funding amounts to a maximum of SEK 8 million per year during the first 4 years and a maximum of SEK 4 million in the last year.

World-class Research and innovation are needed to develop knowledge and skills that contribute to sustainable development and Swedish competitiveness.

The Swedish industry has shown the potential to lead the transition to a more sustainable and climate-neutral industry both within and outside the country's borders and at the same time has been able to be globally competitive. Individual companies or companies in close cooperation, especially those that cover large parts of the value chains, have the opportunity through a cohesive approach to make the necessary changes for continued Swedish global competitiveness.

There are several internationally visible industrial ventures in Sweden where former competence centers have played an important role for access to competence and relevant research results.

With the financing, we want to contribute to Vinnova's areas Sustainable industry and Digital transformation by, in this effort:

• contribute to Sweden being globally competitive when it comes to developing knowledge, skills and abilities for a sustainable transition.
• contribute to Sweden being an active nation in the application of enabling key technologies for sustainable transition.

Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth by improving the conditions for innovation. Improved conditions for innovation strengthen the capacity to reach the goals for sustainable development in Agenda 2030. Through our efforts, we contribute to the global commitment to reach the goals.

Our work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030

A competence center that is granted must conduct needs-motivated excellent research through active collaboration between all the centre's project parties. The project parties in a competence center are expected, in addition to cooperating within the center, to also cooperate with the surrounding relevant environment both nationally and internationally. The activities conducted within a center must result in new or strengthened networks as well as access to new knowledge and skills that meet the needs of business and the rest of society.

A competence center needs to have a clear picture of how it is positioned in relation to existing investments, for example in the form of strategic research areas and innovation areas, existing center investments and research financed via faculty funds. The competence center must be able to show how the activity complements or reinforces previous and ongoing investments.

Furthermore, the competence center must demonstrate the potential to create or strengthen lasting structures and networks to spread knowledge and experience outside the center's organization. This is, for example, through training for both students and researchers as well as skills development for professionals or personnel mobility between organizations in the area.

A competence center can be offered funding for up to 10 years. An approved competence center will receive support for 5 years in a first stage. After evaluation, Vinnova can offer a second funding stage of up to 5 years, based on the results of the evaluation and Vinnova's then current priorities. Vinnova expects an increased share of funding from industry during the second funding stage.

Competence centers that are not offered funding in a second stage will be granted up to SEK 4 million as a lump sum for winding down the activities financed by Vinnova.

Internationalization

Internationalization means, among other things, gaining access to important knowledge and innovation environments in the world as well as to knowledge, talent and technology, as well as collaboration with relevant partners within the center's research area.

For competence centres, this means, among other things, continuously doing external analyzes to identify strategically interesting international research- and development environments to collaborate with in order to cover needs for relevant competences and networks.

The competence centers that are granted must be internationally prominent in their research area and have an action plan to increase international attraction and competition.

Against the background of the above, Vinnova views positively that a competence center consists of both Swedish and international parties. Funding from international companies can be included in the industry's share of the budget. However, only parties with a branch or place of business in Sweden can receive any part of Vinnova's support.

Small and medium-sized companies in a competence center

Vinnova considers it advantageous that a competence center includes both large and small companies and therefore encourages knowledge-intensive small and medium-sized companies to participate in this effort.

Leadership

Experience from previous competence center initiatives shows that a well-functioning competence center requires active leadership, both via the center leader and the center board, and an active collaboration between relevant parties in business, academia and public activities. The management of a center must demonstrate that they have the ability to create a culture to get individuals and teams to function and deliver, as well as to develop and grow.

Gender equality

Vinnova and all higher education institutions have an equality integration mission with the aim of contributing to achieving the gender equality policy goal that women and men should have the same power to shape society and their own lives. In addition, research shows that equal innovation and research is not only a matter of rights and democracy, but can also mean added value in the form of competence, quality and relevance of results, strengthened innovative capacity and new business opportunities.

Gender equality is a prerequisite for sustainable growth and is found in Agenda 2030 as an objective in itself, but also as a perspective that should permeate the work with all objective. The call for proposals should therefore contribute to an equal social development linked to two main perspectives:

• One perspective is about both women and men taking part in the contribution and participating in and having influence over the project in an equal way.
• The second perspective is about the project analyzing and deciding whether there are equality aspects (sex or gender) that are relevant within the solution's problem area and usefulness.

Equal innovation for those looking for funding

In this call for proposals, Vinnova strives to create strong international research environments that can strengthen research areas applicable within Vinnova's areas Sustainable industry or Digital transformation.

