Innovative solutions of the future in life science

Developments in life science are moving rapidly and creating new opportunities for companies, academia and healthcare. Strengthening Sweden's competitiveness and position in future life science requires strategic investments that promote innovation, collaboration and faster utilization of research results.

In July 2025, Vinnova received the government's assignmentto establish a programme for Advanced Life Science. The program will strengthen Sweden's position in future life science through increased collaboration, strategic technology development and faster conversion of research results. In the long term, the program will contribute to increased international competitiveness and a stronger Swedish life science sector.

In the first the call for proposals within the program, companies, academia and other relevant actors are given the opportunity to carry out collaborative projects to develop innovative and sustainable technologies, products and processes in life science.

Projects can be granted up to 3 million SEK in funding and have a maximum duration of 12 months. The grant can finance a maximum of 50 percent of the project's eligible costs.

With this call for proposals Vinnova wants to create conditions for business-driven project in close collaboration with academia and other relevant actors. By companies taking a leading role, the opportunities for research and innovation to be translated into solutions that reach users and the market increase. We are looking for solutions with high innovation potential, that is, the ability to create something new that meets a concrete need and has realistic possibilities of being implemented. In the short term, the investment will stimulate new collaborations, strengthen expertise and enable the development of innovative solutions. In the longer term, the investment will contribute to more viable companies, increased international attractiveness and strengthened competitiveness, which strengthens Sweden's position as a leading life science nation.

With the call for proposals, Vinnova wants to:

• contribute to sustainable and advanced technologies, products and processes with high innovation potential in life science
• strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration between relevant actors and thereby increase the innovation capacity and the sector's overall competence
• open up new business opportunities that attract talent
• create strong consortia and partnerships that drive innovations with international competitiveness and tangible results, such as funding, products and patents.

What do we mean by life science?

In the national life science strategy, the government defines life science as those activities and actors that through research, innovation, development and implementation contribute to promoting people's health. In this call for proposals, in line with the government's mission on Advanced life science, priority is given to solutions that through research, innovation and technological development have potential to improve people's health.

The call for proposals is aimed at companies, academia and other relevant actors who, through collaboration, want to contribute to the development of life science by developing sustainable solutions.

The project must consist of at least three parties where the following actors must be represented:

• company
• academy (university and/or university college)

Foreign companies must have a branch or permanent establishment in Sweden. The costs must be actual and can be linked to activities in Sweden.

All SMEs must be able to demonstrate that they can finance their part of the project. The net turnover or equity must therefore amount to at least 25 percent of the eligible project costs according to the latest annual report, see section 6.

In the first the call for proposals within the program, companies, academia and other relevant actors are given the opportunity to carry out collaborative projects to develop innovative and sustainable technologies, products and processes in life science. The initiative will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish actors and their opportunities to collaborate in national and international networks and value chains. The project can last for a maximum of 12 months.

We do not finance:

• small improvements to existing products, processes, technologies, i.e. where a high degree of innovation is lacking
• that which has a purely academic research focus (basic research).

What costs can we finance?

Our funding is subject to rules about state aid. The rules govern what kinds of costs we can finance. These are called eligible costs.

In this the call for proposals the following types of costs (cost types) are eligible:

• Salary costs: Gross salary paid, employer contributions and other salary costs.
• Equipment, land and buildings: Costs for instruments, equipment and rent for premises other than regular business premises.
• Consulting and licensing costs: Costs for consulting services, knowledge and patents purchased or used under license from an external party. These costs may not exceed 20 percent of an organization's budget. In case of special needs, for example if the project requires specialist expertise, we can accept a higher proportion. You must then justify this in your proposal, and the justification will be taken into account in our assessment. Costs for patents do not apply to costs for applying for patents, but rather to the purchase of patents or licenses for patents.
• Other direct costs: Costs for, for example, materials, supplies and travel that are necessary to carry out the project.
• Indirect costs (overhead): Costs that are linked to the project but do not arise directly, such as premises and cleaning. Indirect costs may not exceed 30 percent of salary costs. Universities, university colleges, research organizations and government agencies may have higher permitted levels, depending on activities.

For more detailed information about which costs we can finance, see Instructions for eligible costs.

Which eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

In order for your costs to be eligible for support, the following applies:

• The costs must be actual, reasonable and necessary for the activities in the project.
• The costs must be booked correctly and under a separate project code in the accounting. You may not cover project costs with other public funding or own funds intended for other project.
• You may not claim someone else's expenses as your own.

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

How big funding can the project get?

In this call for proposals Vinnova can finance project up to SEK 3,000,000. Each project can be granted a maximum of 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs - the project must therefore finance at least half of the total project budget in other ways.

Support to companies for research and development

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

Industrial research can be simply described as seeking new knowledge through planned research or critical analysis. This is 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 The size and type of activity determines how large a proportion of the costs we can finance. This is called the maximum support level.

Maximum aid intensity for industrial research:

• Small business 80%
• Medium-sized company 75%
• Large companies 65%

Maximum aid intensity for experimental development:

• Small business 60%
• Medium-sized company 50%
• Large companies 40%

Which companies are considered small and medium-sized?

To assess the size of a company, we apply the EU definition of small and medium-sized enterprises. The definition is based on the number of employees, annual turnover and balance sheet total.

If the company is part of a group, data for the entire group must be included. If the company owns or is owned by other companies to the extent of 25–50 percent, this data must be taken into account.

