Advanced digitalization - Industrial demand-driven innovation 2025 (round two)

In this call for proposals we want to finance research and innovation projects that contribute to the industrial application of advanced digitalisation. The project must be carried out in collaboration between at least two actors.

Your proposal should address one of the call's focuses:

• Cybersecurity
• Data flows, access to well-structured data in digital value chains

For detailed information for each specialization, read the Specializations section further down in the text.

The call for proposals is aimed at consortia consisting of at least two project partners, where at least one is a Swedish company. Other applicants may be from industry, business, academia, research institutes, public activities or public authority. The projects must be driven by the needs of industry and business, and need owners must be involved in the projects.

The duration of the projects should be 12 to 36 months. Each project can apply for between 2 and 30 million SEK in funding. Vinnova's funding can amount to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's eligible costs. The total preliminary budget of the call is 80 million SEK.

The call for proposals is part of the Advanced digitalisationprogram, an industry-driven programme to promote Sweden's and Swedish industry's ability to create future digital solutions. The projects funded will contribute to Sweden's shared ability to create and utilize digitalisation opportunities.

Read more about the program on the Advanced Digitization website

We want to fund project that develop new knowledge in advanced digitalisation for Swedish industry. The projects should promote innovation within and be relevant to one of the two thematic areas of the call:

• Cybersecurity
• Data flows - access to well-structured data in digital value chains.

For detailed information about each specialization, read section 11, Specializations.

The results should have good potential for impact and dissemination to provide competence-enhancing effects for more than just the participating parties.

The call for proposals is part of the Advanced digitalisation program, an effort from Vinnova in collaboration with industry, and mobilizes actors from different parts of society towards common objective.

Advanced digitalisation aims to strengthen Swedish research and make Sweden more attractive for research and innovation investments, and stimulate the development of advanced digital technology. The programme will be implemented with a long-term perspective and contribute to innovative, enabling technologies and the development of core competence areas that meet the needs of industry.

The program's objective are:

• Contribute to the next generation of advanced, powerful and secure digital solutions – developed in Sweden.
• Strengthen Sweden's attractiveness when it comes to research and innovation investments.
• Contribute to raising the competence and implementation capacity of Swedish business in the area of advanced digitalisation.
• Ensure increased competitiveness for industry operating in Sweden.
• To constitute a collaboration platform and function as a knowledge hub for other Swedish initiatives in the field of digitalization.
• Contribute to society's digital transformation, sustainable development and the work to achieve Swedish environmental goals.

Contribute to a sustainable system transformation

Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and system transformation. To implement sustainable system transformation, we have chosen to base ourselves on the UN's global sustainability goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda. There, Vinnova prioritizes two perspectives: gender equality and climate change. All initiatives and project we finance are assessed based on how they contribute to these perspectives.

We therefore always follow up and assess this:

• If women and men participate in the project on an equal footing, receive contributions and have influence and power over the project.
• How well the project analyzes and takes a position on whether there are sex or gender aspects that are relevant to the project's problem formulation, solutions and effects.
• How well the project, based on the chosen focus, contributes to the climate transition, for example how the digital transition can positively contribute to energy efficiency, but also entail risks such as increased material consumption.

The projects are expected to reflect on their impact on development, and in this call for proposals this is the basis for assessment. Read section 7, What do we assess?

Making scientific publications and results available

When results from research and innovation are made freely available, more people can contribute to solving societal challenges. This the call for proposals will help make results available to everyone, which is why all scientific publishing should be open access.

The call for proposals is aimed at consortia with at least two participants, which may include industry, business, academia, research institutes, public activities, authorities or economic associations.

The projects must be driven by industry needs, and at least one company must be part of the consortium. All participating parties can be companies.

Each participant seeking funding must be a Swedish legal entity. In this respect, a Swedish legal entity is considered to be a foreign organization that has a branch or establishment in Sweden. The costs in the project must be attributable to activities of the branch or establishment.

We fund activities for research and innovation projects within one of the call's focus areas. Read about the focus areas' aim in section 2.

Examples of activities that are eligible for support:

• Investigate technical and design conditions.
• Develop prototypes or demonstration versions of products and services. This may include pilot work, testing and validation.
• Research and develop production methods.
• Plan and conduct studies and tests to verify an innovation.
• Investigate market conditions, for example, identifying customers, customer needs, possible partners and competitors.

We do not fund routine or recurring changes to existing products, services, manufacturing methods or manufacturing processes.

