Initiative on excellence clusters for groundbreaking technologies

Q: How many applications can an organisation submit?

A: There is no limit to the number of applications per institution, but we do not intend to grant funding to multiple clusters in the same research and innovation area.

Q: Can anyone apply for the next stage or only those who received funding in the first stage (networking or vision grants)?

A: Yes, any individual researcher together with their organisation (Swedish HEI or another Swedish organisation that fulfils our requirements for administrating organizations for grants from the Swedish Research Council) can apply in the open call for Clusters of Excellence. Not only those who received a network or vision grant.

Q: Is this call related to the call for Centre of excellence that is open at the Swedish Research Council?

A: No, the Centre of excellence is a different type of grant. Researchers can apply both grants but probably won’t have the time to work on both grants.

Q: Those who applied for and were granted a Vision grant from Vinnova previously - can they also apply in this call? Even if they are not "medelsförvaltare" in Prisma?

A: They need to be qualified fund managers (qualified to receive grants from the Swedish Research Council). How to become a fund manager is described here.

Q: Our cluster contains more than 15 researchers and more than 15 innovation actors – is that OK?

A: Yes, the most central researchers and innovation actors should be described with CVs, and maximum 15 researchers invited in Prisma for the research plan. In addition to these, several other people and organizations can be connected and carry out activities in the cluster. These are described in the research plan and innovation plan.

Q: Can authorities, regional or municipal actors be part of the cluster?

A: Yes, there are no formal obstacles if they have a clear role in the cluster.

Q: If there are e.g. three research groups from Lund University, does it count as one participating researcher?

A: Collaboration between different research groups in one organisation is possible, but only one person will represent this collaboration in Prisma. Therefore, if it counts as 1, 2 or 3 participating researchers will depend on if 1, 2 or 3 of them are included in Prisma with their CVs.

Q: Is it possible for us as an innovation actor to enter more than two persons as participating researchers?

A: Innovation-supporting actors who do not intend to also apply for funding for research in the research plan should not be participating researchers and are therefore not covered by the restriction. This means you can be part of the innovation plan in as many applications as you think is appropriate.

Q: Do all academic participating researchers need to be employed at a Swedish HEI?

A: Yes, or another organization which is qualified to receive grants from the Swedish Research Council.

Q: What is the difference between a project leader and a cluster leader?

A: The role of project leader in the application is defined as responsible for research coordination in the cluster (the same as scientific leader) and is the person who formally applies for funding from the Swedish Research Council. As the cluster is to be built on scientific excellence, it is important that the project leader is very well qualified in their field and has experience in leading excellent research. The cluster should also be represented by a cluster leader who has broader responsibility for the cluster's operations and goal of reaching a world-leading position. The cluster leader and the project leader may be the same person.

Q: The project leader's responsibility to run the scientific work can be a large and cumbersome administrative task, how should we think so that the right person wants to take on the task of scientific project leader?

A: It is true that the (scientific) project leader, together with the applicant organization, will also have ultimate responsibility for the administrative management of the research. However, there is nothing to prevent the most time-consuming work from being delegated to an administrative team role that is also funded by the grant, so that the project leader can devote her- or himself to research management. The requirement of at least 50 procent activity for scientific research leadership applies.

Q: Are PIs purely scientific leaders or are they also a part of the innovation related activities?

A: PIs are funded by the Swedish Research Council to perform the research in the research plan. This can include early innovation activities. Should the PI also have time and is able to perform activities in the innovation plan (and thus use other funding for this, for example from Vinnova), there are no restrictions.

Q: On the web it says that the project lead must be active 50 per cent in the cluster. What does active mean? Is that for administration or is also scientific work included?

A: Active means all different activities. It may be difficult to distinguish between research leadership and research itself. We strongly advise that the project leaders be supported by an administrative team, since scientific leadership of a cluster is a major commitment.

Q: Why is a 50 per cent commitment necessary for main scientific PI?

A: Leading the scientific activities in a large cluster is a major commitment. This should be reflected in the time spent to lead the cluster.

