Deepened international collaborations for healthy and resilient societies

As health, climate and geopolitical challenges intensify, it is becoming increasingly important to shape societies that are healthy and resilient. Meeting these challenges requires broad perspectives and international cooperation. A resilient society can withstand stress without changing significantly. A resilient society also has the ability to recover, adapt and continue to function well when conditions change. Read more here about how the UN defines and works with societal resilience.

In order for resilience to be built and maintained, strong and well-functioning systems are required within the thematic areas covered by the call for proposals:

• Health/life science
• Food system
• Civil engineering
• Emergency preparedness and civil defense

By strengthening Sweden's innovative capacity in these areas the call for proposals contributes both to more resilient societies and increased Swedish competitiveness.

Health/Life Science

Behovet of innovation in health and life sciences is driven by a growing and increasingly complex problem picture. The population is increasing and we are living longer. More people are living with chronic diseases, which increases the pressure on already strained healthcare systems. Pandemics, antibiotic resistance and rapid geopolitical changes create uncertainty and require better preparedness and resilience. At the same time, there is underutilized potential in technologies including cell and gene therapy, multiomics analyses, AI, digital solutions and insufficient access to health data that cannot be used optimally. New ways of working, improved healthcare processes and increased collaboration between the public and private sectors can make healthcare more efficient and strengthen both preventive and personalized care. Innovation is crucial to meeting increased eligibility requirements and building a more sustainable and resilient system.

Food system

The need for innovation in food systems in Sweden and around the world is driven by increasing eligibility requirements for both sustainability, competitiveness and societal resilience. A growing population, ill health, climate change and reduced biodiversity are putting pressure on today's food production. At the same time, global value chains are being affected by geopolitical tensions and disruptions, increasing vulnerability and threatening food security.

Meeting these challenges requires a system transformation that promotes sustainable, resource-efficient and circular solutions for production, processing and distribution. Diversity in production and production systems as well as market solutions can contribute to resilience. The consumption stage also has a central role, where innovative solutions are needed to strengthen sustainable food environments and behaviors that lead to more sustainable and healthy consumption.

Collaboration between research, business, the public sector and civil society is crucial to driving this transformation. Overall, sustainable food systems are a central part of societal resilience that requires modern emergency response solutions that can handle disruptions and changing environmental conditions today and in the future.

Civil engineering

To contribute to attractive, sustainable and resilient living environments, a transformation is required in the built environment, where new working methods, technical solutions, business models, policies and forms of cooperation will be crucial. For example, this could involve circular material flows, climate-neutral construction production, improved mobility systems, procurement, data management and skills development. For this to be possible, an increased innovative capacity is also required throughout the sector.

Emergency preparedness and civil defense

Preparedness is about society's ability to prevent, resist and manage serious crises and, ultimately, war. It includes planning, resources and structures that ensure that important societal functions can be maintained even under significant stress. Civil defense is the part of total defense that is intended to protect the population, secure vital activities and strengthen the will to defend in the event of increased readiness and armed attack.

Climate change, technological vulnerabilities and a more uncertain security policy situation place high eligibility requirements on strong management structures, efficient crisis management, preventive measures, coordinated communication and the ability to quickly mobilize resources across society. This increases the need for a holistic approach to planning where resilience is central to Sweden's long-term ability to meet both current and future threats and challenges.

The Det Nationella Innovation Program for Civil Defense is a joint initiative that is based on an agreement in principle between Vinnova and the Swedish Civil Defense Agency (formerly MSB) ( read more here: Innovative solutions for tomorrow's civil defense). The program aims to strengthen the interaction between civil and defense-oriented innovation environments, relevant authorities, academia and the private sector, and also promote innovative dual-use technology solutions.

Countries in focus

To meet the needs and challenges in these thematic areas, in-depth collaborations that transcend national borders are required. The call for proposals focuses on countries with clear overlapping needs and/or where Sweden already has established innovation collaborations: Baltics, Brazil, France, India, Japan, Canada, Nordics, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Ukraine, United States

A supplementary call for proposals is planned for 2027

The call for proposals gives actors the opportunity to take the next step in collaboration, from contacts to established partnerships and institutional anchoring. Vinnova also plans to carry out a supplementary call for proposals in the spring of 2027. This will finance practical and technical activities, for example to establish proof of concept for an innovation project in preparation for international investments. The details of the call for proposals 2027 have not been determined, but the plan is that funding of up to SEK 1 million will be granted to approximately 15 project.

Vinnova wants to strengthen society's ability to handle complex challenges by supporting solutions, structures and working methods that work in both everyday life and crisis. We want to promote cross-sectoral and international collaboration and create instruments and processes that make it easier to introduce effective, sustainable and scalable innovations. The goal is to build a more resilient, sustainable and competitive Sweden.