We also do not finance training efforts, courses, marketing, sales, ongoing operations, quality assurance, certification, investment in equipment and tools, and intellectual property strategies and protection.

The duration of the projects should be between 12 and 36 months.

What costs can we finance?

Our funding is subject to state aid rules. The rules govern what types of costs we can finance. 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 a third party.
  If costs for consulting services exceed 20% of a project party's budget, this must be justified in proposal. The proportion of consulting costs and the justification will be taken into account when your proposal is assessed.
• Other direct costs: For example, materials, supplies 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, such as regular premises and cleaning.

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, read Instructions for 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 not claim someone else's costs as its own.

For more detailed information about which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, read the Instructions for eligible costs.

Our funding is subject to state aid rules. The rules govern both the types of costs and the proportion of costs that we can finance. This is determined for each organization individually. We therefore differentiate between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participant can receive.

How much funding can the project receive?

Vinnova's funding can amount to between 2 and 30 million SEK per project, and can maximum amount to 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

How much funding can a participant receive?

How much funding each participant can receive depends mainly on:

• what activities the party will carry out in the project
• party size and activities

The nature of the projects is primarily expected to meet the Industrial researchsupport basis. Depending on the nature of the projects regarding project activities, funding may also in some cases be granted under the Experimental Development support basis.

In order for us to take a position on and assess your proposal, it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, proposal will be rejected immediately.

Eligibility requirements on organizational form of project parties

• All project partners must be legal entities. We do not grant funding to individual companies.
• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.
• The project must have at least two project parties, of which at least one party must be a Swedish company. Project parties from the same group are not counted as different project parties.

Eligibility requirements for the project

• The project manager must be employed by the coordinator.
• The project may not begin before proposal is submitted.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal must follow the instructions set out in section 9.
• Proposal must contain all requested attachments.

What do we assess?

Proposal are assessed based on the assessment criteria below. Please note that the criterion of relevance serves as a prerequisite for the other criteria. A proposal that is not deemed sufficiently relevant will not be granted, regardless of whether the other criteria are deemed to be well met.

Relevance

• How well the project is judged to be in line with the call's focus chosen by applicant.

Potential

• The project's potential to develop solutions, knowledge and expertise within the chosen focus that can promote advanced digitalisation that renews Swedish industry in line with the program's objective.
• The project's potential impact and impact on Swedish industry.
• How well the project is assessed to contribute to increased gender equality.
• How well the project is assessed to contribute to climate change based on the chosen focus.

Actors

• The project partners' competence, credibility and ability to implement the project.
• The consortium's anchoring in Swedish industry within the chosen field.
• The ability of the project partners to disseminate, utilize, commercialize and further develop the results and knowledge generated in the project, both within their own organizations and outside the consortium.
• How well the project team is composed in terms of gender distribution. As well as how well power and influence are distributed between women and men in the project team.
• That the project is not more dependent than necessary on consulting services from external actors.

Feasibility

• The realism of the project plan in relation to set objective, methods, activities and budget.
• The participation and relevance of the specified project partners in the project's various work packages and activities.
• How well the project design contributes to the utilization and dissemination of the results, both within the own organizations and outside the consortium.
• How well risks are described and managed in the project's implementation.
• How well gender equality has been integrated into the project plan.

How do we assess?

The applications will be assessed in competition and the assessment is based on the electronic proposal submitted via Vinnova's e-services.

Schematically, the decision-making process looks as follows:

1. Proposal are submitted via Vinnova's e-services.
   Applications that meet the formal requirements will be assessed based on the criteria stated above by Vinnova's appointed evaluator. The assessment results in a recommendation for funding.

1. If necessary, Vinnova may call for supplementary interviews.
2. Vinnova makes decisions on which project will be funded and decisions are communicated to applicant.

In addition to an individual assessment of each proposal, Vinnova may apply a portfolio perspective to achieve some spread of the approved projects, regarding aspects such as areas of application and size of project.

We also assess financial status

Before deciding on funding, we also conduct a comprehensive assessment of the organizational and financial status of those receiving funding. We use information we obtain from credit reports, currently from Dun & Bradstreet.

In order for us to grant funding this applies:

• Organizations seeking funding for personnel costs must be registered as employers with the Swedish Tax Agency.
• Organizations must not be insolvent, undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring. They must also not have unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.
• SMEs must be able to demonstrate, upon request, that they have sufficient financial capacity to implement the project in accordance with their budget in proposal.