Please find here five workshops with inspiration on how to design and lead a cluster (Vinnovas website) External link.

Q: Can you advise on what organization should take the lead to co-ordinate the innovation plan? The university innovation office or a university external collaboration partner?

A: No. We anticipate that a group of different actors will be required to collaborate to formulate an innovation plan for a Cluster of Excellence that will reach a world-leading position in 5 years. Plans will likely differ depending on the technical maturity of the research.

Q: Can board members and cluster management who are not from academia get funding from these first 40 MSEK?

A: Yes. The organisation and governance needed for the cluster management can be funded by the grant from the SRC.

Q: Can the Board include international experts?

A: Yes.

Q: Should the cluster organization be described in both the research and the innovation plan?

A: It should primarily be described in the innovation plan, but some overlap can be needed to describe how the cluster responds to some feasibility sub criteria of the research plan.

Q: Do the PI and co-PIs need to be employed until the end of the cluster (2035), or can researchers who are due to retire within the next 10 years also become applicants and co-applicants?

A: Since the cluster is a long-term commitment, it will be possible to step down and for the cluster to appoint a new lead.

Q: Should a company commit to 5 or even 10 years in a Letter of Intent?

A: Preferably for at least the first 5 years.

Q: Should non-academic partners be part of the participating researchers or not?

A: No, they will not be scientific participating researchers in the application through Prisma. Such key partners will be included with their CVs as innovation partners in the innovation part of the application and later be funded by Vinnova.

Q: How can the partnerships be flexible over time in the cluster?

A: How to invite new partners should be described in a cluster agreement, including exit of partners. It can be wise to have an active and regular overview of strategic partnerships in the cluster management in order to reach cluster objectives.

Q: How can non-Swedish partners participate in the cluster, and can funding be allocated to those?

A: How non-Swedish can participate in the cluster is described in the call text. It is possible to use cluster funds for non-Swedish participants, but it must be well-motivated. It should also be described in the clusters' consortium agreement, how, for example, inventions made at a foreign university should be handled. Vinnova's funding can be allocated to international collaborators. However, it must be in-line with the ambitions of the initiative to support Swedish competitiveness. The relationship between the partners, regarding e.g. immaterial rights to inventions and innovations must be part of a consortium agreement between all partners of the cluster.

Q: Do we need consortium agreement only with foreign partners?

A: The cluster consortium will need an agreement between all partners. The consortium agreement may take time to finalise and sign, so it is not required to be completed by the start of the cluster (December 2026) but no later than 6 months after the start of the cluster.

Q: Should universities attach a Letter of Intent?

A: No, it is not necessary.

Q: Isn’t a 15-page limit on CVs and Letter of Intent a small number for such large numbers of partners?

A: The page limit for CVs and LoIs only regards the enablers of the innovation plan, not the PI and co-PIs. The wider cluster network can be described in the research and/or innovation plan.

Q: Should the CV annex include CVs from partners in the innovation support system? If so, does that also mean that the innovation support partner should be included as a participating researcher (and can only do so in two applications)?

A: Innovation support partners are included in the CV annex for the innovation plan are not viewed as participating researchers in the Swedish Research Council’s application portal (Prisma). The restriction regarding participating researchers only applies to participating researchers, i.e. those who will use the research funds from the Swedish Research Council. Innovation-supporting actors can therefore be included in more than two applications, and the innovation plan can highlight any actors and individuals, including companies. The individuals who are most important for the innovation plan should include their CV.

Q: Can a researcher funded by the Swedish Research Council in the cluster also be part of the innovation plan. And if so, should they submit a CV to the innovation plan?

If a person has the right competence and ability to do both research and innovation in the cluster, he or she can be mentioned in both the scientific and innovation part, but only one CV is required.

Q: Can you clarify the role of national research infrastructures in this call (as participating researchers or such)?

A: Use of national research infrastructures will be of key importance for several clusters. For RIs specifically, it will be possible to participate as participating researcher in more than two applications. However, the person who is nominated as participating researcher needs to be prepared to be active in the clusters, should they be granted. There is no limit for organisations to be part of more than two cluster applications, it is only on the individual level that the limitation applies.

