Excellence clusters for groundbreaking technologies

Vision and framework for the Excellence clusters

The Swedish Research Council's and Vinnova's common goal for 2035 is that Sweden has several excellence clusters that conduct top-class technology research while at the same time building broader innovation ecosystems whose capabilities and results are ranked among the top 5 in the world compared to similar environments.

The goal thus entails very high demands. The cluster's collective activities – from research and technology development to innovation, business, entrepreneurship, capital attraction and large-scale utilisation – will reach an internationally leading level. To clarify the level of ambition, this means that the Excellence cluster shall

• build on scientific excellence at the international forefront with a focus on groundbreaking technologies with high innovation potential
• build valuable and useful knowledge about the impact of the groundbreaking technology and its impact on society with research in social sciences and humanities in a way that strengthens the cluster's position and societal benefit
• attract the best talent internationally and build a team with broad skills and diversity (academic age, gender, research area)
• attract additional capital (multiple leverage) for research, innovation and scale-up, promoting the cluster's development towards international leadership
• develop an innovation ecosystem that combines research with strong innovation environments as well as ability to bring together companies, entrepreneurs and innovators around common goals
• create a strategic and dynamic leadership with the ability to drive major investments, take risks, drive change and be able to quickly transform research breakthroughs into industrial renewal and sustainable growth
• be able to benefit from the rapid development of AI for research and technology development
• have access to equipment and other infrastructure to conduct research and innovation at the highest level, or invest and build the necessary equipment

Only clusters that collectively can reach the above-described capacity and performance level are relevant within the initiative.

Information and support that facilitates planning for the application

Summary of application and funding process

This is a joint call between the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova and it covers the establishment of excellence clusters. Thus, an application must describe the excellence cluster as a whole, including the cluster's cohesive common vision, organisation, governance and planned development of research and innovation.

The application consists of two main parts. One part is a research plan, which could include a graduate school, and which describes the research activities within the cluster. The second part is an innovation plan, which will describe the cluster's overall vision, innovation potential, governance and strategy for building up the innovation parts, as well as the cluster's collective actors in addition to the research organisation.

Please note that this call makes a funding commitment from Vinnova on the innovation funding of granted clusters, based on a draft budget, but the actual funding will be made possible through a separate procedure at Vinnova in early 2027. For this funding, the following applies:

• Vinnova's funding of the innovation plan may not exceed 75 per cent of the amount applied for with regards to the cluster's research activities.
• Granted excellence clusters will be given a substantial mandate to implement the innovation efforts described in the application. Vinnova will, immediately after approval, offer an individually tailored application process for funding the innovation plan. High relevance and quality will be required, and applications will be reviewed by external assessors.
• Read more about the innovation activities that Vinnova can fund via Initiative on excellence cluster for groundbreaking technologies under the section "Supplementary information about the program" and the heading "What can Vinnova finance when the cluster is granted?" Vinnova may also fund activities aimed at coordination and cooperation between clusters. It is also important that applicants have a basic understanding of Vinnova’s state aid framework, particularly regarding funding to companies and applicable aid intensities.
  Read about Vinnova's support criteria (Vinnova's website). External link.
• Vinnova will not immediately require external co-financing. However, successful and significantly increased capital attraction over time is a key performance indicator in the follow-up.
• The Swedish Energy Agency may also decide to finance the innovation part of clusters which are in line with their assignment and which are deemed to complement already established efforts within the energy area.

See Forskning och innovation på energiområdet för försörjningstrygghet, konkurrenskraft och klimatomställning (The Governments website) External link.

Central roles in the cluster

For the governance and operation of the cluster, two roles/functions are of particular importance:

Application procedure

For a person to start the application process, they must be authorised to create organisation applications on the organisation’s Prisma account, please refer to Prisma’s User manual for applying in calls for organisations. External link. If they will not be the project leader and responsible for completing the application, they must invite the project leader to the application once the process has been started (see under the heading “Applicant” below, and under the tab “Participants” in the application form).

Public access and confidentiality

Applications submitted to the Swedish Research Council become public documents. As a general rule, according to the principle of public access to official documents, the public has the right to require such documents. This also applies to applications that are rejected or withdrawn by the applicant.

The Swedish Research Council does not have the opportunity to classify information in received applications concerning individuals' business or operating conditions, inventions or research results. This means that such information is generally public and may be disclosed in the event of a request for disclosure of an official document. Before you submit your application to the Swedish Research Council, you therefore need to consider whether the publication of information contained in the application may affect a person's ability to utilise inventions or research results, including any impact on the conditions for applying for a patent or other commercialisation. If you then consider that certain information is not suitable for publication, these should not be part of the application to the Swedish Research Council.

Read more about public access and confidentiality in application documents before the application begins.

