Innovation projects without implementation partner
Innosuisse funds innovation projects of researchers who have come across an innovative idea with great market potential in the course of their research work, but have not yet found a partner for the implementation on the market. Innosuisse particularly supports high-risk projects with strong innovation potential.
You can submit your application without an implementation partner initially. Innosuisse will fund projects such as feasibility studies, prototypes and testing facilities.
This support offer is aimed at:
research partners: scientific researchers
1. Submit an application
As a researcher, you have to convince potential business partners of the value of your research. Innosuisse will support you here: you can apply for financial support for feasibility studies, prototypes and testing facilities – especially for high-risk projects with strong innovation potential.
To submit an application for an innovation project without an implementation partner, you must meet certain requirements. For innovation projects without an implementation partner, a project may last a maximum of 18 months. In addition, researchers involved in such projects must respect the code of scientific integrity. Projects or activities that are contrary to scientific integrity or good scientific practice are not encouraged.
As researcher
You must work at a Swiss research institution. Your research institution (the so-called research partner of the project) must belong to one of the following categories:
Innosuisse supports projects from all fields of innovation and interdisciplinary projects.
The submission of an Innosuisse project application requires substantial preliminary clarifications and preparatory work before the application is submitted. Important information in relation to the innovation content and the value creation must already be available and indicated in the application (for example: results from literature research, (market) need assessments/demonstrate potential demand, market analyses including competitor analysis/analysis of existing solutions and providers in the field).
If you want to submit an application, please include the required information explained in the following checklist. This list is not exhaustive. Please refer also to the descriptions of the individual chapters when submitting your application on the Innosuisse application platform.
Submit your application at least 6 weeks in advance of a meeting of the Innovation Council on the Innolink platform. If the evaluation proceeds smoothly, the application can be dealt with at the next meeting. You will receive a decision on your application in 6 to 8 weeks.
Dates of evaluation meetings of the Innovation Council:
The meeting dates are based on an annual planning. Innosuisse reserves the right to change dates.
Do you meet the requirements? Then enter your application on the Innosuisse application platform. After the application has been submitted, Innosuisse will start the evaluation process.
2. Evaluation and decision
Your application will first be formally reviewed by the Secretariat of Innosuisse. Then it will be assessed by two independent experts according to the applicable criteria. With the help of this assessment, the Innovation Council of Innosuisse will decide whether to fund your project. This process usually takes 6 to 8 weeks.
The experts assess the quality of the applications submitted on the basis of the following criteria:
Level of innovation: Is the project high-risk and does it have above-average innovation potential?
Specifically: What makes your innovation unique? What is the above-average potential of your innovation measured against the latest scientific developments and against the solutions available on the market? What are the scientific, technological or social innovations? Given the latest scientific developments, why is implementing your innovation linked with a high level of risk?
Value creation for the Swiss economy or society: Can the implementation of the project convince potential implementation partners that the research results can be put to profitable commercial use?
For innovation projects in social sciences: Will successful implementation of the project demonstrably reduce social costs and create societal added value (e.g. reducing poverty, increasing quality of life, improving the quality of education, reducing injustice, promoting biodiversity)?
Methodological quality: Quality of the project's structure, e.g. are the goals and milestones quantitative and realistic?
Expertise of project partners: Do the project partners have the expertise needed to carry out the project and implement it as intended on the market?
Contribution to the sustainable development of society, the economy and the environment: The innovation contributes to the sustainable development of society, the economy and/or the environment (e.g. to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals).
The Innovation Council of Innosuisse decides on your application in five thematic subgroups.
Information and communications technology (ICT)
Automation
Artificial/Local/ extenden/Networked intelligence
Block Chain
Communication technologies
Data sciences
Deep learning
eHealth
Gaming
IT Security and Cryptography
Machine Learning
Neuronal Networks
Robotics
Virtual Factory
Virtual Reality
Life Sciences (LS)
Agrotech
Biotechnology and Processing
Chemical Bio
Foodtech
Genetic Eng.
Human Medicine
Medical Diagno.
Medtech
Patient Manag. Systems
Pesonalised Medicine
Pharmaceuticals
Psychology
Veterinary Medicine
Acustics
Engineering (ENG)
Advanced Manufacturing
Chemical Eng.
Civil Engineering
Electrical Eng.
Embedded Sys.
Material Sciences
Measurement Technology
Mechanical Eng.
MEMS&MOEMS&BIOMEMS
Micro Proc.
Optoelectronics
Photonics
Power Electronics
Process Eng.
Products Eng.
Quality Control
Semi-Conductors
Sensors
Surfaces Sciences
Energy & Environment (E&E)
Bio-sourced Materials and Processing
Catalyst Research
Chemical Formulation
Energy Efficiency
Energy Biomass
Energy Harvesting
Energy Manag.
Energy Storage
Env.Techno.Cleantech
Fuel Cells
Geothermal Systems
Grids and Smart Grids
Hydro Power
Life Cycle Ana.
Nano System
Natural-Scientific Based Mobility
Noise Protection
Nuclear Power
Photovoltaics
Power to Fuel
Recycling
Smart Building Technology
Solar Thermal Systems
Sustainable Land Use
Thermal Eng.