For help in determining whether a company is an SME, see How the EU defines small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Support to universities, university colleges and other public organisations

We give support to organisations that do not engage in economic activities. This means that the organisation do not offer a service or product on a market. This usually includes universities and university colleges, research institutes and other public organisations.

This support is not covered by state aid rules. We can therefore finance up to 100 percent of the costs of such an organization. The support is often called “not state aid.”

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

The following formal eligibility requirements applies:

• All participants organisations must be legal entities. Individuals or sole proprietorships cannot participate. Foreign legal entities can also participate. However, foreign actors that receive funding from us must have a branch or establishment in Sweden, and the costs must be incurred by the branch or establishment.
• Constellations with at least three parties, where companies and academia must be represented as actors.
• SMEs must have a net turnover or equity of at least 25 percent of the company's total eligible costs for the project (see paragraph below "Specific economic eligibility requirements for SMEs").
• The project partners must be independent of each other. For example, a research group cannot apply for funding together with a spin-off company that they have started.
• The project may not be started before you have submitted your proposal.
• The project may apply for a maximum of 3 million SEK.
• The project must be co-financed with at least 50%.
• Proposal should be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal should follow the instructions under the heading "How to apply", see section 9.
• Only the mandatory annexes should be included, see section 9.

Special economic eligibility requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises participating in the project must be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient financial capacity to bear their share of the project costs. The assessment is made on the basis of the company's financial position in relation to the eligible project costs. If the company does not have registered annual accounts, an auditor's certificate or a certificate from an authorized accounting consultant must be attached proposal.

The total eligible project cost is the amount that the organisation is seeking in funding and self-financing.

Example: Company Y applies for SEK 500,000 in funding and contributes SEK 500,000 in self-financing. The total eligible cost is then SEK 1,000,000 and the company must show that it meets the financial requirement of 25% of the total eligible costs, i.e. SEK 250,000.

Applications that meet our eligibility requirements will proceed to assessment. In the assessment, we look at how big potential your idea is, how realistic it is and who will implement the project. Proposal must be in line with the call's aim as described in section 2 and are assessed according to the criteria below.

We also look at how well your project integrates gender equality, both in how your project group is composed and how you implement the project. By integrating sex and gender perspectives, more inclusive and relevant solutions are developed. This strengthens both the innovation capacity and the project's results.

Gender equality as a tool for innovative social development

What do we assess?

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 the desired results.

Potential

• How well the project proposal meets a high innovation potential and contributes to the call's aim and objective, see section 2.
• How well the project proposal contributes to stimulating collaboration nationally and internationally.
• How innovative the project proposal is in relation to existing solutions and ongoing major initiatives in the area.
• How credible the project proposal's analysis is of the problem picture and the results that the proposed solution is expected to achieve.
• 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.
• How well the project proposal contributes to increased gender equality by integrating perspectives on sex and gender.

Actors

• How well the project team's composition, competence, commitment and ability contribute to project goals and implementation.
• The composition of the project team in terms of gender distribution. How power and influence are distributed evenly between the genders in the project team.
• The project group's national and international networks and partners.
• How well the project manager and other key people are assessed to be able to lead and implement the project.

Feasibility

• How relevant and realistic the project plan, budget and cost types are judged to be able to realize a solution in accordance with the project proposal.
• How credible the project plan's risk analysis is.
• How well the project plan describes how the results will be anchored, disseminated to relevant actors and taken forward for use after the end of the project.

How do we assess?

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

The applications that are correct and complete are distributed among different evaluator and assessed in competition with each other. The evaluators are appointed by us based on their expertise in the field.

Once the evaluators has reviewed the applications, we have an assessment meeting where the evaluators recommends which applications should be granted.

Vinnova reserves the right to apply a portfolio strategy in the selection of applications for granting.

How does it affect an organization's financial status?

Before we decide on funding we also make a comprehensive assessment of the organizational and financial status of those who receive funding.

We use information we receive from credit reports, currently from Dun & Bradstreet.

In our assessment we check this:

• Organisations who are granted funding for salary costs must be registered as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency. If such registration does not exist when we make a decision, you must be able to show that a notification has been made. We do not approve retroactive registration.
• 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.
• The project manager should be employed by a participant.

• Limited liability companies must not have used up half or more of their share capital.

We can also ask small and medium-sized companies to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to carry out the project.

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 large a proportion of the costs we 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 you proposal you must follow our general terms and conditions for funding. The terms include, among other things:

• You will sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project.
• You must have a written project agreement that regulates your mutual rights and obligations in the project. All parties must sign the agreement before you submit your first progress report. Since it can take time to develop and negotiate an agreement, we recommend that you start this as soon as possible.
• You will report on your progress, costs and achievements to us during the project. See our General terms and conditions.

We may also decide to add additional special conditions for individual project. In that case, 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 liable for repayment.

When the call for proposals closes, your proposal will be registered as. We will then send an email confirmation to the person responsible for the user account, as well as to the project manager and the signatory. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us.

When the call for proposals is closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. Then you can only supplement if we ask you to.

Who can read you proposal?

Your proposal will be read by employees at Vinnova and those evaluator who participate in this the call for proposals. Everyone works under a duty of confidentiality.

Applications submitted to us become public documents. This means that we must disclose them if requested. However, we keep certain types of information confidential if disclosure could be expected to cause financial harm to the individual. This applies to information about business and operational conditions, inventions or research results.

General documents and confidentiality