Vinnova works for internationalisation and strengthened Swedish competitiveness across many thematic areas. In order for Swedish actors to be able to position themselves internationally and build strong long-term innovation collaborations, well-established consortia are required. Building such requires time and resources. The call for proposals is an effort from Vinnova to support this development, with a focus on international collaboration. Consortia must have at least one Swedish company, a public actor ( municipality, region, public authority) or civil society actor as a coordinating participant.

In the long term, the aim of the call for proposals is to increase Swedish participation in international R&I initiatives and secure EU funds for continued innovation work. In the shorter term, we want funded project to promote the following movements:

• Relationships are strengthened from individual dependence and occasional contacts to institutionally anchored collaborations through partnerships that are formalized, for example, through letters of intent.

• Strategic shifts from thematic overlap and project ideas to joint strategic agendas and roadmaps with defined steps towards larger initiatives.
• Capacity transfers to build joint working capabilities, and frameworks for managing assets such as data and IP rights.
• Positioning shifts from Swedish/regional positions towards international collaborations with Swedish actors as the coordinating party.
• Structural shifts, for example from Swedish/regional test environments/beds to joint international test environments or from national funding towards an international funding strategy.

Read more here about how Vinnova strengthens Sweden's innovative capacity: How we support innovation | Vinnova.

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

Eligible to apply for funding in the call for proposals are Swedish companies, public actors ( municipality, region, public authority) and civil society actors as well as academia/research institutes.

However, an academy or research institute cannot be coordinator. The project must therefore be led by a Swedish coordinator who is a company, a public actor ( municipality, region or public authority) or a civil society actor. The project must also be implemented as a collaboration between at least one Swedish actor and at least one actor from one of the following countries: Baltic States, Brazil, France, India, Japan, Canada, Nordic countries, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Ukraine, USA. Foreign actor types eligible to participate in the projects are companies, public actors, civil society actors and academy/research institutes.

Foreign actors who are part of the consortium cannot receive funding from Vinnova and should not be included as formal participant, but as collaborating actors. They must confirm their commitment to the project through a so-called Letter of Intent (LoI). It must state that they intend to contribute to the project according to the application's project description and the CVs of any key persons must be attached. Read more about this in section 9.

We fund activities to deepen and strengthen the consortium's composition and collaboration in line with the types of movements listed in section 2 above.

Example activities

We fund these types of activities:

• Establishment of joint agendas, strategies and plans for how innovation collaboration can be deepened.
• Activities aimed at securing longer-term funding for a full-scale project, for example mapping financing opportunities.
• Conducting IPR analyses, user interviews or strategic analysis.
• Study visits, shorter exchanges and delegations to strengthen relationships.
• Matchmaking or networking meetings between actors from different countries or sectors and participation in activities that clearly aim to strengthen and broaden
  collaborations
• Develop ecosystems and collaboration for business models.
• Prepare for the implementation of business models, for example by developing work processes.
• Activities included in the description of feasibility studies (see grounds for support under section 5).

We do not finance:

• Costs directly related to application writing, e.g. writing consultants.
• Routine personnel exchanges, for example an individual employee performing regular work tasks at another organisation without connection to strategic partnership development.
• Regular project operations such as product development, technical testing, laboratory work, prototyping, technical development, etc.
• Commercial activities or marketing.

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: Gross salary paid, employer contributions and other salary-related 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 licensed from an external party. These costs may not exceed 20 percent of an organization's budget.
• 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 amount to a maximum of 30 percent of salary costs. Universities, university colleges, research organisations 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

What eligibility requirements apply to costs we finance?

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

• They must be factual, reasonable and necessary for the activities in the project.
• They 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. We therefore differentiate between how much funding the project can receive, and how much a participating organisation can receive.

How much funding can the project receive?

Projects can apply for a maximum of SEK 500,000. The total budget for this call for proposals is SEK 15 million, which means that approximately 30 project can be financed.

This call for proposals in 2026 supports work on building strategic collaborations and Vinnova plans to supplement the effort with a call for proposals in spring 2027 that supports practical and technical activities. The budget for the call for proposals in 2027 is preliminary SEK 15 million and the intention is then to finance project operations within an already established collaboration, for example proof-of-concept or validation studies. The planned framework is for larger and longer project, for example 15 project that are granted up to SEK 1 million in funding. The details of the complementary the call for proposals have not yet been determined.

How much funding can a participating organisation receive?

The amount of funding a participating organisation can receive depends primarily on:

• the organisation's size and activities
• which activities the organisation will carry out in the project.

Descriptions in the following sections about what support we can provide are simplified. Organisations can be funded in the call for proposals through one of the following three support bases: feasibility studies, non- state aid or de minimis ( support of minor importance). For full information, see Funding bases and support levels for funding.

Support for companies for research and development

In this the call for proposals we provide support for feasibility studies.

Feasibility studies can be simply described as an evaluation. It analyzes the following:

• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks in an upcoming research and development project.
• What resources are required to carry out the project.
• How likely it is that the project will succeed.