Q: If a research infrastructure is a participating researcher, is that then the RI director who's the participating researcher or is there wiggle room (e.g. co-director)?

A: It should preferably not be the RI director, but someone who can be part of the active research in the cluster. However, for such an infrastructure expert and given that it is well motivated, we make exceptions in how many clusters this person can be part of.

Q: Should we include a big budget for RI or apply for additional RI grants? Can we invest in RI?

A: This depends on the full scope of the research plan and its objectives. If the use of an RI is fundamental to achieve objectives it should be a part of the budget.
Primarily, use the national and international RIs available. Should the RI needed not exist or be needed to such an extent that it will be hard to perform in competition with other research projects, it can be a good investment for the cluster.

Q: Can faculty members not presented as participating researchers in Prisma receive funding from the cluster?

A: Every person who is part of the cluster and employed within the cluster academic organisations can be paid by the cluster. We will also welcome participants from other organisations to be active in the cluster, some of which will not be able to be funded by the funding from the 2026 call, since the Swedish Research Council cannot fund companies. Company researchers can, however, at a later stage (starting in 2027) apply for Vinnova innovation funding for their cluster participation. Both the budget for the academic research and the budget for innovation funding will be described in the application, but in different sections.

Q: How many years should the budget in this round cover? 5 or 10 years?

A: The budget for the research should cover costs over a 10-year period, with the first 5 years being more specified and entered in the Prisma portal. The research budget for years 6-10 can be described briefly in the research description.

Q: The funding for the innovation activities can have a budget which is limited to 75 per cent of the budget for the research activities. Is this over 5 years or calculated annually?

A: The funding from Vinnova for the innovation plan is an addition to the research plan but cannot be higher than the budget for research. The limit is set to 75 per cent of the cost for the research plan annually. For example, if the cluster applies for 100 million SEK annually for the research plan, the cluster can apply for max 75 million SEK for the innovation plan annually.

Q: Should there be an item in the budget for the innovation plan and the work that the innovation plan includes (also e.g. workshops, activities, dissemination and the like)?

A: There is no item required in the budget in Prisma for what is intended to be financed by Vinnova, i.e. what is specifically described in the innovation plan. However, if the cluster plans early innovation activities, such as workshops, network meetings, patent applications and conferences, these costs can be included in the budget as stated in Prisma. The innovation plan has its own budget overview that then needs to be specified in the applications to Vinnova after the cluster has been granted funding.

Q: What are the requirements for co-funding?

A: Academic partners are not required to add co-funding. Industrial partners will need to co-fund their participation according to Vinnova's general terms and conditions External link.for funding and state aid rules. External link.

Q: Can the funding cover infrastructure costs, such as lab development?

A: Yes

Q: When running a cluster of this scale (big), it would make sense to keep it open to additional contributors and to run internal calls for projects (like the way SFOs are run). How should the funding be managed?

A: A cluster is not an SFO, but a research and innovation ecosystem, which will be able to take on new partners if needed. The organisation and plans for distribution of funding should be described in the application and will be evaluated. Note that collaboration between researchers and between researchers and innovators is important.

Q: To what organisation is the budget for the innovation activities granted?

A: In the decision to fund clusters, a commitment is done from Vinnova to fund the innovation budget. Later, when realising this committed budget, the details need to be reviewed by Vinnova through a formal evaluation.

Q: Suppose we are planning a joint project with a total budget of 2 MSEK, where 1 MSEK goes to the university and 1 MSEK to the company. Would the company in this case receive the entire 1 MSEK from Vinnova, or does the company need to co-finance part of the amount (for example if the co-financing level is 50 per cent)?

A: It depends on which funding basis can be used External link.. The basis for companies is usually industrial research where, depending on the size of the company and activities, Vinnova can grant support between 30-80 per cent of project costs.

Q: Can an innovation cluster that is considered a non-profit organisation/NGO receive funding from the Swedish Research Council?

A: Only organisations that are approved administrating organisations with the Swedish Research Council can receive research grants from the Swedish Research Council.

