Support to small and medium-sized companies for the use of life science infrastructure

Developments in life sciences are moving rapidly, not least thanks to new technologies and increased access to advanced resources. Research and technology infrastructure has great potential to contribute to research, development and innovation, but is still an untapped resource for many small and medium-sized companies.

With this the call for proposals Vinnova wants to give small and medium-sized companies in life sciences opportunities to use research infrastructures or technology infrastructures to develop, test, verify or scale up products, services or processes. This could include, for example, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, biotechnology, digital solutions in healthcare or the development of production processes.

The company must operate in Sweden and use infrastructure located in Sweden.

Project can be granted funding of up to 1 million SEK and have a maximum term of 18 months.

Human health and well-being, as well as the transition to a long-term sustainable society, are some of the greatest challenges of our time. Life science companies have a central role in meeting these challenges with new products, services and solutions that contribute to improved health, more effective care and more sustainable development and production processes.

Research infrastructure and technology infrastructure are important prerequisites for development. The methods, analyses, techniques, skills and environments available at the infrastructures are of great importance for companies' opportunities to carry out development work, reduce risks and take the next step towards utilization and the market.

The purpose of the call for proposals is to increase the use of research infrastructure and technology infrastructure among small and medium-sized companies in life science. With the call for proposals Vinnova wants to contribute to:

• accelerate the development work of companies
• enable testing, verification and scale-up in relevant environments
• contribute to sustainable transformation through more efficient processes and more sustainable solutions
• strengthen companies' competence, competitiveness and innovative capacity.

Sweden has made significant investments in both research infrastructure and technology infrastructure. By making these infrastructures more accessible to companies, better conditions are created for new innovations, strengthened business, sustainable transition and increased societal benefit.

For more information on sustainable transition, see An innovative force in a sustainable world.

Equal funding of innovations

Your project should integrate gender equality both in how your project team is composed and how you implement the project. This means that you need to:

• take into account the gender balance within the project team
• assess whether aspects of sex and gender are relevant to the design of the project, and if so, in what way.

By integrating different 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.

The call for proposals is aimed at small and medium-sized companies in life sciences that have a clear need to use research infrastructure or technology infrastructure in a development project.

• is classified as a small or medium-sized enterprise according to the EU definition
• be a Swedish legal entity, or a foreign legal entity that has a branch or establishment in Sweden
• be able to attribute the costs in the project to the company's activities in Sweden.
• have established contact with the infrastructure to be used at the latest at the time of application

A statement of intent from the infrastructure should be attached to proposal.

What do we mean by research infrastructure?

Research infrastructures are facilities, resources and services that enable the research community to conduct research and promote innovation. They may include, for example, advanced equipment, laboratories, databases, biobanks or similar resources required to conduct high-quality research and development. They are primarily focused on scientific excellence and knowledge development.

What do we mean by technology infrastructure?

Technology infrastructure refers to the facilities, equipment, capabilities and resources required to develop, test, scale up and validate technology. They include test beds, pilot lines, pilot and demonstration facilities, clean rooms and living labs. The main purpose of technology infrastructure is to enable and accelerate the commercial use of technological innovations in society.

In this the call for proposals Vinnova finances companies' use of research infrastructure and technology infrastructure. The project can last for a maximum of 18 months.

For example, we can finance activities such as:

• development and testing of products, services or technologies in life science
• verification of function, quality or performance in the relevant environment
• development, optimization and scaling of processes
• analysis and characterization using advanced equipment and methods
• adaptation of methods and processes to industrial or regulatory eligibility requirements, for example good manufacturing practice.

We do not finance:

• basic research
• development work that can be carried out with the company's own resources
• activities that mainly concern business development or regulatory issues.

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 costs for consultancy services, i.e. the cost of the service provided by the infrastructure, are eligible.

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

What eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

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

• 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 your own funds intended for other project.
• You may not claim someone else's expenses as your own.

For more detailed information on which eligibility requirements, limitations and exclusions apply, see our General terms and conditions

state aid rules govern how much of the costs we can finance. This is determined individually for each organisation.

How much funding can the project receive?

Project can be granted funding of a maximum of 1 million SEK.

Support to SMEs for innovation support services under Article 28

In this the call for proposals, we provide funding to SMEs for so-called innovation support services under Article 28 of the EU Block Exemption Regulation GBER in the form of infrastructure use. We can finance up to 50 percent of these costs. This is called the maximum aid level. The aid level can be increased to 80% if the total innovation support does not exceed EUR 220,000 per company over a three-year period. If you are applying for funding with a higher aid intensity than 50%, you need to submit a certificate of innovation support for innovation services.

Which companies are considered small or 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).

To verify the company's status as an SME, a model declaration must be submitted according to the template found here, Model declaration SME.

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.

The following formal eligibility requirements apply:

• Applicant must be a Swedish small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), or a foreign SME where the costs are attributable to the company's branch or establishment in Sweden. Only one participant in this the call for proposals.
• The project may apply for a maximum of 1 million SEK.
• The company and the infrastructure must have established contact by the time of application. A letter of intent from the infrastructure must be attached to proposal that clearly describes that the infrastructure undertakes to perform the service during the project period.
• The project must start no earlier than 2026-11-01 or no later than 2026-11-11 and end no later than 2028-05-30.
• The project may not begin before you have submitted your proposal.
• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal must follow the instructions under the heading "How to apply".
• Proposal must contain all requested attachments, see section 9.

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. Proposal must be in line with aim of the call as described in section 2 and are assessed according to the criteria below.

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 great potential the project proposal has to achieve the call's objective and aim, see section 2.
• How great is the value of using the infrastructure to realize the project's potential.
• 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.

Actors

• How well the project team's composition, skills and abilities 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.
• How well the project manager and other key people are assessed to be able to lead and implement the project.

Feasibility

• How well the project plan and budget are assessed to be able to realize a solution in accordance with the project proposal.
• How credible the project plan's risk analysis and action plan for these risks are.
• How well the project plan shows how the results will be anchored and disseminated to important actors in the area.
• How well the gender distribution in the project team and perspectives on sex and gender have been integrated into the project plan.
• How good the conditions are for the project's results to be taken forward and used after the end of the project.

How do we assess?

Once we have received the applications, we review them. We will 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. Each proposal is assessed by at least three evaluator.

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

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 that are granted funding for payroll costs must be registered as employers 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 must be employed by the project party.
• 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 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:

• You will sign a special document in which you approve your participation and commit to carrying out the project.
• You will report how things are going, your costs and achieved results to us during the project period.

See our General terms and conditions

We may also decide to add supplementary 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.

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

Who can read your proposal?

Your proposal will be read by employees at Vinnova and the evaluator participating 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