International collaboration for innovations with actors in Brazil, in collaboration with EMBRAPII

This call for proposals takes place in collaboration with the "Sweden Brazil Innovation Initiative". Sweden and Brazil have signed a strategic partnership agreement with aim of increasing innovation collaborations between industry and research organizations in both countries. In October 2019, Vinnova and EMBRAPII signed an MoU to further strengthen the collaboration.

The call for proposals is aimed at Swedish companies in collaboration with one or more companies, research organizations such as universities, university colleges or research institutes in Sweden. Municipalities or regions can also participate if there is interest.

There must be at least two Swedish actors and at least one must come from business and one from academia or research institutes. In the same way, two Brazilian actors must be part of the collaboration, where one party must be an EMBRAPII institute (unit).

In this call for proposals support is given to joint research and innovation projects with Brazilian actors in the areas of health, mines, bioeconomy, and sustainable cities. Priority areas within these four thematic areas can be found in section 2.

With this support, we want to give Swedish actors the opportunity to, together with Brazilian actors, carry out joint research and innovation projects starting in the second quarter of 2024.

Applicant objective must be to carry out research and innovation projects with Brazilian actors in international cooperation that will generate sustainable solutions with both market potential and the ability to deal with societal challenges. The participating companies must through cooperation be given the opportunity to strengthen their development, competitiveness and internationalisation.

Vinnova wants to work for equal social development by giving project partners with both women and men in key positions increased opportunities for development.

Vinnova can grant up to SEK 3 million per project, which can last two to three years. The total budget in this call for proposals is SEK 24 million. With this, we intend to finance approximately 8 to 10 innovation projects.

The support from Vinnova covers only the Swedish the actors. The Brazilian the actors must collaborate with EMBRAPII Institut according to the instructions below.

Information about EMBRAPII

Brazilian Agency for Industrial Research and Innovation (EMBRAPII), Brazil EMBRAPII is the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Research and Innovation, a Social Organization connected to the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communication (MCTIC), the Ministry of Education (MEC), and the Health Ministry. EMBRAPII's operating model enables quickness, flexibility, and reduced risk in supporting companies' RD&I projects.

The non-refundable grants offered by EMBRAPII are invested in projects carried out by companies and research institutions, acknowledged for their excellence, technological focus, and the ability to meet companies' RD&I demands, called EMBRAPII Units or Poles.

The resources of the Agency cover up to 1/3 of the value of collaborative projects between companies and EMBRAPII Units or Poles.

The EMBRAPII resources work in a continuous flow so companies can, at any time, go directly to the EMBRAPII Units and Poles, negotiate, and contract their projects in a simple and non-bureaucratic way.

For more information go to website

Increase cooperation with Brazilian actors

With this effort, we want to increase research and innovation collaboration with Brazilian actors that will generate sustainable solutions with both market potential and the ability to handle societal challenges. The participating organizations must, through cooperation, be given the opportunity to strengthen their development, competitiveness and internationalisation

The project must address one of the following priority areas:

Health

• Open to all health-related fields, including digital solutions and AI.

Mines

• Environmentally efficient atomization methods.
• More efficient material handling processes and methods.
• Material recycling.
• More efficient water management.
• Digitalisation, automation, and machine learning for more efficient processes.

Bioeconomy

• Sustainable forest management.
• Bio-based materials including related processes, technology development, business models and policy issues.

Sustainable cities

• Smart and fossil-free transport systems for people and goods.
• Efficient water management.
• Flood problems.
• Digital solutions and AI including data sharing, which support solutions and development in the above areas.

Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and community development. Genom Agenda 2030, the countries of the world have agreed on a global agreement and understanding of what characterizes sustainable development. Through our efforts, we contribute to the global commitment to reach the goals.

Read more about our work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030

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 therefore expected to take special account of the climate and gender equality aspects.

One aspect that Vinnova follows up on and assesses is whether both women and men equally share in the contribution, participate in and have influence over the project. See section 8 under the actor criterion for more information.

Another aspect involves analyzing and deciding whether there are gender or gender aspects that are relevant in relation to the project's problem area, solutions and utilization. In this call for proposals the question is not the basis for assessment.

Read more about what our work for equal innovation means for those of you who seek funding from us

The call for proposals should contribute to making more results freely available to everyone and scientific publication should take place with open access. Results from research and innovation that are made freely available increase the opportunity for more people to contribute to solutions to societal challenges.

The call for proposals is aimed at Swedish companies in collaboration with one or more companies, research organizations such as universities, university colleges or research institutes. Municipalities or regions can also participate. The Swedish consortium must cooperate with at least two Brazilian actors.

Funding is only granted to Swedish organisations. Swedish organizations also mean foreign organizations that have a branch or place of business in Sweden, provided that the costs in the project are attributable to activitiesof the branch or place of business.

All participating companies must prove their capacity to implement the project and be able to finance their part of the project cost. The companies must be able to clearly describe a concrete added value of their participation in the project, their position in the value chain within the project and the future market potential of the project results.

The project as a whole must also be able to demonstrate an obvious added value of the international cooperation between the selected parties from the two countries and present proposals for future project. We want to see an even balance in commitment between the parties, both regarding funding and resources. This is something that will also be assessed in connection with international cooperation.

