Digital infrastructure and communication - spring 2024

Call for proposals within the Advanced program digitalisation

Visit the program website for more information

This the call for proposals offers funding of research and innovation projects that will develop new solutions in digital infrastructure and communication through collaboration. The projects will address challenges in digitalisation industry and business. They will also contribute to increasing Sweden's ability to create and use digital infrastructure and communication.

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 call for proposals is aimed at consortia consisting of at least two participants of which at least one is a Swedish company. The applicant may be from industry, business, academia, institute, public activities or public authority. The projects must be driven by the needs of industry and business, and need owner must be involved in the projects.

The duration of the projects can be 12 to 36 months. Each individual project can apply funding in the range between 2 and 10 million SEK. Vinnova's funding can amount to a maximum of 50 percent of the project's eligible costs. The preliminary budget of the call is 40 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 project funded projects will address the industry's and business community's needs for advanced digital infrastructure in the near future and in the future. Overall lessons learned and results from funded project projects will be able to be shared openly after project completion. In this way, the projects can contribute to Sweden's ability to create and use digital infrastructure and communication.

The call for proposals shall in particular contribute to the following results- and impact goals within the programme:

• Sweden has the ability to develop next-generation digital solutions.
• Swedish industry has the ability to quickly utilize new digital solutions.
• Develop solutions for increased interoperability between digital products, services and systems.
• Lower climate footprint and energy use through digital solutions – despite increased use.
• Digital solutions that contribute to desired effects in terms of sustainability.
• Dissemination of solutions and knowledge within advanced industrial digitalisation to other parts of society.

Read about the program Advanced digitalisation

Communication systems and digital infrastructure form the basis of digitalisation. The possibilities to connect and interconnect secure systems and devices are continuously developing, and therefore communication networks need to be updated and modernized. In order to meet eligibility requirements future services and applications, capacity, stability, security and quality need to be improved. The use of modern communication technology within Swedish business needs to be increased and facilitated. The use of standardized protocols and interfaces is also important for ensuring interoperability between devices and systems in digital solutions.

The use of digital technology is continuously expanding in various sectors of business and society. This means that traffic volumes and strains on the underlying infrastructure are increasing. An expected consequence is increased data streams and continued exponential development of network traffic. To reduce the risk of delays, and to keep data as close to the user as possible, there is therefore a need to greatly increase execution capacity through, for example, distributed networks. In distributed networks, computing and storage capacity can interact with cloud environments. Computing capacity and storage technology are two other important areas of development.

Other relevant aspects are stability and the use of open standards. Industrial environments are becoming increasingly automated and dependent on digital tools, and this requires robust communication networks. They need to withstand stresses and disturbances without affecting their functionality. Open standards guarantee interoperability and applicability. Regulatory and intellectual property rights-related issues are also important aspects.

This call for proposals focuses on collaborative projects within digital infrastructure and communications. The proposed projects should be relevant to one or more of these technical focus areas:

Use of 5G in public and private 5G networks

Access to 5G networks and services for businesses, both through dedicated resources in public networks and own private 5G networks.

This is to ensure:

• robustness
• security
• low latency
• time reference
• energy efficiency
• flexibility
• handling of large amounts of data (big data)
• data flows

Exploratory research and innovation around 6G
With sub-questions such as cognitive networks that automatically adapt to changing conditions and usage, for example:

• networks with integrated, distributed or centralized computing resources
• resilient networks with handling of disturbances and protection against intrusion or manipulation
• seamless connectivity between different technologies and devices
• ultra-dense networks or resource-efficient networks.

Sustainability
Innovative solutions that address sustainability aspects within:

• energy consumption of networks
• data center energy usage
• sustainable 5G or 6G networks
• development of algorithms and software for energy-efficient and energy-saving functions
• applications and services.

Applications
Applications and digital systems that address, for example:

• digital ecosystems with end-to-end functionality
• low latency applications
• open standards for protocols and data representation in communication but also from industry organizations
  real-time cloud services
• legal and privacy aspects related to handling large amounts of data
• connected simple to adaptive learning sensors
• Human-machine interfaces including the next generation Internet. For example, tactile Internet or Internet and senses.

