Advance information about the program
Below is advance information about the program in its entirety, but also about the call that opens on 1 April 2026, which will lead to the establishment of a first round of clusters of excellence. The information is preliminary and changes may be made until the call opens.
A smaller supplementary call for proposals for the establishment of more clusters of excellence is planned for 2027/2028. The fact that it is complementary means that it probably comes with certain limitations.
Information meetings
See the recording of the information meeting 6 March here External link.
Information meeting 10 March 11.00–12.00
Dialogue meetings this spring
Are you interested in meeting other actors in a specific technology area or application? We are currently investigating the interest in and need for physical dialogue forums during the spring.
Register your interest at Vinnova (in Swedish). External link.
Contents
- Advance information about the program
- 1. The call in brief
- 2. The goals and ambition of the initiative
- 3. Definition of groundbreaking technology
- 4. Prioritizing fundamental artificial intelligence
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5. The call process and requirements
- Application Process
- Content of the application
- Requirements for applicants
- What costs can the Swedish Research Council finance?
- Requirements for participants in the cluster of excellence who are not applicant researchers
- Governance
- What Vinnova can finance when the cluster of excellence is granted
- Energy related breakthrough technologies
- 6. How assessment and decisions are made
- 7. Follow-up and evaluation
- 8. Characteristics of Successful Clusters of Excellence
1. The call in brief
The call in 2026 to establish clusters of excellence is managed jointly by the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova. It is the first step in a coherent process to establish Swedish clusters of excellence.
The full call text is published here and funding is to be applied for via the Swedish Research Council's application system Prisma.
The applications for clusters of excellence must include both excellent research in groundbreaking technology and a plan to build world-leading innovation ecosystems in their field. The application must also describe how the cluster as a whole is to be governed, managed and developed. This is therefore not just an application for a research project. The ambition level of the clusters of excellence should be high with a vision to be ranked among the top five in the world in their field by 2035 compared to similar environments.
Important dates of the call:
- Opens: 1 April 2026
- Closes: 3 June 2026
- Decision: November 2026
The call is open to all, including consortia that did not participate in the initiative's previous network and vision grants in 2025.
The call funds research in engineering sciences, research in social sciences and humanities of relevance to technology and early innovation efforts, as well as the organisation and management of clusters of excellence. This part of the application must cover at least SEK 40 million per year and cluster. The application must also include a plan for innovation support efforts and the building of innovation ecosystems from 2027 onwards. Following the decision, the granted clusters of excellence will initiate a process with Vinnova to finance the implementation of the innovation plan. The amount of funding for innovation may vary over time but must not exceed the research grant applied for in the application's innovation plan.
The applications under the call are handled by both agencies and are assessed on the basis of achieving high standards of both research excellence and innovation potential. The application is made via the Swedish Research Council's application system Prisma.
The application must be submitted by an approved administrating organisation at the Swedish Research Council and must specify a project manager who is also the scientific leader of the cluster. There is no limit to the number of applications an individual organisation can submit. The scientific leader must be a researcher and at the start of the cluster be employed by an approved administrating organisation at the Swedish Research Council. The project manager may only be included in one application, and participating researchers in a maximum of two. Each application must, in addition to the project manager, include a minimum of five and a maximum of fifteen participating researchers. It is important for the credibility of the application that companies and innovation supporting actors have a clear and anchored participation in the cluster's vision, governance and innovation plan.
The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova want to diversify among clusters of excellence in terms of technology areas and level of technology maturity and avoid overlapping or directly competing cluster initiatives.
2. The goals and ambition of the initiative
The Swedish Research Council's and Vinnova's joint goal for 2035 is that Sweden has a number of clusters of excellence that conduct top-class technology research. At the same time, they must have established a broad innovation ecosystem with capabilities and results ranking among the top five in the world in comparison to similar environments. In their ongoing follow-up and evaluation, the clusters of excellence shall measure themselves against their comparable environments according to the key performance indicators (KPIs) described in section 7.