Requirements for applicants

The following requirements must be fulfilled in order for the organisation to be eligible to apply for the grant. We carry out checks, and reject applications that do not fulfil the requirements.

Focus

Defining Groundbreaking technology

Groundbreaking technology refers to technology that is based on new research breakthroughs or significantly further developed research results, which has the potential to lead to utility through radical changes in products, processes, services or systems.

Groundbreaking technologies are characterized by the fact that they can enable new capabilities or provide leaps and bounds in performance, often with the potential to radically improve entire application areas, value chains, or societal functions.

Groundbreaking technologies often have the following characteristics:

• New functional principle or product design: based on new concepts, materials, methods or system solutions that open up for something that was previously not possible.
• Leaps and bounds: leads to technological leaps in the form of better results, or changes fundamental limitations. For example, it can be about speed, precision, energy consumption and robustness.
• Long-term sustainability: a technology that is to be groundbreaking in the long term must be sustainable from a social, economic and ecological perspective.

Clusters can be focused on research that has low technological maturity, which means risk-taking and that the outcome and impact are uncertain. In order for these to be granted, the potential for success must be great.

The initiative's prioritisation of fundamental artificial intelligence

The initiative has a particular goal of significantly strengthening Sweden's ability to conduct research and technology development in so-called fundamental artificial intelligence (AI) on the international research and innovation front.

The ambition is to build a national capacity in basic and theoretically informed AI research, for example the development of new methods, architectures and computational paradigms within the next generation of intelligent systems. Initiatives that drive the development towards more general, adaptive and self-improving AI systems, and that can enable future breakthroughs beyond today's application and model paradigms, are particularly prioritized as they are central to strengthening Sweden's and Europe's technological independence.

Applicants

The applicant for the grant must be a Swedish higher education institution (HEI) that has been approved as an administrating organisation for grants from the Swedish Research Council.

The application must specify a project leader who is also the scientific leader of the cluster. The scientific leader must be a researcher and shall be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of and throughout the grant period and any further additional availability period. The employment and activity level in the cluster must equal at least 50 per cent of a full-time employment within two years. The project leader does not have to be employed by the administrating organisation at the time of applying.

Number of applications and previous grants

An organisation may submit or participate in more than one application under this call. Please note, however, that each project leader may only participate in one (1) application to the excellence cluster, regardless of which organisation is applying. A participating researcher can participate in two (2) applications.

General information about overlap between applications and grants

The application must not cover costs for purposes that are already funded by the Swedish Research Council or any other funding body. Overlaps with other grants or applications may impact on the grant amount awarded, or be a reason for us to reject the application.

Participating researchers

A minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 participating researchers must be included in the application. The participants shall be researchers with a doctoral degree or corresponding competence (not doctoral students) whose scientific competence will be crucial to the cluster's activities. These do not have to be employees at a Swedish HEI. Researchers in the technology areas as well as humanities and social sciences must be represented among the participating researchers.

A participating researcher can participate in two applications to the excellence cluster call. Exceptions are made for researchers working on infrastructures that are a prerequisite for a number of excellence clusters. These cases must be carefully justified in the application.

An even gender distribution is central to the initiative, and deviations from 40/60 in the total management team (project leader and participating researchers) must be specifically justified in the research plan's section on research organisation.

Participating researchers shall provide the necessary information themselves in Prisma, and upload these to the application.

Please note that only participating researchers must submit information in the application system. Merits for other participants linked to the innovation plan are reported in a separate CV appendix (see The cluster's organisation and innovation plan).

Costs and grant amount

You can apply for grants for all kinds of project-related costs, such as

• salaries, but not more than corresponding to the person's level of activity in the cluster
• fees
• premises
• operating costs (e.g. consumables, travel including stays at research facilities, publication costs)
• equipment and other research infrastructure, including the operation of such infrastructure
• depreciation costs
• doctoral education and skills initiatives, such as graduate schools
• early innovation efforts and project funding for verification and validation, for example together with innovation offices.

The grant may also include costs for the management and coordination of the cluster as well as internal and external communication for the implementation (e.g. cluster management, project coordination and economy function), as well as fees for external members of the cluster's board.

The grant amount includes cover of indirect costs as a percentage of the direct costs, according to the model used by the administrating organisation. Grants must not be used for scholarships. If a doctoral student participates, project funds may not be used for salary for teaching, other departmental duties or courses that are not directly relevant or necessary for the implementation of the project.

If the excellence cluster intends to establish a graduate school, you can also apply for a grant to finance costs related to the graduate school, such as coordination (including salary to coordinator), doctoral student salaries and courses within the framework of the graduate school. The grant cannot be used for research expenses outside the framework of the cluster's research activities.

