Digital Resilience, AI and Cybersecurity

In this call for proposals we want to fund project that use AI to prevent, detect and manage cyber threats or develop solutions that make AI systems reliable and secure against attacks and disruptions. They should be driven by industry needs and implemented in collaboration between at least two actors, of which at least one is a Swedish company.

The call for proposals has two thematic focuses and your project should address one of these:

• AI as an enabler for cybersecurity
• Reliable and secure AI

Section 11 contains a more detailed description of the orientations.

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

The projects should last between 12 and 24 months. Each project can apply for between 1 and 10 million and the total budget of the call is 50 million SEK. Vinnova can finance up to 50% of the project's total eligible costs. For detailed information about term for each participant, please refer to section 5, "How much funding can we provide?".

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.

Important dates

• The call for proposals closes: April 9
• Decision announced: June 17
• Project start earliest: June 22
• Project start at the latest: 1 September 2026
• Project end date:September 1, 2028

In this call for proposals we want to fund project that develop new knowledge in advanced digitalisation for Swedish industry. The call for proposals focuses on project that:

• Uses AI to strengthen cybersecurity through automated monitoring, risk management, and self-learning security.
• Develops reliable and robust AI solutions with high traceability and security.

The projects will increase the industry's ability to implement advanced digitalisation in a safe manner, while strengthening Sweden's competitiveness and digital resilience. They will promote renewal and innovation within and be relevant to one of the two thematic areas of the call.

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

The two focuses of the call are:

1. AI as an enabler for cybersecurity. Project within this focus will use AI to prevent, detect and manage cyber threats. They will promote the development of AI-based solutions that strengthen cybersecurity and automate the management of complex data flows. With innovation and increased use of advanced AI tools, the projects will stimulate the development of technical solutions for automated monitoring and risk management, as well as organizational models for efficient and secure processes. The focus is on self-learning security that enables seamless authentication, authorization control and incident response –without human intervention. The funded projects will help shape and enable the next generation of cybersecurity.
2. Reliable and secure AI.Project within this focus will develop robust and secure AI solutions that can withstand attacks and disruptions. The projects will enable safe and reliable AI use in industry. The rapid increase in AI in various applications creates a fundamental need for reliability, security and control, for example in complex environments where multiple AI agents interact. When the dependence on methods that do not meet eligibility requirements for security, traceability and trust is reduced, the implementation of AI can be accelerated in a responsible manner. It can also give the business community access to expertise and innovative solutions that raise the general level of security.

For detailed information about each focus, read section 11 further down in the text.

Programmet Avancerad digitalisation

The call for proposals is part of the Advanced digitalisation program, an effort from Vinnova in collaboration with industry, which 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.

Read more about the program on the Advanced Digitization website.

Contribute to a sustainable system transformation

Eftersom Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and system transformation, should your project also contribute to increased gender equality and climate change? We are based on the UN's global sustainability goals, defined in the 2030 Agenda. There we focus on two perspectives: gender equality and climate change.

This means that gender equality and climate change should be integrated into both how your project group is composed and in the intended outcome of your project.

Equal funding of innovations

An innovative force in a sustainable world

Making scientific publications and results available

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

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

The projects should be based on the needs of industry and implemented by Swedish companies. Other actors may be included in the consortium, such as academia, research institutes and the public sector. All participating parties may be companies.

In this call for proposals industry refers to the entire production chain – from the extraction of raw materials to finished products, as well as industrial service sectors and technology sectors that are needed for the production chain to function. This includes, for example, energy, logistics and transport, telecommunications, water/air/ventilation and recycling. The defense industry is also covered.

Each participant seeking funding must be a Swedish legal entity. Foreign organisations with a branch or establishment in Sweden are treated as Swedish legal entities, provided that the project costs can be attributed 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 24 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:

• Salary costs: Salary costs, including employer contributions and other salary-related 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 licensed from an external party. Costs for consulting services may constitute a maximum of 20 percent of a project party's budget. We can accept a higher proportion than 20 percent in case of special needs. You must then justify the need for consulting services in proposal. This justification is taken into account in our assessment.
• Other direct costs: For example, materials, supplies and travel necessary to carry out the project.
• Indirect costs (overhead):Costs that are not incurred as a direct result of but can be related to the project, for example regular premises and cleaning. Indirect costs may constitute a maximum of 30 percent of salary costs. Universities, university colleges and certain research organizations and government agencies have higher maximum limits depending on the type of activities.

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, see 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 in the project
• accounted for correctly and separately from the organisation's other costs.

An organisation may also not claim someone else's costs as its own.

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions apply, see Instructions for eligible costs

state aid rules govern how much of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organisation. We therefore differentiate between how much funding the project can receive, and how much each participant can receive.

How much funding can a participant receive?

