Individual mobility within 6G for collaborations with the USA and Singapore

With this the call for proposals Vinnova wants to strengthen strategic 6G competence in Sweden and develop lasting collaborations internationally. The call for proposals focuses on enabling individual mobility (staff exchange) within the 6G area for research, development and innovation. The exchange should be between Sweden and the USA or Sweden and Singapore, and should last from four weeks up to three months.

Two types of individual mobility are funded:

1. A Swedish organisation that wants to give an employee the opportunity to work in an organisation in the USA or Singapore to strengthen the employee's skills.
2. A Swedish organisation that wants to invite an expert from the USA or Singapore to strengthen the organisation's competence.

Each project can be financed with a maximum of SEK 500,000. The call for proposals is open to Swedish companies, public organisations and research organizations.

Vinnova wants to contribute to increasing strategic 6G competence in Sweden through individual mobility, and at the same time establish cooperation between organisations in Sweden and the USA, and in Sweden and Singapore. The rapid development in wireless connectivity means increasingly higher eligibility requirements for individuals and organisations to continuously renew their competence. Successful 6G development will depend on both specialized and general competence in 6G, as well as domain and organizational competence.

The exchange covers individual mobility within 6G innovation, development and research. Vinnova's vision is for Sweden to be an innovative force in a sustainable world. According to our mandate from the government, we will contribute to a sustainable transition where different actors work together to promote innovation.

Objective 17 Agenda 2030

Objective 17 of the 2030 Agenda is about strengthening the global partnership for the implementation of all other objective. This objective focuses on how the world's countries, organisations, businesses and people can work together to implement the agenda. It is about creating fair term for cooperation - where resources, responsibilities and technology are shared globally. This objective can be described as the glue of the 2030 Agenda - what holds the vision together and makes it feasible in practice.

Read more about our work to contribute to the goals of Agenda 2030

Vinnova's prioritized sustainability perspective

To contribute to the sustainable transition, Vinnova prioritizes two perspectives: gender equality and climate transition. All initiatives and project we fund are assessed based on how they contribute to these perspectives. Therefore, explain in the project plan in your proposal whether and how the projects can contribute to the sustainable transition.

When it comes to gender equality, one aspect that Vinnova follows up and assesses is whether both women and men equally benefit from the grant, participate in and have influence over the project.

Another aspect involves analyzing and deciding whether there are sex or gender aspects that are relevant in relation to the project's problem area, solutions and utilization.

Read more about what our work for gender-equal innovation means for those seeking funding from us

There is a mandatory question regarding this to be answered by all applicant under the heading " Project tasks" in proposal. The question forms the basis for assessment under the potential criterion.

Results from research and innovation that are made freely available provide 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 scientific publishing will be done with open access.

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 distribution 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

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 open to applications from Swedish companies in the form of limited companies, public organisations and research organizations.

The funding can cover individual mobility from four weeks to three months. The exchange must be reported on by 30 October 2026.

The funded individual will work in the 6G area with research and innovation, but the work may also include non-technical aspects, such as ethics, law or other necessary expert knowledge.

We would like to remind you of the following point in Vinnova's general terms and conditions:

§4 Changed conditions

Participant may not conduct the project without Vinnova's approval if the conditions for utilizing the project results have significantly decreased. This also applies if technical, financial or other circumstances arise that have a significant impact on the implementation of the project.

We want you to describe in proposal how you plan for the project's implementation and risk management within the project.

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.

The costs that can be financed are stated in the documents Vinnova's general terms and conditions for funding and Instructions for Vinnova's term on eligible costs.

Common costs in this call for proposals may be:

• Travel expenses, accommodation costs and salary costs for employees or invited experts
• Direct costs for, for example, mentoring, skills transfer and office space
• Other additional costs within the host organization for the exchange.

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 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 costs as your own. For more detailed information on eligibility requirements, limitations and exceptions, 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 the project receive?

The maximum grant per project is 500,000 SEK.