The Swedish Research Council assumes that the administrating organisation will cover any costs in excess of the amount received.

Financing of partners outside Sweden

Funding for researchers with research outside Sweden can only be considered on the condition that they add significant added value by strengthening the cluster's ability to develop the ground-breaking technology. In addition, this must be justified by the initiative's focus on strengthening Swedish competitiveness and that there is an agreement with the cluster that regulates intellectual property rights for these actors.

Grant period

The grant period is 5 years starting from January 2027 with the possibility of a 5-year extension after evaluation. The first payment will be made during December 2026 at the earliest.

Follow-up and evaluation

During the grant period, the clusters of excellence will undergo regular follow-up and evaluation, where key performance indicators (KPIs) will also be used for international comparison with similar environments. In the application's innovation plan, applicants must present an analysis of why it is possible to achieve a leading position.

Read more about the basic KPIs that will be relevant for follow-up and comparisons in the chapter "Supplementary information about the program" here: Excellence cluster for ground-breaking technology - Vetenskapsrådet

What must the application contain?

Please refer to the application form in Prisma in parallel with reading the instructions below, which describe the call-specific contents of the application. More information on what to do in practical terms is available in our Guide for applicants.

International experts are involved in the scientific evaluation of the applications. To ensure fair and equitable assessment and efficient processing, please therefore complete the application in English, except the popular science description, which must be in Swedish.

The information we request under each tab in the application form is described below.

Descriptive information

Abstract

The summary of the cluster shall include a brief description of the following:

• Vision: overall purpose and goal
• How research and innovation in the cluster will be carried out, project organisation, timetable and research methods in groundbreaking technologies as well as research in the humanities and social sciences,
• What is unique about the planned cluster and what technology breakthroughs it is expected to lead to.

The text should provide an overview of the purpose and implementation of the cluster. Please use wording to ensure that persons with another subject specialisation can understand the information.

The description may cover a maximum of 4000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Popular science description

Describe the activities of the excellence cluster in such a way that a person who is not familiar with the subject can understand it. The text will provide an easily accessible overall picture of both research and innovation in the cluster and can be used when the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova provide information about the research and innovation that is funded.

Do this by answering the following questions:

• What is the cluster about – and what need/problem does it address?
• What should be done and how are research and innovation connected in the cluster?
• In what way can the technology be groundbreaking?
• What benefits could it provide – for whom, and over what time frame?

The text must be in Swedish and cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Relevance, ethical aspects and sex and gender dimensions

Relevance

Describe in what way the application is relevant to the vision and framework as well as the specialisation in ground-breaking technology as described above.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Ethical aspects

Legal and formal requirements

State whether the activities of the cluster cover the handling of personal data, experiments on animals and/or studies involving humans.

If the activities cover any of the above, you must also describe/state the approvals and permits your research project requires, and how you plan to obtain these. Describe any other permits that affect your application, such as whether parts of the research will be done in a country other than Sweden. If no approvals or permits are needed, please state so.

The description may cover a maximum of 2 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately half an A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

More information is available on the page “Conducting ethical research”.

Ethical considerations

Reflect on the ethical issues that may be relevant to the cluster and describe these. You must also describe how you plan to address ethical dilemmas that may arise. Please justify why the activities should be carried out against the background of the ethical issues you have identified. Examples of issues to reflect on:

• How do your research questions and expected results measure up in relation to the ethical issues that you have identified?
• What (direct) risks (physical, mental, or integrity) will research persons or animals be exposed to?
• What long-term risks may arise from the research? Is there any risk that the research may be used in a way that is detrimental to animals, nature/the environment, or society (whole or parts of the same) in other respects?
• Is the research expected to contribute to other values over and above the knowledge gain? If so, to whom?
• How do you weigh up the risks (in particular short-term risks) against the value (which is often more long-term) of the research?

If no ethical issues are raised, please justify this. The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Sex and gender dimensions

Please state whether sex and gender dimensions are applicable in the cluster's planned research and innovation activities, and justify the decision. Please note that we are not asking for information about the composition of the research team (women/men) here. Read more about sex and gender dimensions in research content.

The following applies:

• If you answer “Yes”: Please justify your answer, and describe also how you take account of sex and gender dimensions in the research plan. If you have stated that sex and gender dimensions are applicable, but still choose not to include them in your research plan, you will need to justify this here.
• If you answer “No”: Please justify your answer.

The justification may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Research description

Research plan

The research plan shall be forward-looking and consist of a brief but complete description of the research task. It may cover a maximum of 22 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images. References may be provided either throughout or at the end of the plan. All sources must be provided with complete information; links alone are not sufficient.

The research plan must include the following headings and information, listed in the following order:

Purpose, aims and visions

Give an overall account of the purpose, specific goals and visions of the research within the cluster.