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision either granting or rejecting your proposal. In the decision, we state how much funding each party in the project will be granted. Our decision cannot be appealed.

What happens if you are granted funding?

If we grant your proposal, you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms include, among other things:

• That you will sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project.
• That you report how things are going, your costs and achieved results to us regularly during the project period.
• If you are multiple parties, you must agree on your mutual rights and obligations in the project in an agreement. It can take time to get a project agreement in place, so it is a good idea to get this in place before the project starts.
• How the results will be used and how scientific publication will take place.

Our general terms and conditions and get help understanding and fulfilling them.

You also need to follow the special conditions that apply to this the call for proposals:

The project shall, upon invitation from the program manager, participate in relevant events within the Advanced digitalisation program and thus contribute to the dissemination of knowledge within Swedish industry in accordance with the program's aim.

In information about the project and in each publication of project results, it must be stated that the work was carried out with support from Vinnova (in English the name is given as Sweden's Innovation Agency) within the Advanced digitalisation program). Publication refers to, for example, publication, regardless of medium, and oral presentations.

We may also decide to add supplementary special conditions for individual project. In such cases, they will be stated in the decision.

Could you have to pay back funding?

If you do not follow our term, you may be required to repay the amount. This also applies if you have been granted funding incorrectly or for an amount that is too high.

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

Please also attach these attachments to proposal:

• Project description
  May comprise a maximum of 10 portrait A4 pages with single-column 12-point text. The project description should follow the template found further down on this website.
• Project Summary
  Attached in a separate appendix. May comprise a maximum of 1 portrait A4 page. The project summary should be able to be shared with the program's external program board and should therefore not contain confidential or other sensitive information. The appendix is not part of the assessment process. The project summary should follow the template found further down on this website.

• CV attachment
  The CV for the project manager and all key personnel. The appendix is expected to include at least one CV per participant. Varje CV may be a maximum of 1 A4 page with 12 point text. The CV appendix should follow the template found further down this website.

Start proposal well in advance

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal. Filling out templates can take several days, as it is based on the analyses you will do.

In our e-service you can start filling in the details and then continue at a later time. You can also distribute permissions to others who you want to contribute to proposal. When proposal is complete, mark it as done.

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.

Cybersecurity

Project within this focus will address cybersecurity challenges that arise when implementing new, advanced digital solutions. The goal of the focus is to meet both current and future needs in industry and business. After the completion of the projects, the most important lessons and results will be made available to strengthen Sweden's shared ability to create robust and secure digital solutions.

Cybersecurity is not only about protecting against antagonistic threats and attacks, but also about managing vulnerabilities that can lead to unwanted consequences in a broader perspective. The stability of digital systems depends on protection against both natural threats and system failures as well as human errors that can cause disruptions and interruptions in functionality. A high level of cybersecurity minimizes the risk of incidents and helps to manage the negative effects if they occur.

The ongoing digitalization of both industry and society brings new opportunities, but also growing challenges in cybersecurity and digital resilience. As systems and technologies become increasingly interconnected, such as in cloud services, AI and the Internet of Things, the complexity and vulnerability of the data flows they generate increase. Ensuring confidentiality, availability and integrity in these systems requires innovative solutions that can meet the threats we face now and in the future.

This focus focuses on developing and implementing cyber-secure and resilient data flows in complex systems-of-systems. By strengthening security, robustness and interoperability in these digital ecosystems, we create better conditions for meeting cyber threats, while enabling a secure and sustainable digital transformation.

Underlying needs

Cybersecurity is a central factor for Sweden's industrial competitiveness and societal security. Swedish companies and organizations depend on efficient and reliable data flows between different actors and technologies. At the same time, today's cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are increasingly targeted at socially critical systems, industrial control systems and cloud-based services.

To meet these challenges, we have identified four main needs:

• Secure AI Solutions – AI is increasingly being used in cybersecurity applications, but it also represents a potential attack vector. There is a need to develop security mechanisms and reliable AI models that can identify, prevent and counter cyber threats.
• Robust cloud and edge solutions – Cloud-based platforms and distributed IT environments require secure data management and privacy protection to withstand cyberattacks and data leaks.
• Skyddade IT-OT-IoT-integrationer – The combination of IT systems, operational systems (OT) and the Internet of Things creates security risks where infrastructure and production systems can be compromised. Solutions are needed to handle secure authentication, data transfer and remote control.
• Future-proof cryptographic solutions – The development of quantum computers may eventually make existing encryption methods vulnerable. Swedish companies and authorities need to be at the forefront of quantum-proof cryptographic methods to protect sensitive information.

