Goals and ambition of the initiative
The initiative will result in clusters of excellence that rank in the top five in the world in their fields by 2035. Only clusters of excellence that can reach this capacity and level of performance are relevant for this call.
The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova have a common goal that by 2035 Sweden will have a number of excellence clusters in technology research of international top class. At the same time, the clusters should have built innovation ecosystems whose capabilities and results are among the top five in the world compared to similar environments.
In their ongoing follow-up and evaluation, the clusters of excellence shall measure themselves against their comparable environments according to key performance indicators (KPIs) that the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova has decided on.
Read about the key performance indicators (KPIs)
Attract talent and strengthen Sweden
The excellence clusters should be able to attract top international talent and have access to relevant equipment and infrastructure for research and innovation at the highest level. A graduate school may be included to ensure future competence supply. All clusters also need to take into account the rapid development of AI and its relevance for research and technology development in their respective areas. The impact of technology and its impact on society should be highlighted through social science and humanities research, also within each cluster.
The initiative also has a specific goal of strengthening Sweden's ability to conduct research and technology development in fundamental artificial intelligence on the international research and innovation front. The ambition is to build national capacity in fundamental and theoretically informed AI research, for example through the development of new methods, architectures and computational paradigms for next-generation intelligent systems. Particular priority is given to initiatives that can contribute to more general, adaptive and self-improving AI systems and enable future breakthroughs beyond today's application and model paradigms, as this is important for Sweden's and Europe's technological independence.
The initiative sets very high standards
The entire chain from research and technology development to innovation, entrepreneurship, capital attraction and utilization must have the potential to reach world class. This requires scientific excellence, strong innovation capacity, well-developed collaboration structures and strategic leadership with the ability to build partnerships and attract investments to Sweden.
To establish international leadership over time, a critical mass of resources and capabilities is required that enable larger investments, risk-taking, adaptation and rapid scaling of successful initiatives. The goal is that the clusters will eventually be able to leverage the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova funding through other public, industrial and venture capital-based funding sources. The funding from the authorities should therefore be seen as seed capital.
Only clusters of excellence that can reach the above-described capacity and performance level are relevant within the initiative.
Read about the characteristics required to achieve the call's requirements
This is how we monitor and evaluate the clusters of excellence
We will monitor and evaluate both the entire program and the individual clusters of excellence. The purpose is to contribute to ongoing learning and development, build knowledge and understanding of the clusters' performance and results, create a basis for continued funding and to contribute to policy learning for the financiers.
Last updated 6 May 2026