The call in brief

The call in 2026 to establish clusters of excellence is managed jointly by the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova. It was the first step in a coherent process to establish Swedish clusters of excellence.

The full call text was published on the Swedish Research Council's website and funding was applied for via the Swedish Research Council's application system Prisma.

The applications for clusters of excellence had to include both excellent research in groundbreaking technology and a plan to build world-leading innovation ecosystems in their field. The application did also have to describe how the cluster as a whole is to be governed, managed and developed. This was therefore not just an application for a research project.

The ambition level of the clusters of excellence hade to be high - with a vision to be ranked among the top five in the world in their field by 2035 compared to similar environments.

The call was open to all, including consortia that did not participate in the initiative's previous network and vision grants in 2025.

To the call page

Important dates

• Opens: 1 April 2026
• Closes: 10 June 2026
• Decision: November 2026

What do we finance?

The call funds research in engineering sciences, research in social sciences and humanities of relevance to technology and early innovation efforts, as well as the organisation and management of clusters of excellence. That part of the application had to cover at least SEK 40 million and maximum SEK 100 million per year and cluster.

The application also had to include a plan for innovation support efforts and the building of innovation ecosystems from 2027 onwards. Following the decision, the granted clusters of excellence will initiate a process with Vinnova to finance the implementation of the innovation plan. The amount of funding for innovation may vary over time but should, but in the application’s innovation plan, could not exceed 75 per cent of the applied research grant.