To strengthen Swedish cybersecurity, application-oriented research and innovation is required where companies, academia and the public sector collaborate to develop and test new security solutions in real environments.

Expected effects

The focus is expected to contribute to strengthening Sweden's digital security and competitiveness by developing and implementing cyber-secure and resilient data flows.

In the short term, the bet means that:

• Industry and socially critical operations will receive better cybersecurity solutions that can be implemented in existing and future digital systems.
• Swedish companies and research environments are strengthening their ability to develop cybersecurity technology through targeted project and collaborative efforts.
• More actors in the business community will have the opportunity to benefit from cybersecurity expertise and advanced security solutions.

In the long term, the bet leads to:

• Increased digital resilience through secure and robust data flows in Swedish industry and critical infrastructure.
• Strengthened Swedish research and innovation milieu in cybersecurity, making Sweden a leading player in Europe in secure digitalisation.
• Sweden will be better equipped for future threats, including cyberattacks and quantum-based security challenges.

The effort is coordinated with national and international cybersecurity initiatives, ensuring that the results have a broad impact and create long-term benefits for Swedish industry and society.

Data flows and access to well-structured data in digital value chains

This focus finances up to three large pilot projects. The projects will demonstrate how productivity can be significantly increased by applying robust and standardized data infrastructures within digital value chains. By large project we mean project that address entire or large parts of complex digital value chains within a selected market segment. We therefore believe that project should have a total budget of approximately SEK 30 million and upwards.

The market segments of the projects should be within Swedish industry's areas of strength, for example automotive, life science, process industry, manufacturing industry or energy. We expect that granted project will establish contact and collaborate with the coordinating and cross-industry project on data flows that will result from another of the program's previous calls for proposals, System-Changing Interventions.

Underlying needs

Increased transparency and data sharing drives efficiency and optimization of product and process flows across all market segments. It also gives users greater understanding and insight into the needs within their segments.

At the same time, the amount of data related to individual products and solutions is increasing, and the need to understand when and in what context data has value is becoming increasingly central. To meet these needs, a focus on data structuring, collection and interoperability is needed.

It will form the foundation for realizing AI's full potential. By addressing these challenges, we can position ourselves, harness the transformative power of AI, ensure sustainable growth, improve decision-making, and promote a circular economy.

• Data Structuring: Structured data is more accessible and understandable to AI systems. It enables more efficient pattern recognition, analysis, and automated processing. Proper data structuring is fundamental to harnessing the capabilities of AI, and future hybrid intelligences.
• Data collection: Innovative and ethical data collection methods are essential to ensure diverse, high-quality datasets that reflect real-world complexity. Diversity is central to training AI systems to be effective and fair.
• Data interoperability: The ability of data systems and software to exchange and use information is essential for cross-sector collaboration. It enables comprehensive insights and multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving.

Project within the specialization may also include development of segment-specific digital areas such as:

• Avancerade AI-algoritmer: Develop sophisticated AI algorithms that can understand and analyze complex data sets, predict trends, and make decisions with minimal human intervention.
• Hybrid Intelligence: Ensure that the data infrastructure support the integration of human intelligence and artificial intelligence for long-term sustainability.

Expected effects

With the pilot projects, we want to show how productivity can be significantly increased through robust and standardized data infrastructures in whole or parts of digital value chains within some Swedish areas of strength. This will contribute to the automation of machine-readable data and data flows within value chains.

• Improved AI integration: We have a standardized and robust data infrastructure that is easily integrated with both current machine learning technologies and future generative AI capabilities. Now AI can identify patterns, automate tasks, and create new innovations with an AI that is deeply cognitive and can help all sectors in Sweden develop to new heights.
• Sustainable and circular data economy: We have a circular data economy that emphasizes reusability, minimizes waste, and promotes sustainable growth. Seamless flows of data between different actors to promote easy integrations of functionality at all stages of the data lifecycle.
• Information-based decision-making: Through our AI's cognitive capabilities, we have more sophisticated and accurate decision-making processes in a variety of industry sectors and other important areas of society, such as health and education.
• Future-proof data practices: We have adapted data collection, structuring, and interoperability methods to be compatible with emerging AI technologies, ensuring the nation remains at the forefront of innovation.