About the program
Vinnova is Sweden’s innovation agency and works differently from research councils: instead of one big annual call, it runs a continuous portfolio of thematic calls (utlysningar) — digitalisation, health, climate, industrial technology, and more — each with its own scope, deadline, consortium rules and funding level. The unit of strategy is the call: finding the right one is half the application.
Most calls fund projects rather than salaries-for-science, expect consortium constellations (companies with research partners, often), and cap the funded share of costs — grant rates commonly run 25–80% depending on organisation type and call, with the rest co-funded. State-aid rules shape what a company can receive.
Who can apply
- Legal entities registered in Sweden — companies (from startups to industry), universities, institutes and public organisations; many calls require specific constellations.
- Co-funding capacity per the call’s aid rules; universities are often funded at higher rates than companies.
- Per-call criteria rule — always read the specific utlysning.
Writing a competitive application
- Subscribe to the call feed and plan against it — the right call with a mediocre fit beats the wrong call with a great project.
- Vinnova scores potential (market/societal), actors (team and constellation) and feasibility — address all three explicitly, in their vocabulary.
- Talk to the call’s handläggare before applying; Vinnova officers openly advise on fit.
- Budget the co-funding honestly from the start — it is checked at reporting, not just at application.