How much of the costs can we finance?

The organisation's size and type of activity determine the proportion of costs that we can fund. This is called the maximum level of support. For feasibility studies we can fund the following proportion

• Small business: 70%
• Medium-sized company: 60%
• Large company: 50%

Support of minor importance to companies or other actors carrying out economic activities

We can also provide de minimis support, also known as support of minor importance. We can fund up to 100 percent of an organization's costs.

An organisation can receive a maximum of 300,000 euros over a three-year period in this form of support, regardless of the funder and project. This means that if the same organisation has received support of lesser importance in other project from other funders in the past, it will affect how large the support can be in this the call for proposals.

Submit a certificate of de minimis support when you submit proposal. This is required for us to be able to grant this support. You can find the form here: Certificate of de minimis support

Support to universities, university colleges and other public organisations with non-economic activities

We also provide support to organisations that do not conduct 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 public 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 on participants

• All participating organisations must be legal entities. Individuals or sole proprietorships cannot participate.
• The coordinating project party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.
• The coordinating project party must be a company, a public actor ( municipality, region, public authority) or a civil society actor. Actors from academia/research institutes are welcome to apply but cannot act coordinator.
• The project shall be implemented together with at least one foreign actor from one of the following countries: Baltic States, Brazil, France, India, Japan, Canada, Nordic countries, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, Ukraine, USA.
• Foreign actors must represent one of the actor types listed above: company, public actor, civil society actor or academy/research institute
• Costs for consulting services and licenses may not exceed 20 percent of an organization's project budget.

Eligibility requirements on the project

• The project may apply for a maximum of SEK 500,000.
• The project must start after the granting decision from Vinnova but no later than October 20, 2026 and be completed no later than March 31, 2027.

Eligibility requirements on proposal

• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.
• Proposal should follow the instructions under the heading “ How to apply”.
• Proposal must contain all requested attachments, these must follow the format and page limitations according to point 9 below.
• The application's project description should contain a maximum of 5, pages.
• Only one CV file should be attached, maximum 6 pages long.

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?

When we assess applications, we look at three main criteria that are weighted differently:

• Potential (40% weight): We analyze what effects and what value we can expect from the project.
• Actors (40% weight): We assess the participants' competence and ability to implement the project and achieve the desired results and effects.
• Feasibility (20% weight): We assess how realistic and credible the project plan is, both for implementing the project and for achieving the desired results.

Potential (40% weight)

• How innovative the project proposal is and how much potential it has in relation to objective and aim of the call, including how well it works for the types of movements listed in the call text.
• How credible is the project proposal's analysis of the need for cooperation and the benefits of the results that the proposed activities are expected to achieve.
• How likely it is that the project proposal will lead to deeper international collaborations and strengthened opportunities for continued collaboration.
• How well the project proposal contributes to increased gender equality by integrating perspectives on sex and gender.

Actors (40% weight)

• How well the composition, participation, competence and ability of the actor constellation contribute to project objectives and implementation.
• How well the project manager and other key people are assessed to be able to lead and implement the project.
• How well the financial contribution, participation, power and influence are distributed equally between women and men in the project team.

Feasibility (20% weight)

• How well the project plan and budget are assessed to be able to realize a solution in accordance with the project proposal.
• 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 lay the foundation for a more developed international innovation project.

How do we assess?

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

The applications that are correct and complete are distributed between 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, an assessment meeting is held where the evaluators recommend which applications should be granted. Vinnova reserves the right to apply a geographical and thematic portfolio perspective when selecting 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. We may also ask small and medium-sized businesses to demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to carry out the project.

In our assessment we check this:

• That organisations that are granted funding for payroll costs are 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.
• That organisations is not insolvent, or undergoing liquidation or corporate restructuring. You must also not have any significant unpaid debts with the Swedish Enforcement Authority.
• That the project manager is employed by the coordinating party in the project.

• That a limited liability company has not used up half or more of its share capital.

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:

• 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 during the project period.
• If you are several parties, you must have a written project agreement that regulates your mutual rights and obligations in the project (exceptions apply to foreign actors, see the point below). All parties (except foreign actors) must sign the agreement before the project starts. Since it can take time to develop and negotiate an agreement, we recommend that you start with this as soon as possible.
• Foreign actors participating in the project shall not be included as formal participant and therefore do not need to sign a project agreement. However, proposal must include a copy of a signed Letter of Intent for the participation of foreign actors (see also point 9 below)
• How the results will be used and how any scientific publication will take place.

See our general terms and conditions.

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

In addition to what is stated in general terms and conditions § 6.2, the following applies: "Instead of the first paragraph term § 6.2, the following applies:

A prerequisite for the first payment of funding is that the foreign participating actor has submitted a copy of a signed Letter of Intent with a declaration that the actor intends to implement the project in accordance with the decision, including its term and a project description approved by Vinnova.

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