Resilient digital infrastructure
That is, systems that can withstand disturbances and impacts:

• both locally, privately and via cloud services as well as
• security in interaction between private and public communication systems.

Results from research and innovation that is made freely available provides increased opportunities for more people to contribute to solutions to societal challenges. The call for proposals will contribute to more results being made freely available to everyone, and to scientific publishing being done with open access. As project, relating to open standards is seen as positive.

Two central sustainability perspectives

In addition to the above, Vinnova is tasked with promoting sustainable growth and social development. Genom Agenda 2030, the world's countries have agreed on a global agreement and understanding of what characterizes sustainable development. Genom Vinnovas efforts we contribute to the global commitment to achieving the goals.

Inom Agenda 2030, Vinnova has specifically identified climate and gender equality as two central sustainability perspectives that our funded initiatives will contribute positively to. Project funded by Vinnova are therefore expected to take special account of climate and gender equality aspects.

Two gender equality perspectives that we look at and analyze in applications are:

• whether women and men equally benefit from the contribution, participate in and have influence over the project (see section 7 under the actor criterion for more information).
• whether there are sex or gender aspects that are relevant in relation to the project's problem area, solutions and utilization.

Free access to results from research and innovation provides increased opportunities for more people to contribute to solutions to societal challenges. This call for proposals will contribute to more results being made freely available to everyone, and to scientific publishing being done with open access.

Information about the work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030 can be found on Vinnova's website

Information about what the work for gender-equal innovation means for those who are applying funding is available on Vinnova's website

The call for proposals is aimed at consortia with at least two participants which can include companies, universities, university college, research institutes, public activities or authorities.

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.

Participant who applies funding must be a Swedish legal entity. In this respect, a foreign organisation that has a branch or establishment in Sweden is considered a Swedish legal entity. The costs in the project must be attributable to the branch or establishment's activities.

Activities that can be searched funding for

It is possible to apply funding for activities that are part of research and innovation projects with a focus that meets the aim of the call according to section 2.

Examples of activities that are eligible for support:

• Investigation of technical and design conditions.
• Development of prototypes or demonstrators. This may also include pilot work, testing and validation.
• Research and development of production methods.
• Planning and conducting studies or tests to verify an innovation.
• Investigation of 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 processes. Nor do we fund training, courses, marketing, sales, ongoing operations, quality assurance, certification, investment in equipment and tools, and intellectual property strategies and protection.

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

Eligible costs

Our funding is done through funding. Funding to organisations that conduct economic activities are covered by rules about state aid. The rules govern, among other things, what types of costs and how large a proportion of them may be covered through funding.

The general conditions for a cost to be eligible for support are described in section two of the document “Instructions to Vinnova regarding term eligible costs”. Section four of the instructions provides a detailed description of each type of cost. You can find the document under the heading “Eligible costs” on Vinnova’s website

Vinnova's funding can amount to between 2 and 10 million SEK per project, and can maximum amount to 50 percent of the project's total eligible costs.

For organisations that conduct economic activities funding is granted with support of Section 9 of Regulation 2015:208 on state aid to research, development and innovation (the support scheme), that is support to research and development projects according to Article 25 of the GBER. The project's activities must constitute industrial research. You can find current regulations on Vinnoa's website: State aid to economic activities

For Industrial research the following maximum support levels apply to an individual beneficiary based on organization type:

• Small companies are companies with 1-49 employees, with a turnover of a maximum of 10 million euros. They can have a maximum of 70 percent of their costs covered by funding.
• Medium-sized companies are companies with 50-249 employees, with a maximum turnover of 50 MEUR. Their funding can amount to a maximum of 60 percent of the costs.
• Large companies have more than 250 employees, with a turnover of more than EUR 50 million. For them, a maximum of 50 percent applies in funding.