Q: Where is the line between the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova's funding, i.e. when does research funded by the Swedish Research Council transition into Vinnova-funded innovation activities? Where is the line between the money bags in the form of TRL, proof of concept, etc?

A: There is no clear answer in the form of TRL value. Both the research plan and the innovation plan described in the application will be part of the assessment. The research is not something that should be completed, but the research plan should be written for the entire grant period including extension (10 years). The innovation plan describes Vinnova's funding, but also other external innovation funding, such as venture capital, etc. Since Vinnova's funding can also go to companies, it can be assumed that it is mainly used for research and innovation activities with a higher TRL.

Q: Early Innovation activities can be funded in this call but then innovation support system actors cannot be funded from the start? How does this align?

A: Innovation support by e.g. innovation offices can be funded from the start, but the Swedish Research Council cannot fund innovation partners that are companies.

Q: Can a sole proprietorship take part as application participant?

A: A sole proprietorship can be mentioned as an innovation partner in the innovation part of the application, but cannot be funded by either the Swedish Research Council or Vinnova.

Q: Is it correct that industrial partners can receive funding in the innovation round through Vinnova, but not in the current round? If so, can new industrial partners join in the innovation round, or must they already be part of the cluster from the beginning to be eligible for funding in that round?

A: They can be part in the beginning and as such described in the proposal or be invited to join the cluster at a later stage. How to invite new members should be described in a cluster agreement. Which parties participate and will participate in the cluster going forward will be of great importance for the assessment of innovation potential.

Q: How can the cluster ensure that the budget for innovation funding is flexible over time?

A: The cluster management will likely need to have a regular overview of different needs in the innovation projects, assess and adapt funding accordingly. Also, it is important to have a regular and close dialogue with the dedicated contact person at Vinnova regarding the use of the innovation funding.

Q: Do all participating research organizations need to have a budget item in Prisma?

A: Yes, their budget items need to be listed in the Prisma portal. Registration for co-applicants will automatically open possibility for co-applicants to enter their budget in Prisma. Note that only one person at a time can edit the draft in Prisma.

Q: How do you foresee the proposal evaluation committees - will there be a joint panel or discipline-specific panels?

A: We foresee broad but discipline-specific panels and probably more than one panel. Separate evaluation panels for the research excellence will be held by the SRC and for the innovation potential by Vinnova. Representatives for each panel will convene during the interview phase of the evaluation process.

Q: How will you evaluate groundbreaking technology for clusters that are positioned at the beginning of the research–innovation pipeline?

A: It will be up to the applicants to explain that there is innovation potential in the research presented in a credible way in the application. It needs to be written in a way which is accessible also for non-experts. The evaluation of applications will consider if the clusters are in the beginning of the research-innovation pipeline.

Q: How will potential conflicts of interest be managed regarding letters of intent from national and international excellence clusters or infrastructures, as well as committee members, during the proposal evaluation process?

A: There will mainly be international experts in the evaluation committee. Handling of conflict of interest will follow the rules set by the SRC and Vinnova.

Q: What is meant by competing clusters?

A: By competing clusters, we primarily mean directly competing and overlapping in its specific, not general, meaning. Two different clusters that are completely or largely doing the same things, require the same expertise, the same types of collaborations and have similar goals are competing. Two different clusters within the same but very broad technical area are not competing. They can rather strengthen each other.

Q: How can the assessment of excellence be affected by the maturity of the research field itself, or the possibility of having a project leader (researcher) who has excellence in an area of ​​knowledge that is important to the cluster?

A: We will have a perspective on the innovation part that considers the maturity of the technology. However, we place high demands on the innovation part being well thought out and adequately staffed even for cluster applications that describe an area with a relatively low level of maturity. When it comes to scientific excellence for project leaders (scientific leaders) and participating researchers, the requirements are high regardless of whether the cluster has a high or low level of maturity, and the scientific leader should have experience in research leadership.

Q: Will the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova apply a portfolio perspective in the selection of future clusters?