The objective of the initiative involves very high demands. It is the whole, from research and technology development to innovation, entrepreneurship, capital attraction and large-scale utilisation, that must have the potential to reach international world class.
A leading position requires scientific excellence on the global research front and a research base that can generate breakthroughs with high innovation potential. At the same time, strong innovation environments and collaboration structures are required with the ability to gather a large number of companies, entrepreneurs and investors around a common direction. Strategic and actionable leadership is crucial to be able to position the cluster internationally, build strategic partnerships and attract important investments to Sweden.
A cluster of excellence should attract the best talent internationally and have access to equipment and other infrastructure to conduct research and innovation at the highest level. To secure future competence, a graduate school can also be included.
Establishing international leadership over time requires a critical mass of resources and capabilities that can drive major investments, take risks, change and quickly scale successful initiatives. A successful cluster of excellence will eventually multiply the capital from the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova through other public, industrial and venture capital-based sources of funding. The agencies' funding should therefore be seen as seed capital to something significantly larger.
Clusters need to consider the rapid development of AI for research and technology development, and how it can be relevant for each cluster of excellence. The impact of technology and its impact on society will also be investigated using social science and humanities research.
Only clusters of excellence that can reach the above-described capacity and performance level are relevant within the initiative. The basic characteristics needed to meet the requirements are described in more detail in section 8.
3. Definition of groundbreaking technology
In this call, ground-breaking technology refers to technology that is based on new research breakthroughs or significantly further developed research results and that has the potential to lead to utilisation 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 are typically characterized by 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: lead to technological leaps in the form of better results, or changes fundamental limitations. For example, it can be about speed, precision, energy consumption or robustness
- Long-term sustainability: a technology that is to be groundbreaking in the long term must be sustainable from a societal 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.
4. Prioritizing 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.
5. The call process and requirements
Please note that the information is preliminary and may be changed up until the call opens on 1 April 2026.
To the call page for Excellence clusters for groundbreaking technologies
Application Process
Applications to establish Clusters of Excellence in 2026 are submitted via the Swedish Research Council's application system Prisma, where the final information about the call will be published. The call is open to all, including consortia that did not participate in the initiative's previous grants in 2025, i.e.:
- Networking grant for planning future clusters of excellence for groundbreaking technologies (Swedish Research Council)
- Visions for world-leading research and innovation in strategic technology areas (Vinnova)
Content of the application
An application consists of:
- A web form with general questions regarding applicants, the cluster of excellence proposal and a popular science description
- A research plan with the following preliminary headings:
- Relevance to the call (groundbreaking technology)
- Background and state-of-the-art
- Description of the novelty of the research. Important information related to this can be found in the section on handling sensitive data under section 6.
- A plan for the research in engineering sciences and for research in the humanities and social sciences
- The merits of the project manager and the participating researchers
- Feasibility (research organisation and access to infrastructure)
- Description of activities in a possible graduate school
- A well-prepared innovation plan outlining the cluster's innovation strategy under the following preliminary headings:
- Business intelligence
- Vision
- Strategy and implementation
- Organization and management
- Participating Parties
- Overview of the project plan and budget
- A CV appendix of no more than 15 pages with short CVs for the cluster's management and key people in the innovation support work. The focus should be on the participants' skills and experience in innovation.
- An appendix for the Letter of Intent of no more than 15 pages that describes the commitment of the most important actors who will be involved in the cluster. These can come from business, the public sector, and other parts of the innovation ecosystem.
Requirements for applicants
Grants to establish clusters of excellence can be applied for by a Swedish university or college, or another Swedish organisation that is an administrating organisation of grants from the Swedish Research Council.
The application must include a named researcher (project manager) with responsibility for research coordination in the cluster. The project manager must be employed by the administrating organisation at the start of the grant period but does not need to be employed by the administrating organisation at the time of application. The employment and activity level of the project manager in the cluster must correspond to at least 50 per cent of a full-time employment.