State-of-the-art

Summarise briefly the current research frontier in the field or area to which the cluster belongs. State key references.

Significance and scientific novelty

Describe briefly how the cluster's research is related to previous research in the area and what impact the research may have in the short and long term. Describe also how the project moves forward or innovates the current research frontier.

Preliminary and previous results

Describe briefly the project leader's and the participating researchers' previous research and pilot studies within the research area that make it probable that the research will be feasible. If no preliminary results exist, please state this.

Programme description

Describe the design of the program with the following parts:

• Theory and method. Describe the underlying theory and the methods to be applied in order to reach the cluster's research goals.
• Timeline and implementation. Describe summarily the time plan for the cluster's research activities during the grant period and how the research will be carried out.
• Risk management. Groundbreaking research contains risks that will affect the plans. Describe what the cluster sees as crucial risks or obstacles and how these should be managed.
• Research organisation. Clarify how the project leader and participating researchers will contribute to the implementation of the cluster's research activities. Explain in particular how the project leader's allocated time (activity level) in relation to the scope of the assignment and the project leader's other research commitments. Describe and justify the participating researchers' skills and roles in the cluster as well as other key persons (including any doctoral students) who are important for carrying out and supporting the research. If the gender distribution among the participating researchers deviates from the range of 40–60 per cent, this must be justified. Please note that key competences linked to the innovation plan are listed in the appendix for Innovation competence (see The cluster's organisation and innovation plan).

Also describe the information below. If a heading is not relevant to the application, it shall be indicated under the heading.

Data analysis and statistics

Modern methods, including the use of AI, often generate complex data. Describe how you plan to analyse the data collected in the research and what statistical methods will be used. If the research covers clinical studies, please include a power analysis. Also describe how the cluster will benefit from the rapid development of AI-based methods of data management.

Equipment

Describe the basic equipment that the group can have at its disposal for the project.

Need for research infrastructure

Specify the project’s need for international and national research infrastructure. The Swedish Research Council funds research infrastructures that are open to all. The need for other infrastructures must be justified (also applies to local research infrastructure).

International and national collaboration

Describe the cluster's collaboration with researchers and research groups in or outside Sweden. Describe whether and how the research includes participation in or is related to international cooperation.

Cluster organisation and innovation plan

Innovation plan

The innovation plan shall describe the cluster’s strategy, organisation and implementation plan based on an overarching vision of international leadership.

Use the information about Vinnova’s state aid rules via the link Initiative on excellence cluster for groundbreaking technologies under the section "Supplementary information about the program" and the heading "What can Vinnova finance when the cluster is granted?" and on Vinnova’s website when designing the innovation plan, especially the project plan and overall budget, so that it is clear what will initially be built up and how Vinnova’s funding will be used.

Vinnova's funding bases (Vinnova's website) External link.

The innovation plan may cover a maximum of 20 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images. References may be provided either throughout or at the end of the programme. All sources must be provided with complete information; links alone are not sufficient.

The innovation plan shall include the following headings.

Vision

Describe your vision of what the cluster will look like in three, five and ten years. Describe the overall direction of the entire cluster in terms of technology and application areas, opportunities and challenges. What capabilities, environments, ecosystems, collaborations etc. have been established? What activities and results characterise the cluster’s operations?

International benchmark

Describe the leading international initiatives in the field and how you will be able to compete with them. Describe your strengths and weaknesses and why your cluster proposal has the potential to become top five in the world.

Strategy and implementation

Describe the following with regard to strategy and implementation:

• Existing conditions and what is further required for the cluster to become an internationally attractive and competitive research and innovation environment.
• Your strategy for systematically translating research results into utilisation throughout the value chain – from early identification and validation to implementation and market introduction.
• The cluster’s strategy for attracting and anchoring large international companies.
• The cluster’s strategy for contributing to the creation of new successful companies.
• The cluster’s strategy for gradually building collaborations and coordinating a full innovation ecosystem around its vision, consisting for example of other research and innovation environments, startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, innovators and entrepreneurs, business angels, incubators and test and demonstration facilities.
• How the cluster intends to collaborate and coordinate with other potential clusters.
• How the cluster will attract funding, including industrial capital, venture capital and public research and innovation funding, like ERC and EIC.
• Describe how the cluster’s area is affected by AI developments in the short and long term, and how you intend to strategically utilise and integrate this development.
• How you plan to follow up, measure and evaluate your work, and how these results will be used in the development of the cluster.

Cluster potential

Describe the cluster’s potential to contribute to economic growth, competitiveness and societal benefit in Sweden. To what extent can the cluster generate groundbreaking innovations, new successful companies and large-scale utilisation and renewal in Swedish industry? Aim to quantify the potential. For example, use market analyses and foresight to support the potential that the cluster can realise.