Vinnova's funding can amount to between 1 and 10 million SEK per project, and can amount to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

How much funding each participant can receive depends mainly on:

• party size and activities
• which activities the party will carry out in the project.

Descriptions in the following sections about what support we can provide are simplified. For full details, see funding Criteria and Levels.

Support for companies conducting research and development

In this the call for proposals we provide support for industrial research or experimental development.

Industrial researchcan be simply described as seeking new knowledge through planned research or critical analysis to develop or significantly improve products, processes or services.

Experimental development can be simply described as combining, shaping and using existing knowledge to develop new or improved products, processes or services.

How much of the costs can we finance?

The organisation's size and type of activity determine the proportion of costs we can fund, i.e. the maximum level of support. We can fund more if the project involves actual collaboration or dissemination of results, or meets other bonus criteria.

Support for non-economic activities

In this the call for proposals we also provide support to organisations that do not engage in economic activities. This means that the organisation does not offer a service or product on a market. This usually includes universities and university colleges, research institutes and other organisations.

We can finance up to 100 percent of such an organization's costs.

How is it determined whether an organisation is engaged in economic activities?

An organisation 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 organisation 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 has. For example, 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 organisation in your project is conducting economic activities, contact call manager. However, The organisation is responsible for assessing whether it is conducting economic activities.

In order for us to assess your proposal it must meet certain formal eligibility requirements. If the requirements are not met, we will reject proposal immediately.

Eligibility requirements for organizational form of project parties:

• All project partners must be legal entities. Natural persons or individual companies cannot participate.
• The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.
• At least two project partners must participate in the project. This includes the coordinating party.
• At least one participant must be a Swedish company. Project partners from the same group are not counted as different project partners.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

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

Applications that meet our eligibility requirements will proceed to assessment. In the assessment, we look at how much potential your idea has, how realistic it is and who will implement the project.

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.

When assessing applications, we look at three main criteria:

• Potential: We analyze what effects and what value we can expect from the project.
• Actors: We assess the participants' competence and ability to implement the project and achieve the desired results and effects.
• Feasibility: We assess how realistic and credible the project plan is, both for implementing the project and for achieving desired results.

Eftersom Vinnova is tasked with contributing to increased gender equality and climate change, and we always follow up and assess these perspectives.

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 chosen focus described in section 2.
• How innovative the project proposal is in relation to existing solutions and ongoing major initiatives in the area.
• How likely it is that the project proposal will lead to new knowledge and new skills that can be used to scale up or implement new solutions that can impact Swedish industry.
• How well perspectives on sex, gender and climate change have been integrated into the project proposal, and what significance these have for the project's results.

Actors

• The project partners' competence, credibility and ability to implement the project.
• The consortium's anchoring in Swedish industry within the chosen field.
• Fulfillment of the requirement that at least one participant is a need owner from industry/Swedish company
• 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 the organisations and outside the consortium.
• How well the financial contribution, participation, power and influence are distributed in an equal manner in the project team.
• How well the need for consulting services and licenses is justified. This only applies if a project party's consulting and license costs exceed 20 percent of the project party's total budgeted costs.

Feasibility

How realistic is the project plan in relation to the 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 plan shows how the results are anchored and disseminated to important actors in the field.
• How good the conditions are for the project's results to be taken forward and used after the end of the project.
• 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?

Applications are assessed in competition and are based on the electronic proposal submitted via Vinnova's e-services.

Once we receive the applications, we review them. We screen out any applications that are incomplete or do not meet our eligibility requirements.

Applications that are correct and complete are distributed among different appointed evaluator and assessed in competition with each other. The evaluators are appointed by us based on their expertise in the field. Each proposal is assessed by at least three evaluator.

Once the evaluators have reviewed the applications, we will have an assessment meeting where the evaluators will recommend which applications should be granted. We will also call for an interview if necessary before making a decision.

How does it affect an organization's 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 the following applies:

• Organisations seeking funding for payroll costs must be registered as employers with the Swedish Tax Agency. Organisations must not be insolvent, or undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring. They must also not have any significant unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
• Organisations may not cover project costs in this the call for proposals with public funding or own funds intended for other project.

• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.
• If requested, SMEs must be able to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to carry out the project according to their budget in proposal.

Once we have assessed all applications, we will send you a decision either granting or rejecting your proposal. Since applications are assessed competitively, you may be rejected even though you meet all eligibility requirements and criteria.

In the decision, we state how much of the costs we will cover for each organisation.

You cannot appeal our decision, but you are welcome to apply to us again at another time.

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.

See 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 have received more money than you are entitled to or if you do not follow our term, you may be required to repay.

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

You 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 council 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: CVs for the project manager and all key personnel. The attachment 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 attachment should follow the template found further down this website.

How long does proposaltake?

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 complete.