The results from competence centers in the area ofSustainable industry are expected to contribute to enabling knowledge and/or technology within one or more of Sustainable Industry's four focus areas, i.e. Climate neutral and circular production, Resource efficient and resilient value chains, Global competitiveness and A socially sustainable industry.

Sustainable industry Vinnova

The results from competence centers in the area Digital transformation are expected to contribute to enabling knowledge and/or technology for sustainable digital transformation. Priority is given in the areas of robust and secure infrastructure, data as a strategic resource, federated machine learning, advanced mathematical methods, future advanced communication systems such as 6G and processes and methods for the development of semiconductor components.

System design of semiconductors is not included in this call for proposals, the area is supported by SSF's effort Semiconductor System Design (SeSyDe).

Digital transformation | Vinnova

Competence centers granted in this call for proposals are expected to complement existing competence centers within Vinnova.

Competence center strengthens Sweden's competitiveness | Vinnova

Results- and impact goals

Vinnova has set up results- and impact goals that are expected to arise in the 1-5 year term and be fulfilled by the center at the 5-year evaluation. The short-term impact goals are expected to occur in 5–10 years and the long-term impact goals in more than 10 years. These are described below in more detail.

Performance targets (in the short term) are:

• That the competence center has scientific excellence of a high international standard through publications and patents
• That the competence center conducts needs-driven research in active collaboration with relevant parties
• That the competence center applies innovative ways of leading and organizing cooperation within the center and the surrounding environment
• That knowledge-intensive SMEs actively participate in the competence center, by being involved in the research projects conducted in the center
• That the parties have trust in each other, which can/should be expressed in a continuous flow of knowledge between the parties and access to strategic contacts with the parties
• An increased national and international exchange of both knowledge and people, both between academia/academy and between industry/academy (in both directions)
  

Impact goals in the shorter term (after 5 years) for the program are:

• That there are excellent research environments of strategic importance, i.e. they have a clear position in the research area and are important for the parties to develop and maintain their competitiveness
• That the competence center has a continuous surveillance of the surrounding world and gets increased access to strategic contacts through expanded networks
• That the knowledge-intensive SMEs that participate have a better competitive ability
• Access to individuals with strategic competence, i.e. skills that meet the needs of companies and the rest of society
• That there are relevant courses at universities and university college through an interaction between education, research and innovation, so that the content of the courses takes into account the needs of business and the rest of society
  

The long-term impact goals (after 10 years or more) of the program are:

• That excellent research is utilized in business and society
• That the competence center activities complement and add value to existing investments in the innovation system
• That need-motivated sustainable innovations have been developed that stand up in an international perspective
• Att FoU-investeringar is attracted to and can be retained in Sweden through the competence center's activities
• That there is access to skills that meet the needs of companies and the rest of society

Evaluation and follow-up

The competence centers that are granted funds within the program will be followed up annually by Vinnova via annual reporting. In addition, a follow-up will be done during year 2 and an independent evaluation with international evaluator after 5 years.

The annual follow-up will take place by each center manager submitting a report on the competence center activities and answering an overall survey linked to it. In addition, all parties participating in the center must answer a small questionnaire sent to them. The questionnaires will be compiled and form part of the basis for the independent evaluation that takes place after 5 years.

The follow-up during the center's second year of operation will focus on how the organization and associated processes work within the competence center. It is done to identify if there is a need for changes or support measures for the organization to function optimally.

The evaluation after 5 years is done by specially appointed international evaluator from relevant areas and industries against specified assessment criteria. The evaluators are appointed by Vinnova and work under confidentiality and confidentiality and base their assessment on a compilation of the indicators used in the questionnaires for the annual report, a self-evaluation from the center and interviews with the center's representatives. Vinnova has the option of offering a second financing period in 5 years, based on the results of the evaluation and Vinnova's then current priorities. Vinnova expects an increased share of funding from industry during the second funding period in 5 years.

The call for proposals is aimed at groups of actors with a common vision and strategic idea for building a research environment based on excellent research. The offer refers to research areas that have great applicability within Vinnova's areas Sustainable industry or Digital transformation and where the the actors involved can demonstrate that the knowledge developed in the environment can be utilized by business and society.

Coordinator must be a university, a university college or a research institute and they apply together with companies and/or public activities. We look positively on interdisciplinary approaches and that other universities and institutes are partners in the competence centre.

It is of great importance that the coordinating project party (coordinator) can demonstrate that the proposal is in line with the overall strategy of the university, college or research institute.