Organisation and management of the cluster

Describe the following regarding organisation and management of the entire cluster:

• The overall organisation of the proposed excellence cluster, both during the establishment phase and how you plan to develop it over time, and how well it is suited in terms of competence and capabilities to achieve its objectives.
• An interim board, that can take office after the cluster have been granted, shall be described in terms of its members and how it is appropriate for realising the cluster’s vision and high level of ambition. The application’s project leader (scientific leader) and a representative from the applying organisation shall initially be included in the cluster’s board. The competence of key individuals in the board should be described in the CV appendix.
• The application shall also specify a proposed cluster manager with operational responsibility for the cluster as a whole, with particular focus on the innovation component, as the role of scientific leader already exists. The same person could hold both roles, but this must be clearly justified in terms of time and competence if that is the case. The competence of the cluster manager must be described in the CV appendix.
• How decision-making processes and leadership will be implemented in the cluster.
• A plan for how the cluster will grow and how new collaborations will be initiated, and how you ensure that the cluster becomes an organisation that is flexible and open to renewal.
• Principles and strategies for secure and appropriate management of intellectual assets.
• A brief description of the cluster’s communication and marketing strategy for positioning nationally and internationally.

Participating parties

Present the most important participating parties in the cluster from the start and their collective expertise, profiles and resources. Describe their role, motivation, competence/track record and reasons for participating in building the cluster. Participating parties may, for example, include other researchers, companies, innovation support actors and entrepreneurs. Both individuals and organisations could be described in this section.

Also describe:

• How the composition of competences relates to the research area, how it creates conditions for achieving the excellence cluster’s vision and objectives, and how different stakeholders complement each other to create a dynamic research and innovation environment.
• The capabilities and capacities that need to be developed and which types of actors will be engaged during the project period.
• Future partners and their role in the cluster, including stake holders and end users.

Overview of the project plan and innovation budget

Describe your activities to develop the innovation ecosystem of the cluster, and which capacities and capabilities that are required.

Divide the activities into a number of larger work packages. Briefly describe the purpose, goals, project duration and participating parties for each subproject. Indicate a preliminary budget for these and how they are intended to be financed, i.e. which parts are:

• financed through this call, (also included in Budget and research resources)
• funding to be applied for from Vinnova from 2027 onwards (shall not be included under Budget and research resources)
• financed through in-kind or cash contributions from participating parties

Vinnova’s funding of the innovation plan may not exceed 75% of the requested amount for the cluster’s research plan.

Note. Applications submitted to the Swedish Research Council become public documents. Please take note of our information regarding public access and confidentiality in application documents.

Appendix: Innovation competence (CV appendix)

In addition to the appendix “Innovation plan”, a CV appendix shall be attached. This shall be written according to the template available for download. docx, 37.6 kB. (docx, 37.6 kB)

The appendix shall consist of CVs for the cluster manager (if different from the scientific project leader) and other key individuals responsible for the innovation ecosystem. Each CV may be a maximum of one A4 page, and the total appendix may comprise a maximum of 15 A4 pages.

Researchers participating in the project who also possess key competences for the implementation of the innovation plan may also be included in this appendix.

Appendix: Letters of Intent

Attach all Letters of Intent merged into a single PDF file of a maximum of 15 pages, demonstrating commitment from the key actors that will participate in the cluster. These may, for example, come from industry, the public sector and other parts of the innovation system.

Doctoral programme

If the cluster formation also includes a graduate school within the framework of the cluster's focus and research environment, this part must also be supplemented. The programme will consist of a brief but complete description of how the graduate school will be designed. It may cover a maximum of 8 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins, including references and any images. References may be provided either throughout or at the end of the programme. All sources must be provided with complete information; links alone are not sufficient.

The doctoral programme shall contain the following headings and information in the following order:

• Programme description. Summarise the graduate school's planned educational activities and describe what the recruitment basis looks like.
• Organisation. Describe in detail how the graduate school will be organised and administered (course offerings, seminars, course development, coordination, study follow-up, division of work between supervisor, examiner and course provider). Also report on the graduate school's planned dimensioning in terms of the number of doctoral students and how the cluster ensures a recruitment that is free from bias and attracts the best candidates.
• Significance. Describe the national graduate school's contribution to building the next generation of excellent researchers and innovators.
• National coordination. Describe which Swedish higher education institutions participate in the graduate school's activities and what specific competencies each participant will contribute.
• International and other national collaboration. Describe collaboration with Swedish and international research environments and/or other graduate schools and/or industry.

Publications and other research outputs

The project leader’s publications and other research outputs

Please attach the publication list drawn up according to the headings and information below. The list shall cover a maximum of 5 page-numbered A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins.