Participating researchers in the application must be 5 to 15, and be employed at a Swedish higher education institution, or other approved administrating organisation when the grant period begins. Please note that each named project manager may only participate in one (1) application to the Cluster of Excellence. Participating researchers can participate in two applications. A possible exception could be individuals who conduct research in an enabling technology that is a prerequisite for a number of clusters of excellence. These cases must be carefully justified in the application.
What costs can the Swedish Research Council finance?
The funding from the Swedish Research Council must comprise at least SEK 40 million per year per cluster of excellence. The funding is awarded for five years and can, after evaluation and a new decision, be awarded for a further five years. The funding can finance, among other things, salary costs, operating costs, equipment and other infrastructure for research and its operation. The funding can finance graduate schools, organization and management functions, such as cluster leaders, project coordinators, finance functions, internal and external communication, and costs for external members of the cluster's board. The grant can also be used for early innovation activities and verification.
Requirements for participants in the cluster of excellence who are not applicant researchers
Other active participants in the cluster of excellence, whose involvement is part of the application's innovation plan, play a central role in the credibility of the cluster's innovation parts. This could include other researchers, companies, and innovation support actors and entrepreneurs.
Actors who will take key roles in the cluster's governance, structure and future applications for innovation funding must be clearly described in the innovation plan. CVs and letters of intent that substantiate their commitments must be attached to the application.
Governance
An important part of the assessment is the governance of the cluster. The applications must clearly describe how the entire cluster of excellence is to be organized and managed in an appropriate manner. The proposed management must have experienced, strong and driven leadership. It shall reflect in a balanced way the actors and needs that a successful cluster of excellence needs during its development.
The researchers, companies and actors who have developed the cluster of excellence's overall vision and plan need to have a board that will be able to take office when the cluster of excellence has been granted. The project manager of the application and an additional representative from the administrating organisation must be part of the group. The intended board must be presented in the application together with a prospective coordinator or similar function with operational responsibility. The Board and the project manager are responsible for the cluster of excellence's vision, goals and the application's innovation plan.
Each cluster of excellence must also propose an initial organisational structure in its application, and how they intend to change the organisation's composition and organisational home as the cluster develops.
What Vinnova can finance when the cluster of excellence is granted
The boards of the granted clusters of excellence will immediately initiate an individual process with Vinnova to build up their innovation and ecosystem capabilities. This is done in line with the innovation plan described in the application. The size of the innovation funding may vary over time depending on the technology maturity and development potential of the cluster, but the requested funding in the application's innovation plan must not exceed the size of the requested research grant.
Vinnova will offer the funding instruments and application procedures that correspond to the clusters' combined plans and needs over time. Granted clusters of excellence will thus have a significant mandate to implement the plans described in the cluster's application. Vinnova requires that the applications have a high level of appropriateness, and the quality will be reviewed by external assessors.
Vinnova will not immediately require external co-financing. On the other hand, successful and several times greater capital attraction over time is a key performance indicator (KPI) in the authorities' follow-up and evaluation of the cluster of excellence.
Below is a brief description of examples of the types of solutions, environments and projects that Vinnova can finance. However, Vinnova does not rule out other types of interventions.
To begin with, the clusters of excellence will be able to enable research and innovation projects of various kinds. These can be large and small projects, from very low to higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL), and with support levels ranging from 100 percent to between 30 and 50 percent. If a cluster is to become a world leader in its field by 2035, it will likely need to build up a mixed portfolio of projects. Some examples of possible projects are:
- Funding for large-scale, exploratory and visionary technology research, development and innovation, in addition to research funding from the Swedish Research Council
- Access to relevant research infrastructures for innovators and businesses
- Verification funds, financial support for startups and collaboration-based innovation in collaboration with established companies
- Funding for strategic collaborations with international actors
- Co-financing in EU projects
Vinnova also wants the clusters of excellence to be able to build strong environments and ecosystems, and drive change in their field. This can involve initiatives such as:
- Building innovation infrastructure such as test and demonstration environments
- Develop other types of open or shared assets
- Establish innovation environments, hubs, shared work environments and similar collaboration areas
- Systematic collaboration and building of ecosystems and networks, including funding for an expanded cluster organization
- Efforts to drive skills development, standardisation and policy and system change
Read about Vinnova's support criteria (Vinnovas website) External link.