International project partners are welcome to participate in a competence center but cannot be coordinating participant. Foreign organizations must have a branch or place of business in Sweden in order to receive funding from Vinnova.

funding Activities for which funding can be sought

Vinnova's grant shall primarily finance needs-driven research at universities or research institutes where a limited portion can be used for infrastructure on which the center is dependent. A smaller part can be used for coordination work in the centre. The coordination may include costs for all types of center meetings and for the dissemination of research results.

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.

State support for economic activities (enterprises)

Rules for which costs are eligible

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

• The coordinator is a university, a university college or a research institute with significant research in the relevant field.
• The competence center's project parties are legal entities.
• Proposal strictly follows the instructions under the heading "How to apply". No attachments are permitted other than those specified in the instructions. References to web pages will not be considered.
• The project description must be written in the template available under the heading "Download templates for attachments". The project description must not exceed 25 pages of 12-point text. The main headings must be followed strictly.
• CV must be written in the template available under the heading "Download templates for attachments". Business and the public sector must attach a CV for one person per participant and research actors a CV for each of them who are considered to be key persons in proposal.
• Declarations of intent must be included from all participating project parties in the proposal and must be written in the template available under the heading "Download templates for appendices".
• The coordinated project party must have a letter of intent signed by an authorized representative of the organization written in the template available under the heading "Download templates for annexes". The statement of intent must clearly state how the proposal fits into the organization's overall strategy.
• Proposal must contain a budget where the stakeholder groups university/ university college/institute and business/public sector individually contribute financially with at least the equivalent amount requested from Vinnova.

Applications received in Swedish will be translated into English by Vinnova.

After the call for proposals has been closed, additions can only be made at the request of Vinnova.

What is assessed?

In a first step, the applications are assessed against the assessment criteria by an international expert group consisting of specially appointed evaluator appointed by Vinnova.

After that, specially appointed and appointed by Vinnova evaluator with general center competence (generalists) will evaluate the applications.

Based on the assessments of the generalists and experts, a number of applicant groups will then be invited to an interview with the generalists and Vinnova.

After interviews, Vinnova decides which applications will be granted.

Vinnova's decision will be based on the recommendation of the international expert group and generalists. Furthermore, the subject-wise distribution of centers will be taken into account, both within the program and in relevant parts of Vinnova's project portfolio.

Proposal must be in line with the aim and objective of the call for proposals. This will be assessed using the criteria below.

Potential (i.e. the importance of the results and effects if the competence center is successful)

• The competence center's potential to contribute to the call's resultsand impact goals.
• The competence center's potential to strengthen research areas applicable within Vinnova's areas Sustainable industry or Digital transformation.
• The positioning of the proposed center in relation to similar centers and initiatives internationally.
• The competence center's potential to create new networks and structures to cooperate with its surrounding environment.
• The competence center's potential to support the development of high-quality educations that are well adapted to future eligibility requirements.
• The competence center's potential to promote that research is used in business and society and thereby contribute to increased competitiveness and societal benefit.
• The competence center's potential to use, strengthen and supplement existing resources and organizations within the current research area.
• The competence center's positioning in relation to the higher education institution's and/or research institute's overall priorities.
• The potential of the project results to contribute to increased gender equality.
• The competence center's potential to contribute to sustainable social development in accordance with the UN's global objective in Agenda 2030.
  

Actors (i.e. who the project parties and other actors are and how the cooperation between them is organized to run the competence center and achieve the center's results- and impact goals)

• The parties' composition, competence, ability (scientific excellence in an international perspective), and ambition to strengthen the research area and achieve the competence center objective and vision.
• Relevant participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.
• The competence, ability and commitment of the center director and management to manage and organize the centre.
• How well the team (key people) is composed with regard to gender distribution and the distribution of power and influence between women and men.

Feasibility (ie how the competence center has been designed to achieve its results and impact goals)

• To what extent the project description shows that the competence center's implementation plan is
• suitable for the centre objective and ambitions.
• logical and reasonable in terms of available resources (budget, skills, equipment, etc.) in relation to what is to be done.
• Plan for how the competence center will contribute to the utilization of excellent research in business and society.
• Plan to strengthen national and international cooperation.
• Plan for how the competence center will realize the potential to contribute to sustainable societal development in accordance with the UN's global objective in Agenda 2030.
• How well equality aspects have been integrated into the project plan.

About our decisions

How much each party in the project is granted in funding appears in the decision. Our decision to grant or reject a proposal cannot be appealed.

Term for granted funding

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

Our rules and term for funding