Sort the outputs under each heading in reverse chronological order, so that the latest publication is at the top of the list. Please only include articles or equivalent that are published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author name order shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.

1. Selection of research outputs

List the 10 publications or other outputs that are the most important for confirming the project leader’s competence as project leader and scientifically responsible for implementing the proposed research activities. For each publication, please state how the researcher contributed to it, and its relevance to the cluster described (maximum 4 lines per publication). Highlight the researcher’s name in bold in the author list.

2. Relevant peer-reviewed research outputs from 2018-2026

In this part, the outputs listed under Item 1 shall also be included if they were published during the period in question. Sort them with the researcher’s name highlighted in bold in the author list/corresponding under headings (type of output) in the following order:

• Original articles
• Conference contributions, the results of which are not included in other publications
• Edited volumes
• Research review articles
• Books and book chapters
• Artistic work
• Other outputs that do not fit under any of the headings above. Please note that intellectual property rights shall be shown in the CV section of the application.

3. Relevant non peer-reviewed research outputs from 2018-2026

In this part, the outputs listed under Item 1 shall also be included if they were published during the period in question. Sort them with the researcher’s name highlighted in bold in the author list/corresponding under headings (type of output) in the following order:

• Artistic work
• Publications including popular science books/presentations
• Preprints
• Other outputs that do not fit under any of the headings above. Please note that intellectual property rights shall be shown in the CV section of the application.

Participating researchers’ publications and other research outputs

Attach all participating researchers’ lists merged into one file.

The list for each researcher shall include the 10 publications or other research outputs that are the most relevant for the implementation of the research activities described, and shall cover a maximum of 1 A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing and 2.5 cm margins. The name of the researcher in question shall be highlighted in bold and also be included in the page header of each list.

The outputs may be of the following types and must be published or accepted for publication at the time of applying. The author name order shall be identical to that of the published work. The application cannot be supplemented with publications after the deadline for the call.

Peer-reviewed

• original articles
• conference contributions
• edited volumes
• research review articles
• books and book chapters
• artistic work
• other outputs

and

Non peer-reviewed research outputs

Description of research merits

Describe how the merits stated in the CVs and lists of publications and other research outputs of the project leader and the participating researchers together support the cluster activities.

The description may cover a maximum of 4 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately one A4 page in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Budget and research resources

This part states the costs that the cluster applies for from the Swedish Research Council (mainly research activities) as stated under "Costs and grant amounts". Funding related to the innovation plan for granted excellence clusters will be handled in a separate process with Vinnova.

Personnel

State the activity level (per cent of a full-time equivalent) of all personnel active within the cluster, that is, the project leader and the other participants.

Please also state the salary you are applying for, for the project leader, cluster management, doctoral students or other personnel active within the cluster (including any graduate school), both as a percentage of a full-time salary and as actual annual amounts (including social security contributions). Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Other costs

Describe any other costs of the cluster, including any graduate school (premises costs, running costs and depreciation costs). Please state annual amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

You may include depreciation costs for equipment to be used in the operation, provided that

• the equipment has an economic life of at least three years
• the equipment has an acquisition value above a certain amount
• the need cannot be fulfilled by using national or international research infrastructure supported by the Swedish Research Council and open to all.

You may only include the proportion of depreciation costs that corresponds to the use of the equipment in the proposed operation. You may not include depreciation costs for equipment that is wholly financed via other grants.

Total cost (funding requested from the Swedish Research Council)

Prisma will automatically add up your budget items, that you apply for from the Swedish Research Council, listed in a table. The total amount applied for shall also include indirect costs. These shall be added to the table by the applicant (project leader). Here the applicant (project leader) can also add any additional costs that the cluster including any graduate school entails (for which you are not seeking funding under this call). Costs related to the innovation plan should not be stated here.

Justification of the budget applied for

Justify briefly each cost applied for in the budget stated. The description may cover a maximum of 8 000 characters including blank spaces. This is approximately two A4 pages in Arial, font size 11, single line spacing.

Other funding

Specify any other research funding in the cluster, including in-kind or research funding from industry, other types of grants, or support from higher education institutions, over and above to what is applied for in this application. Please state the amounts in Swedish krona, rounded to the nearest 1 000 SEK.

Administrating organisations

Please state the site of the cluster.

Participants

Under this tab, the person invited to be the project leader may in turn invite participating researchers and participating administrators to the application.

CV

Under this tab, the project leader shall upload the relevant CV information from their personal account in Prisma. The information/merits shall confirm the project leader’s competence as project leader and scientifically responsible for implementing the proposed research activities. Participating researchers must upload their own CV information to the application.

The following information, where available, must always be included in the respective CV, according to the stated limitation in numbers:

Education

First, second and third cycle higher education and specialist degrees.

