Coronavirus: Innosuisse launches two new funding initiatives

Bern, 11.01.2021 - Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, is launching two new funding initiatives in January: the impulse programme "Swiss Innovation Power" and the Flagship Initiative. The impulse programme is intended to stimulate science-based innovation projects of small and medium-sized enterprises in a targeted manner during the Covid-19 pandemic. With the Flagship Initiative, Innosuisse aims to give a boost to systemic innovations that are central to current economic and social challenges in Switzerland.

Impulse programme "Swiss Innovation Power"

In November 2020, the Federal Council decided to launch the impulse programme "Swiss Innovation Power" through Innosuisse starting in 2021. The aim is to stimulate innovation activities during the current pandemic and ensure the long-term competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other commercial organisations with a maximum of 500 full-time equivalents. Under this programme, the contributions of the implementation partners can be reduced compared with the usual science-based innovation projects. For new projects submitted in 2021 and 2022, applicants can choose between two special measures. Otherwise, the same conditions apply as for the regular funding of innovation projects. The online Innosuisse application platform has been open to applications since 7 January 2021.

Flagship Initiative

With the Flagship Initiative, Innosuisse aims to promote projects that, thanks to their systemic and transdisciplinary approach, enable innovation in thematic areas that are of great relevance to the Swiss economy and society. Innosuisse will launch the first call for proposals on 14 January 2021 with the following thematic focus areas:

  1. Coping with the digital transformation triggered and accelerated by Covid-19, focusing on four areas: Education, learning and teaching, tourism and travel, real estate and urban planning, healthcare and medical technology;
  2. Improving the resilience and sustainability and reducing the vulnerability of society, infrastructure and processes, with a focus on four areas: Demographic change, supply chains, resilience of ICT infrastructures, decarbonisation.

Consortia consisting of at least three research partners and at least two implementation partners, such as SMEs or large companies, can submit project proposals until 31 March 2021.

André Kudelski, President of Innosuisse, firmly believes that these two initiatives will strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the Swiss economy, in particular by ensuring the innovative capacity of SMEs. In his view, the crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated the need for structural changes and in particular the digitalisation of the economy. In light of this, the need to think about and develop new business models also represents an opportunity for Swiss companies. “With the impulse programme, Innosuisse aims to strengthen the innovative and creative capacity of SMEs to enable them to take advantage of and respond to emerging opportunities. Through the Flagship Initiative and its open and transdisciplinary approach, we want to offer companies the opportunity to develop projects that are of particular interest to the country and require innovative solutions or even new business models,” says André Kudelski.


Address for enquiries

Communication Innosuisse
Eliane Kersten and Lukas Krienbuehl
Co-Heads of Communication
+41 58 481 84 73
media@innosuisse.ch



Publisher

Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency
https://www.innosuisse.ch

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