Activities for which funding can be applied for

The activities for which you seek funding must be research and development activities that mainly fall under the definitions of "industrial research" or "experimental development" as defined in the Commission's EU Regulation No. 651/2014.

More information on support levels and definitions

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.

Read more about government support on our website
See general terms and conditions and eligible costs

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

• Carried by the applicant organization.
• Be attributable to the project.
• Have arisen during the project period.
• Be established in accordance with the applicant's usual accounting principles and good accounting practice.
• Be in accordance with the applicant's internal policy and guidelines.

Accounting for the project costs must be separated from the applicant's other transactions in the accounting.

Vinnova does not finance routine or recurring changes to existing goods, manufacturing methods, manufacturing processes, services or other ongoing operations. This applies even if the changes may mean improvements.

Furthermore, marketing and sales, ordinary business development such as launching an existing offer on a new market, ongoing operations, investments in equipment and tools, quality assurance, certification, or the equivalent such as CE marking as well as training efforts and courses are not financed.

Vinnova can grant up to SEK 3 million per project. The total budget in this call for proposals is SEK 24 million. With this, we intend to finance approximately 8 to 10 project.

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

• Proposal must be submitted electronically via Vinnova's e-service for applications no later than February 8, 2024, at 1400.
• The project is within one of the priority areas according to section 1.
• Project description in Swedish or English according to template.
• CV attachments are attached.
• The project is carried out in cooperation between at least two Swedish parties such as companies, and research organizations such as universities, university colleges or research institutes. At least one party must come from business and one from academia or research institutes. At least two actors must be Brazilian, one of which must be a company registered in Brazil and an EMBRAPII institute.
• A written confirmation of participation from the Brazilian EMBRAPII institute must be attached. This is entered under "other attachments" in Vinnova's e-service for applications. The Brazilian the actors do not need to be entered as project parties in proposal to Vinnova. However, who the actors are or their budget and similar information must appear in the project application.
• The project manager responsible for reporting to Vinnova is employed by the applicant organization.
• The project parties must be able to clearly demonstrate that there is a good balance between the efforts of the project parties and equivalent priorities. In a project with two Swedish project partners, one party may not have more than 70 percent of the project's budget. In project with more than two parties, no party may have more than 50 percent of the project's budget. If one or more research organizations are involved in the consortium, they may not account for more than 50 percent of the project budget.

What do we assess?

The assessment of the applications is done by Vinnova. The project that meet the formal requirements according to section 5 will be evaluated on three criteria: potential, actors, and feasibility.

Potential

• The competitiveness of the project. That is, in which way the project result will affect the participants' knowledge, network or business conditions. For example, in the form of increased market shares, new skills or new long-term collaborations.
• The consortium's plan for continued funding after the project period, a credible commercialization process and expected market potential for the solution that the consortium plans to develop. The intended product, service or process has potential to contribute to environmentally or socially sustainable growth.
• How well the project addresses any of the specified areas within the priority areas health, mines, smart cities and bioeconomy.
• The project's potential to increase research and innovation competence in Sweden.
• The novelty value and innovativeness of the proposed solution.
• The project's potential to contribute to increased gender equality. Please note that assessment must be based on the applicant's answer to the mandatory question under " Project tasks".
• The project's potential to contribute positively to the global goals in Agenda 2030, as well as minimize the negative effects.
  
  

Actors

• The project consortium has sufficient access to the competence and experience needed to implement the project.
• The international consortium's cooperation potential to provide clear added value during and after the project in comparison with a national project.
• The company has the prerequisites to reach the role and position in the industry or the value chain that is required to take advantage of the project results.
• The project constellation's access to relevant sustainability expertise.
• How well the project team is composed with respect to gender distribution, including the distribution of power and influence between women and men.
  
  

Feasibility

• The budget, approach and project plan for the implementation of the project are credible and relevant.
• Cooperation between the parties in both countries is necessary and important for the implementation of the project and that the parties clearly benefit from the cooperation.
• The project's strategy for managing intangible assets is credible.
• Is the participation of Swedish and Brazilian actors and implementation of planned activities distributed between the actors in a way that is relevant and balanced?
• How well relevant sustainability perspectives have been integrated into the project plan. Relevant sustainability perspectives refer to Agenda 2030 with a particular focus on climate and gender equality.
  
  

How do we judge?

The assessment is carried out by specially appointed and appointed evaluator. These assist Vinnova with qualified recommendations regarding the quality of the applications and which project should be granted. The assessment takes place in competition between received applications

To apply for funding you fill in a web-based form in Vinnova's e-service for applications.

There you also upload the following attachments:

• Project description in Swedish or English.
• CV attachments.
• Document certifying participation from EMBRAPII institute.

Templates for project description and CV attachments can be found further down on this page.

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal. You can start filling in information, save and continue at a later time. When proposal is ready, you mark it as done. You can fully unlock proposal and make changes at any time, right up until the last application date.

Please mark proposal well in advance before the call for proposals closes.

When the call for proposals has closed and proposal has been registered with Vinnova, a confirmation will be sent out by e-mail to you who are responsible for the user account, project manager and company signatory or head of department. It may take a few hours before you receive the email.

If you have not received a confirmation by e-mail within 24 hours after the call for proposals has closed, please contact us.

When the application period has expired, proposal can only be completed upon request from us.