Work

• Current employment (including information on employment format)
• Longer relevant employment
• Post-doctoral visits (state also as employment if applicable)
• Researcher exchanges of relevance to the research described
• Any longer interruptions in the research that have impacted on your opportunity to gain merit as a researcher.

Merits and awards

• Docentship/associate professorship
• Persons supervised (postdoctoral and doctoral students; state the number of persons in each category and list the names of the maximum 10 most relevant)
• Relevant grants received in competition (list maximum 10)
• The most relevant prizes and awards (list maximum 10)
• Any other merits of relevance to the application, such as
  • experience of leading and organizing large research and innovation projects nationally as well as internationally
  • research collaboration with the business community, nationally as well as internationally
  • verification and validation of research ideas for commercialization
  • starting and running businesses
  • competence in the management of knowledge assets, including intangible assets

Intellectual property rights

For example, patents and open access computer programs developed; state up to 10 of the most relevant.

How your application is assessed

The applications will be assessed based on two main evaluation criteria: research excellence and innovation potential. Very high scores in both categories will be required to be granted funding. Your application will be assessed in competition with other applications according to the process and evaluation criteria outlined below.

Evaluation process

The Swedish Research Council is responsible for the assessment of research excellence, and Vinnova is responsible for the assessment of innovation potential.

The assessment process is conducted in several stages. In the first stage, research excellence is assessed by three review panel whose members are international researchers. If a large number of applications are submitted, an initial screening may be carried out based on the relevance criterion before the full assessment of research excellence. For the assessment, at least three panel members individually review and score the application. If additional expertise is required, your application may also be assessed by one or more additional external reviewers. The entire review panel (excluding any external reviewers) then meets at a panel meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications based on research excellence.

Review panels of the Swedish Research Council:

• Panel 1
• Panel 2
• Panel 3

To allow for more in-depth discussions of applications of higher quality and with a reasonable chance of being funded, not all applications are discussed in detail at the review panel meeting. The applications that are not discussed in depth are those that, in the individual reviews, have been assessed by the panel members as being of the lowest quality among the group’s applications.

The applications assessed as having the highest quality in terms of research excellence proceed to a second stage for assessment of innovation potential. This assessment is carried out by an evaluation panel consisting of appointed national and international experts, where at least three reviewers read and assess each application. The entire evaluation panel then meets at an evaluation meeting to discuss and prioritise the applications based on innovation potential.

The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova then jointly decide which applications—up to 20 in total—with the highest overall quality will proceed to interview, which is planned for November. The interviews are held with representatives from the review panels for research excellence and innovation potential, and additional experts may also participate. Staff from the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova also take part in the interviews. The interview dates will be communicated to the applicants at a later stage.

Decision

Decisions on which excellence clusters will be funded are made by the Director Generals of the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova.

After the funding decision, all applications receive a statement indicating the scores awarded by the review panel for research excellence. Applications that were discussed in more detail at the Swedish Research Council’s review panel meetings also receive a statement which, in addition to the scores, includes a summary of the panel’s discussion and assessment of the application’s research excellence. Applications that proceeded to Vinnova for assessment of innovation potential additionally receive a statement containing a summary of the assessment of the application’s innovation potential.

The call is open to all breakthrough technologies (bottom-up), but a portfolio perspective may be applied in the decision-making process to ensure a balanced portfolio in relation to the authorities’ mandates.

The portfolio perspective may also be used to achieve an appropriate distribution among excellence clusters with regard to technology areas and levels of technology maturity, and to avoid overlapping or directly competing cluster initiatives.

Here you will find a more comprehensive description of the Swedish Research Council's assessment of applications.

Evaluation criteria and guiding questions

Assessment of research excellence

The assessment of the scientific quality of your application is carried out using the Swedish Research Council’s four core criteria (Scientific quality of the project, Novelty and originality, Merits of the applicant, Feasibility). The purpose of using several core criteria is to achieve a comprehensive assessment. The criteria are assessed using a seven-point grading scale, with the exception of feasibility, which is assessed using a three-point grading scale.

For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ assessment of your application. These may also serve as guidance for you when writing your application.

Relevance of the project (1-3)

• To what extent does the proposed cluster have a vision that is in line with the objectives and ambitions of the call?
• How well will the proposed activities develop and create new collaborations between higher education institutions, research institutes, industry and the public sector, as well as develop and create new collaborations across subject boundaries?
• To what extent are international research collaborations, both within the EU and with other countries, included in the cluster's activities?
• How does the cluster provide synergy and constitute a sufficient national gathering of forces? Does the cluster have sufficient critical mass to be able to carry out breakthrough research in the field?