How much funding can a participant receive?

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.

How much of the costs can we finance?

The organisation's size and type of activity determines how large a proportion of the costs we can finance, i.e. the maximum level of support.

Minor Support for businesses

In this the call for proposals we can provide de minimis support, also known as support of minor importance. We can finance up to 100 percent of a project party'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 minimum support when you submit proposal. This is required for us to be able to grant this support.

Certificate of de minimis support

Non- state aid

We also provide support to universities, university colleges and other public organisations that do not carry out economic activities. This support is defined as non- state aid under EU state aid rules. 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.

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

• All participating organisations must be legal entities. Natural persons or sole proprietorships cannot participate. Foreign legal entities can participate if they have a branch or establishment in Sweden and the costs are incurred by the branch or establishment. The coordinating party must be a Swedish legal entity and conduct activities in Sweden.
• Proposal must contain a project description that is written in the template on the offer's website, and that follows the template's limitations regarding content and number of pages.
• Only attachments in the form of the project description and CV may be attached. If applicable, the certificate of Support of minor importance may also be attached.
• Individual mobility must last for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of three months.
• If the grant is to finance a Swedish employee visiting an organisation in the USA or Singapore, the person must have documented education in the 6G area and experience that enables them to gain expert knowledge in the area. The same applies vice versa: If the grant is to cover the costs of a Swedish organisation to hire a person from the USA or Singapore, this person must have expert knowledge in the 6G area such as a PhD or other documented expert knowledge that is important for the project. We may require certificates or references that confirm information about the expertise of key individuals.
• Individual mobility must apply from or to an organisation in Sweden.
• The individual/partner organization must be from the USA or Singapore.
• The Swedish the organisation submits proposal and acts as coordinator for individual mobility.
• Proposal is written in Swedish or English.
• The maximum funding sought is SEK 500,000 and constitutes a maximum of 100 percent of the project's eligible costs.

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.

We also assess proposal according to how well they meet the two objectives of the call: to increase Sweden's strategic 6G competence through individual mobility, and at the same time to establish cooperation between organisations in Sweden and organisations in the USA or Singapore (see also chapters 1 and 2). We reserve the right to reject applications that do not meet this aim.

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 desired results.

Potential

• The value of the knowledge transfer for the applicant the organisation.
• potential of the exchange to lead to long-term cooperation between the countries and the organisations.
• Potential for knowledge transfer outside the organisations.
• The project's potential to contribute positively to the global goals of Agenda 2030 - with particular focus on objective 17 (strengthen the global partnership for the implementation of all other objective) where applicant must justify how their project increases lasting and sustainable collaborations and relationships through personnel exchange, and to what extent these partnerships create added value in Sweden and internationally.

Actors

• The degree of relevant 6G expertise of the project team and the individual doing the exchange.
• The project constellation's competence and ability to contribute to knowledge transfer.
• Credibility regarding the project's anchoring in the respective organisation.

Feasibility

• That the plan for the project and the personnel exchange is feasible within the intended budget.
• That the plan for knowledge transfer both within and outside the organisation is realistic.
• How credible the project plan's risk analysis and action plan for these risks are.
• How well the project proposal identifies and describes what the next steps are after the stay has been completed.

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.

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 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. We may also ask SMEs 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 the 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 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.

Funding will be granted with support from Section 2, paragraph 2 of the Regulation (2015:208) on state aid for research and development and innovation and Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013 on de minimis Support (de minimis support). The basis for support is stated in the decision and also determines which costs are eligible for support, see point 4.1 Organisations carrying out non-economic activities may be granted funding that does not constitute state aid when they participate with their non-economic activities.

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 should report how things are going, your costs and achieved results to us during the project period.
• How the results will be used.
• See our general terms and conditions.

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.

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 has closed, you cannot change anything in proposal. You can only make additions if we ask you to.

Who can read your proposal?

Your proposal will be read by Vinnova employees 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.

Public documents and confidentiality