Energy related breakthrough technologies
For applications, and later granted clusters of excellence, that the Swedish Energy Agency identifies clearly contribute to the national energy and climate policy goals, the Swedish Energy Agency will be involved.
6. How assessment and decisions are made
Assessment and decision-making process
Applications received are assessed according to two main assessment criteria: research excellence and innovation potential. Very high grades in both categories will be required to receive funding.
The Swedish Research Council is responsible for assessing research excellence and Vinnova is responsible for assessing innovation potential. The basic characteristics of successful clusters of excellence described in section 8 are a central starting point for the assessment criteria.
Approximately 20 applications with the highest overall grades will proceed to an interview.
Assessment of Research Excellence
The research excellence of the Clusters of Excellence is assessed according to a number of predetermined criteria. This includes the application's relevance to the call, scientific quality from an international perspective, degree of innovation, applicants' merits that are of relevance to the application and feasibility. All clusters must contain high-quality research in the humanities and social sciences that is of relevance to the impact of technology on people and society.
For each criterion, there are guiding questions to support the assessment of the application. The questions are part of the call text and will be published when the call opens.
Assessment of innovation potential
The innovation potential of the Clusters of Excellence will be assessed based on a set of pre-defined criteria. This includes the cluster of excellence's potential to develop into one of the five internationally leading cluster environments in its research and innovation area by 2035. The cluster's ability to contribute to Swedish growth and competitiveness through new successful companies and large-scale utilisation in established business and society will also be assessed.
The assessment also includes the inherent potential of the planned research to generate groundbreaking innovations with relevance to strong value-creating applications and future market positions.
Other factors that will be considered are the cluster's leadership and governance, as well as the credibility and effectiveness of the innovation plan in achieving set goals. Other parameters that Vinnova will look at are the composition of the actors, competence and ability to cooperate in relation to the cluster's long-term implementation power.
Portfolio perspective in the decision-making process
A portfolio perspective may be applied in the decision-making process to ensure a strategically balanced portfolio of funded clusters of excellence. This may involve prioritising Swedish national capability and autonomy in fundamental artificial intelligence or one of the strategic technology areas that the government has identified in its government assignment to Vinnova.
The portfolio perspective can also be used to achieve an effective spread between the cluster's technology areas, levels of technology maturity and to avoid overlapping or directly competing cluster initiatives.
Handling of sensitive data
The applications will be read by employees at the Swedish Research Council, Vinnova and by the reviewers participating in the call. Applications submitted to the Swedish Research Council become public documents. Information that may not be disclosed, or that the applicant consider not appropriate to be made public, shall not be included in the application.
We recommend that all applicants consult their organisation's innovation office or a similar function to advise on the content of the application. For more details on what it means for a document to constitute a public document.
7. Follow-up and evaluation
The purpose of the authorities' follow-up and evaluation
The main purposes of following up and evaluating the initiative and individual clusters of excellence are to:
- Contribute to continuous learning and development of each cluster and the initiative as a whole
- Build knowledge and understanding of the clusters' performance and results in the systems in which they operate
- Create a basis for decisions on continued funding
- Contribute to policy learning for funders and others
Three-part framework
The initiative's framework for follow-up and evaluation consists of three complementary parts. These are illustrated in the figure below.
Part 1: Ongoing reporting and dialogue | Part 2: Cluster-led performance monitoring and self-assessment | Part 3: Agencies’ monitoring and evaluation of the clusters |
|---|---|---|
Financial and administrative reporting | Results tracking, documentation and reporting of monitoring data | Structured reporting of monitoring data |
Ongoing dialogue with programme officers | Self-assessment / “Impact reports” | Formative evaluation after approximately two years |
Review meetings and knowledge exchange within and/or between clusters | Formative and summative evaluation towards the end of phase one |
Part one consists of ongoing reporting and dialogue with the authorities and between the clusters.