Scientific quality of the research (1-7)

• To what extent is the application's planned research of the highest scientific quality, also from an international perspective?
• To what extent are the theoretical foundations and methodological choices well described and appropriate for addressing the research questions?
• To what extent is the research plan realistic and systematically structured, including timeline, implementation and risk management?
• How well do the proposed activities also include social science and humanities research of high scientific quality? For example, by highlighting opportunities, obstacles and threats, as well as research on international security policy issues linked to breakthrough technology.
• If the establishment of a graduate school is part of the cluster's activities: How likely is it that it will be able to contribute to skills enhancement in sectors other than academia as well as future skills supply in business and the public sector?
• When applicable, are the ethical considerations properly described and addressed? Does the applicant adequately consider potential suffering of humans and animals, and the balance of risk and value to nature and/or society?

Novelty and originality (1-7)

• To what extent is the cluster's planned research characterized by innovative and groundbreaking research with potential to lead to radical and disruptive improvements. Is a high risk motivated by a potential for high gain?
• To what extent does the proposed research combine concepts, approaches, methods, and/or material/data in a novel way?
• To what extent does the planned research take advantage of the fast development of AI for research and data handling.
• To what extent is the groundbreaking technology sustainable in the long term and can support the development of a sustainable society?

Merits of the applicants (1-7)

• How strong are the scientific merits of the applying researchers from an international perspective?
• How well do the different competencies of the applying researchers complement each other in order to strengthen the cluster's activities and ensure world-leading research in groundbreaking technologies?
• To what extent are previous results and outputs of high quality and relevant to the proposed research?
  
• Are any deviations from a gender distribution of 40/60 for the research leadership team (project leader and participating researchers) well justified in relation to the conditions and implementation of the research?
• Has the research leadership team previously successfully led major scientific projects with elements of interdisciplinary or intersectoral parts?

Feasibility (1-3)

• Are the financial conditions realistic and in line with the cluster's goals and ambitions? Are the timeframes, resources and commitment of the applicants sufficient and properly justified?
• What does the cluster's infrastructure strategy look like? To what extent is there access to relevant equipment and research infrastructure, or a clear strategy to ensure this? In cases where research needs to be conducted in collaboration with external actors, are there established or planned structures and resources for this?
• To what extent are the different organisations in the cluster planning to contribute to the activities of the cluster in terms of e.g. time, effort and other critical resources?
• Are the roles and responsibilities of the applicants clearly described in relation to the cluster activities and development? How well are the people who have leading roles within the cluster described, in terms of responsibilities and importance for the development of the cluster? Is the distribution of roles and responsibilities within the cluster adequate with respect to planned activities and results?
• Does the cluster's management include representatives from different sectors, such as academia, business and society? How are the different actors in the ecosystem providing opportunities for groundbreaking technology development?
• Is there a clear plan for how sensitive information generated within the cluster will be managed in an ethical and secure manner, with the highest possible degree of transparency?
• Does the applicant adequately consider relevant legal and formal requirements for the proposed research, such as ethical permits and guidelines?

Overall grade (1-7)

The above subsidiary criteria, with the exception of Relevance of the project, are weighed together into an overall grade, which reflects the review panel’s joint evaluation of the application’s scientific quality.

Assessment of innovation potential

The assessment of innovation potential is carried out using three core criteria (Potential, Actors, and Implementation). For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the panel members’ assessment of your application. These may also serve as guidance for you when writing your application.

Potential

• To what extent does the cluster have the potential to generate significant and measurable effects on Swedish growth and competitiveness, for example through new successful companies and large-scale utilisation in Swedish industry?
• To what extent do the vision and strategy describe a cluster that can credibly achieve an internationally leading position within its field?
• To what extent can the potential of the technology area and the capability of the innovation processes lead to breakthrough innovations that reach the market?
• To what extent does the cluster have the potential to transform and renew Swedish industry?

Actors

• To what extent is the cluster’s planned configuration of actors, resources and capabilities positioned to enable world-leading innovation performance?
• To what extent does the cluster’s leadership have the ambition and demonstrated ability to lead large research and innovation environments with international attractiveness?
• To what extent is the planned participation from industry substantial, strategic and long-term?
• To what extent is there a convincing strategy to expand the cluster’s participating actors over time, both nationally and internationally?

Implementation

• To what extent is the cluster’s strategy and implementation plan to achieve an internationally leading position credible and fit for purpose?
• To what extent does the cluster have a realistic and coherent research and innovation process?
• To what extent are the plans to ensure access to necessary infrastructure for research and innovation credible and fit for purpose?
• To what extent does the cluster have the ability to attract significant capital to scale towards an internationally leading position?
• To what extent is the cluster’s organisation and governance designed to ensure strong execution and adaptability in response to change?