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

Project funded in the call for proposals will address the challenges in cybersecurity and reliable AI that arise from the introduction of advanced digital solutions. results of the projects will strengthen the industry's ability to create robust and secure systems that can handle today's and tomorrow's threats. With digitalization comes great opportunities, but interconnected technologies, such as cloud services, AI and the Internet of Things, also entail increased risks. Cybersecurity is therefore crucial for Sweden's industrial competitiveness and societal security.

The call for proposals has two focuses:

1. AI as an enabler for cybersecurity. Project within this focus will use AI to prevent, detect and manage cyber threats.
2. Reliable and secure Project within this focus will develop robust and secure AI solutions that can withstand attacks and disruptions.

1. AI as an enabler for cybersecurity

Underlying needs

Swedish industry needs AI-based solutions that strengthen cybersecurity and automate the management of secure complex data flows. The need is increasing in line with the rising number of sophisticated attacks and the increasing dependence on digital systems. AI technology has potential to play a central role in increasing the security of complex digital systems.

With innovation and increased use of advanced AI tools the call for proposals will stimulate the development of technical solutions for automated monitoring and risk management. It will also pave the way for organizational models for efficient and secure processes. The focus will be on self-learning security that enables seamless authentication, authorization control and incident response – without human intervention.

Expected effects

The projects funded under this direction will lead the way towards next-generation cybersecurity. They will, through AI technology and innovative methods, develop solutions for advanced threat and risk analysis, automated discovery and autonomous security to protect against threats and prepare Sweden for the challenges of the future.

In the short term, the project results:

• Harness the potential of new technologies, such as AI, automation, and advanced analytics tools, to streamline cybersecurity efforts and raise the level of protection.
• Reduce the risk of disruptions in digital systems by identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before they lead to incidents.
• Improve the management of disruption consequences through faster response and recovery to minimize the impact on operations.
• Reduce human intervention in critical digital processes using self-learning security solutions such as automated authentication, authorization control, and incident response.
• Stimulate innovation in cybersecurity by promoting collaboration between industry, academia and technology providers.

In the long term, the project results:

• Strengthen Sweden's ability to develop robust and secure digital solutions to increase competitiveness and societal security.
• Create synergies between AI and cybersecurity and develop and integrate AI and cybersecurity as collaborative technology areas.
• Increase access to cybersecurity expertise for industry and business, and create a skills base that meets the needs of the future.

2. Reliable and secure AI

Underlying needs

The rapid growth of AI in various applications creates a fundamental need for reliability, security and control, for example in complex environments where multiple AI agents interact. To achieve this, both technical and organizational solutions are required to ensure that AI is implemented and used in a safe and responsible manner.

Reliable and secure AI requires robust agent systems, methods for validating and certifying the security of models, and techniques that enable structuring and specializing one's own data for secure use of large, general models.

To implement AI safely, and ensure protection against AI-based attacks and system failures, the development of new security solutions and methods, such as threat and risk analyses, is required.

Some key needs are:

• Protect training data to ensure integrity and prevent sensitive information from being recreated from generative models, while protecting the created models from unauthorized access and manipulation.
• Traceability and robustness in data sources, with the ability to verify origin and quality and derive conclusions from secure data sources .
• Measure accuracy, robustness, and confidence in responses from AI models to ensure accurate and predictable results.
• Evaluate AI systems' predictions and decisions, especially as systems become more autonomous, increasing the need for control and protection around decision-making.
• Methods for validating and certifying how robust and secure systems are.
• Error control in composite AI systems, where classical AI, generative AI, and traditional hardware or software interact. It also includes understanding and managing the emergence and propagation of errors.
• Counteract bias in data using AI to reduce the risk of unsafe or unwanted system behavior.

Expected effects

The projects funded under this direction will enable reliable and secure AI use in industry. By reducing the reliance on methods that do not meet eligibility requirements for security, traceability and trust, the implementation of AI can be accelerated in a responsible manner. The results are also expected to contribute to the business community gaining access to expertise and innovative solutions that raise the general level of security.

In the short term, the project results:

• Increase the industry's adoption of safe and reliable AI by integrating security aspects from the start , and thereby reducing dependence on unsafe methods.
• Ensure industry access to advanced cybersecurity solutions that can be implemented in existing and future AI systems.
• Minimize the risk of disruption in AI use and manage the consequences of disruptions better.
• Accelerate responsible AI implementation with traceability, trust, and robust solutions.
• Stimulate continued development of existing cutting-edge expertise in line with the needs owners' AI development .
• Development of cybersecurity solutions from technical and organizational perspectives

In the long term, the project results should lead to:

• Increased digital resilience through secure and robust data flows in industry and critical infrastructure.
• Higher efficiency when industry confidently implements new technology.
• An innovative ecosystem for digital resilience and cybersecurity that promotes knowledge transfer and skills dissemination.
• Strengthened capacity of Swedish industrial companies and research environments to develop secure digital technology through targeted project and collaboration.