Participate in international mentoring program for future innovation initiatives

Built on how big breakthroughs are made

Many of the innovations that have had the greatest impact, from the internet to new medical technologies, have emerged within larger, coordinated research and innovation programs rather than individual project.

Big if True Science Accelerator has been developed with that starting point. The program focuses on developing so-called challenge programme, initiatives where a clear challenge is formulated and several teams work in parallel on different solutions. This type of working method is used to increase the likelihood of achieving breakthroughs in areas where the challenges are complex and the solutions are not yet given.

– Many of the really big breakthroughs have come from initiatives where several actors are brought together around a clear objective. For us, participation is about developing our ability to work in that way and contributing to the emergence of more such initiatives, says Anna Bergstrand, responsible for the initiative at Vinnova.

The program brings together participants from different countries and backgrounds, with the goal of developing concrete proposals for innovation initiatives that can attract funding and be implemented in the next step.

What do you get as a participant?

The program is aimed at researchers and people with strong technical expertise who want to work with innovation at the system level.

As a participant you will receive:

• Develop an idea into a concrete proposal for an innovation initiative
• Support from experienced programme manager and international experts with backgrounds from Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA
• Pitch your programme to actors who can contribute to its implementation

The program runs for four months (July–November) and corresponds to approximately 10 hours per week. Up to ten participants from around the world are selected and in November they are allowed to pitch their proposals to actors who can contribute to implementation. Previous participants have developed initiatives in areas such as health and biotechnology.

Part of a collaboration between Sweden and Germany

By participating in the program, Vinnova strengthens its collaboration with the German innovation agency SPRIND. The collaboration is part of a broader effort to develop methods to drive groundbreaking innovation.

– This gives us the opportunity to work together with international actors on how larger innovation initiatives can be designed, and how we can mobilize the right expertise and resources over time, continues Anna Bergstrand.

Expression of interest and information meeting

• Register your interest in participating in theprogram.
• A digital information meeting will be held on May 26th for those who want to know more about the program and the application process. Read more and register for the meeting.
• Read more about the program on SPRIND's website

SPRIND

SPRIND (Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation)) is Germany's innovation authority with a mission to finance and develop groundbreaking innovations.

Renaissance philanthropy

Renaissance Philanthropy works to promote research and entrepreneurship that contributes to long-term societal benefit and develops methods for identifying and designing research and innovation initiatives with great potential to solve global societal challenges.

DARPA

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is an American research and development agency that runs programme that have led to several technological breakthroughs.