Companies can receive an additional 15 percent support, up to a maximum of 80 percent, if they meet certain term. More information can be found in the document “Support levels, definitions, etc. for funding according to Vinnova” on Vinnova's website:
State aid to economic activities

For organisations that conduct non-economic activities state aid university colleges organisations Funding __NOTRANSLATE_29

However, please note the requirement of a maximum of 50 percent aid intensity for the project as a whole.

The total grant budget is provisionally 40 million SEK for this call for proposals.

Conditions for us to assess proposal

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

• The project must have at least two participants parties, of which at least one party must be a Swedish company.
• All participants must be legal entities.
• Proposal should be written in Swedish or English.
• The project must not have started before proposal is submitted.
• Proposal must follow all instructions and contain all attachments according to section 10.
• The project manager should be employed by someone participant.

What do we assess?

Proposal should be in line with the call's objective and aim specified in section 2 and is assessed according to the criteria below.

Potential

• Potential to contribute to the program's objective within one or more of the technical focus areas identified in the call for proposals:
  – Sweden has the ability to develop next-generation digital solutions.
  – Swedish industry has the ability to quickly utilize new digital solutions.
  – Develop solutions for increased interoperability between digital products, services and systems.
  – Lower climate footprint and energy use through digital solutions – despite increased use.
  – Digital solutions that contribute to desired effects in terms of sustainability.
  – Dissemination of solutions and knowledge within advanced industrial digitalisation to other parts of society.
• Strengthen Sweden's attractiveness when it comes to research and innovation investments.
• Potential to develop knowledge and expertise that promotes advanced digitalisation that renews Swedish industry.
• The project's potential impact and impact on Swedish industry.
• The project's potential aims to contribute positively to the global goals of Agenda 2030, as well as minimize the negative effects.

Actors

• The project partners' competence, credibility and ability to implement the project.
• The consortium's anchoring in Swedish industry.
• The ability of the project partners to disseminate, utilize, commercialize and further develop the knowledge generated in the project, both within their own the organisations and outside the consortium.
• How well the project team is composed with regard to gender distribution, as well as the distribution of power and influence between women and men.

Feasibility

• The realism of the project plan in relation to the set objectives, 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 consortium and outside it.
• How well risks are described and managed in the project's implementation.
• How well relevant sustainability perspectives have been integrated into the project plan. Relevant sustainability perspectives refer to the 2030 Agenda with a particular focus on climate and gender equality.

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 is submitted via Vinnova's e-services.
2. Applications that meet the formal requirements will be assessed based on the criteria stated above by Vinnova's appointed evaluator.
3. The assessment results in a recommendation to funding. Vinnova makes a decision on which project should be funded and the decision is communicated to applicant.

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

How to apply

To apply funding, you fill out a web-based form in Vinnova's e-service for applications, which is accessed via the Apply button further down the page.

In the e-service you upload the following attachments:

• Project description, which may not exceed ten A4 pages with single-column 12-point text. The project description must follow the mandatory template that can be downloaded from the call's website.
  
• Project summary in a separate appendix that may not exceed one A4 page. The project summary must be able to be shared with the program's external program council and must therefore not contain confidential or other sensitive information. Advanced digitalisation has a program council with representatives from Swedish industry. The program council participates in the design of calls for proposals based on industrial needs to meet the program's objectives. The project summary is not included in the assessment process. The project summary must follow the mandatory template that can be downloaded from the call's website.
• CV attachment for key personnel according to the mandatory template. Varje CV may be a maximum of one A4 page with 12 point text. The CV attachment must follow the mandatory template that can be downloaded from the call's website.

Only requested pages and attachments will be assessed. References to websites will not be taken into account.

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

Mark proposal ready well before the call for proposals closes.

When the call for proposals is closed and proposal is registered with Vinnova, a confirmation will be sent by email to you who is responsible for the user account, project manager and the signatory/head of department. It may take a few hours before you receive the email.

If you have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours of the call for proposals closing, please contact us.

Once the application period has expired, completion of proposalcan only be done upon request from us.