Wind Energy
Social Sciences & Business Management (SSBM)
Advertisement
Architecture
Banking
Business Management
Consumer Goods Business
Design
e-Business
Education
Finance
Fintech
Health Research
Impact Investment
Industrial Design
Insurance Tech
Knowledge Ware
Logistics
Marketing
Midwife Research
Mobility
New Business Models
New Media
Nursing Research
Public Management
Real Estate Tech
Social Entrepreneurship
Social Work
Tourism
Urban & Regional Development
Following the decision of the Innovation Council, Innosuisse will inform you of the approval in writing by e-mail within two weeks. Projects may also be approved subject to conditions. Prior to starting the project, you must conclude a subsidy contract with Innosuisse.
Following a negative decision by the Innovation Council, Innosuisse will inform you of such in writing by IncaMail within two weeks. The reasons for the rejection will be explained in the decision. An appeal against the decision can be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court within 30 days.
You can revise a rejected application at any time and re-submit it to Innosuisse as a new application, provided that the new application remedies the shortcomings and integrates the recommendations noted in the rejection decision. The changes must be easily identifiable: please explain them in an accompanying letter or highlight them in colour in the application. The newly submitted application will be re-evaluated according to the usual evaluation process.
3. Sign contracts and start your project
The project partners must conclude a subsidy contract with Innosuisse. You will receive this by e-mail. Only after signing and returning the contract by e-mail to Innosuisse can you start your innovation project as agreed in the contract.
You must start the project within three months of the contract’s entry into force at the latest.
NOTE: Please inform Innosuisse of the concrete starting date of the project by e-mail to innoprojects@innosuisse.ch.
For your innovation project without an implementation partner, you only need to regulate the intellectual property and usage rights if several research partners are involved.
The project partners must regulate the intellectual property and usage rights of the innovation project no more than three months after the start of the project. The Federal Act on the Promotion of Research and Innovation (RIPO) Ordinance (Art. 41) defines the legal conditions for this regulation. As a rule, you do not have to send the contract to Innosuisse, but you must send a signed copy of the IPR declaration as confirmation. In certain cases Innosuisse may require the project partners to present the contract.
NOTE: As these negotiations are important and can be complex, Innosuisse advises the project partners to deal with this issue at an early stage and to have already reached at least an agreement in principle on this issue by the beginning of the application process.
As a project partner, you must submit reports during your innovation project. These serve to check the course of the project. You must also request any important changes to the project.
NOTE: Please submit all reports (status and final reports as well as financial reports) directly on the application plateform. Please contact us at innoprojects@innosuisse.ch if you would like to submit an unscheduled report.
The letter of approval of your application and the subsidy contract will specify the number of reports and their deadlines for your innovation project:
A report is due 10 days after reaching your project milestone. The conditions may also allow for several status reports.
Extensions: If you do not complete your innovation project within the anticipated time frame according to the project plan, you can apply for an extension without increasing the budget by submitting a fully completed status report.
An interim financial report need only be submitted at the express request of Innosuisse.
To enter the material costs, please note the document eligible material costs:
The below mentioned form «timesheet» can be used as proof of the hours featuring in the financial report. Please note that a detailed list of the worked hours in the project per collaborator (per day) must be available on request.
Significant changes to the project must be reported to Innosuisse by means of a status report, where necessary together with a request for financial plan changes (upload the completed Excel form together with the report). In particular, this applies to changes of project partners, changes to the scope of the project and project objectives, changes to project planning, and project changes with significant financial implications (cost increase >10%).
Minor financial changes (cost increase <10%), can be reported directly as part of the final reporting.
You can apply for an extension without increasing the budget by submitting a completed status report.
No later than one month after completion of the project, you must send Innosuisse a final scientific report and the financial reports. These are used for quality assurance, financial auditing and impact measurement.
To enter the material costs, please note the document eligible material costs:
NOTE: Please submit all reports (status and final reports as well as financial reports) directly on the application plateform.
The below mentioned form «timesheet» can be used as proof of the hours featuring in the financial report. Please note that a detailed list of the worked hours in the project per collaborator (per day) must be available on request.
Innosuisse wants to measure the effectiveness of its support in a targeted manner. Since March 2021, the analysis of the impact of innovation projects has been based on a 15-minute survey conducted after project completion as well as a follow-up survey conducted three years later. This enables Innosuisse to measure whether it is achieving its goals in a more targeted manner. The results are also intended to facilitate strategic optimisation, demonstrate the economic benefits of funding, and enable international comparisons to be made.
The positioning of the implementation audit will be revised in parallel, and its concept redefined. We will contact you once your project is completed and, if necessary, we will send you information on how to proceed.
The platform Innolink is used to submit and manage applications to Innosuisse. Project partners and start-ups can submit new applications or edit existing ones, while Innosuisse members can access the projects and cases assigned to them.
Innovation projects with implementation partner
As a private or public company or organisation, apply for financial support to carry out an innovation project with a research partner to develop innovative products, services or processes.
Innovation cheque
As an SME or other small organisation, receive a voucher to carry out a preliminary study and test your innovative idea with the help of a Swiss research partner.