Part two consists of the clusters' own efforts for follow-up of results, analysis and self-evaluation of their development and impact. Each cluster will be compared against cluster-specific key performance indicators (KPIs) depending on the area and technology maturity level. Below are examples of basic KPIs. The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova also envisage that clusters will be given the opportunity to write their own self-evaluations, so-called impact reports.
Part three consists of the agencies' joint follow-up and evaluation of clusters. One leg of this is common requirements for reporting follow-up data linked to common and cluster-specific KPIs. The second includes two planned evaluation sessions during the first phase of the clusters:
- A formative evaluation, with a focus on learning and development, when the cluster has started, preliminarily after about two years
- A formative and goal- and result-oriented, so-called summative, evaluation towards the end of the first phase of year five, prior to a possible financing of the next stage
Examples of key performance indicators
In their ongoing follow-up and evaluation, the clusters of excellence must relate to key performance indicators that can be used both for basic follow-up and for international comparison with similar environments. Below are examples of aspects that may be measured:
- Extent and international impact of scientific results and breakthroughs.
- Attraction, development and retention of international top talent as well as quality in leadership and governance
- Impact in technology development, through innovations and the formation of spin-off companies
- Extent of innovation activity, entrepreneurship and number of supported new successful companies
- Scale of capital attraction
- Scale of engagement and utilisation in established industry and society
8. Characteristics of Successful Clusters of Excellence
A cluster of excellence for groundbreaking technology is defined as an ecosystem with a concentration of the best talents and capabilities in one or more technology areas, with a shared ambition of international competitiveness, technology leadership, and a comprehensive value creation and capital attraction. Each part of the cluster of excellence must be of the highest quality, while the interaction between the parts, from research to innovation and the market, is close, systematic and result oriented.
The following qualities are fundamental for a cluster of excellence to be able to achieve international leadership. Together, they constitute the quality and capacity dimensions that will characterise the cluster's construction, development and long-term implementation capacity. These qualities are necessary and mutually reinforcing on the path to world leadership by 2035.
Management and governance
A cluster of excellence will be led by people with a documented ability to build internationally competitive environments and attract leading researchers, entrepreneurs and strategic partners. The Board of Directors and management shall together cover scientific excellence, innovation, entrepreneurship, capital and industrial competence. They must exercise strategic and actionable governance with a clear ambition to scale.
Research base
The cluster will be based on research of the highest international quality and be integrated into leading global networks. The research must be relevant to the initiative (groundbreaking technology), drive new areas of knowledge and form the basis for technological leaps with significant innovation potential. Research in the humanities and social sciences of relevance to the development and consequences of technology will be included.
Innovation capacity
The cluster shall have the ability to systematically transform research breakthroughs into technical solutions, companies and industrial renewal and utilisation. This means a capacity to take results from early research phase to verification, scale-up and broad utilisation through advanced engineering, successful entrepreneurship and capital attraction.
Dynamic innovation ecosystem
The cluster will develop into an open and experimentally oriented ecosystem with strong capabilities and a high level of activity in idea development, rapid testing, verification, development and scale-up. It should be able to bring together a large number of actors, up to potentially hundreds, and combine diversity with clear processes for collaboration and implementation.
Strategic direction and positioning
The cluster will focus on one or more technology areas, preferably with links to fast-growing and upcoming very large markets, where Sweden has or can take international leadership, with clear anchoring in national priorities and relevance to long-term societal challenges. The Excellence cluster needs to build up its unique strengths in order to establish an internationally well-known and well-positioned brand.
Critical mass
To establish international leadership over time, critical mass is required in relation to the goals to be achieved. This may include strong scientific capacity, technological breadth, access to infrastructure, extensive innovation activity and entrepreneurship, financial resources, industrial anchoring, etc. Critical mass enables the capacity to drive larger ventures, take risks, change, and rapidly scale successful initiatives.
AI-driven research
The clusters of excellence need to have a high ambition for AI-assisted research. This means that all clusters, regardless of their main theme, should systematically explore the potential of advanced AI tools and agent-based workflows throughout the research process. They should also work for a strong AI capability both organisationally and for the digital infrastructure of research.
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