A: The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova want a certain spread between technology areas and different levels of technological maturity, so we may apply a portfolio perspective to generally achieve this. But that is a different parameter than the one that concerns that we will not finance two directly competing clusters.

Q: How do you expect the Vinnova report on Strategic technologies to be incorporated into the upcoming call?

A: We expect that a vast majority of the cluster applications will be found within the strategic technologies described in the Vinnova report. However, we also expect cluster applications which fall outside the strategic technologies. We will handle all applications with the same process. The call is bottom-up, and it is not certain that we will need to apply a portfolio perspective in the decision-making process to concentrate applications to these six areas. Just because these six areas are mentioned does not mean that we specifically want to see clusters within these areas exclusively.

Q: Do both panels at the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova read both parts of the application, i.e. the research plan and the innovation plan?

A: Evaluators in both panels will have access to the full application including both parts. However, the Swedish Research Council panel will focus on evaluating the scientific excellence and the Vinnova panel will focus on evaluating the innovation potential.

Q: How are evaluators selected?

A: For the evaluation of the research excellence evaluators are active researchers who are selected based on their expertise in the scientific area that matches the topic of the application. For this call all evaluators will be international. For the evaluation of innovation potential evaluators are selected based on their expertise in different aspects such as knowledge transfer, academia/industry collaboration, commercialization of research findings and entrepreneurship. These will primarily be international.

Q: How are the doctoral schools evaluated?

A: The doctoral schools will need to align with the cluster vision and as such it will be evaluated according to the overall criteria for research excellence and innovation potential. Specifically for a doctoral school the application will need to respond to the sub criteria How likely is it that the school can contribute to competence provision in other sectors than academia and future competence provision in industry /business and the public sector?

Q: What overlaps between the research plan and the innovation plan do you foresee?

A: There will probably be some overlap in the two plans regarding the cluster vision and cluster organisation to answer to sub criteria of relevance and feasibility. However, it is possible to refer to sections in the different plans, especially regarding cluster organisation.

Q: Do you intend for the clusters to cover the full research–innovation pipeline, starting with high-risk fundamental research and culminating in innovation within five years?

A: No, not in five years but in ten years if the cluster starts from a very fundamental level. The basis is excellent research with mandatory innovation potential. The innovation potential should be described and discussed in the proposal, e.g. in terms of publication vs patenting strategy, spin-off, etc. The clusters can also start from a more mature level.

Q: What is the ambition level that you see for the clusters, very broad encompassing much of the field, or more focused?

A: It depends on the technology. The cluster can evolve during the project time either from broadly exploring several technological solutions and later focusing on the most promising choice or exploring new applications for a groundbreaking technology being developed within the cluster.

Q: Will the Swedish Research Council have their own clusters, and Vinnova theirs? No joint clusters?

A: All Clusters of Excellence are funded by both the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova, i.e., they are joint efforts.

Q: Is building Swedish industrial strength and competitiveness a long-term goal of these clusters? Or is it technology development and innovation independent of Swedish industrialisation and scaling capacity?

A: The focus is on groundbreaking technology which require a long-term perspective in both technology development and building industrial strength.

Q: Do you define innovation as research becoming commercialised and bringing money, or is innovation in public sector and at municipality level (i.e. most probably without potential to generate new money) also considered?

A: Innovation areas in public sector and municipality etc for societal benefit can be included.

Q: What can you say about the role of social sciences and humanities in the clusters?

A: Social science and/or humanities research is considered important to be included in the cluster research and will be an evaluation criterion. A new groundbreaking technology is expected to have an impact on society and may also have ethical considerations, which can affect dissemination and commercialisation. The clusters are encouraged to think broadly about how to include this type of research into their work plan. This will most probably also be an area of ​​importance for collaborations and knowledge exchange between the clusters. This article from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, can serve as inspiration. External link.

Q: How large part of the cluster, roughly, do you think should be dedicated to understanding the technologies' social impact i.e. to social science/humanities research?

A: Humanities and social sciences should be a part of all clusters. To what extent will depend on the technology needs and will be part of the evaluation.

Q: What are the expectations regarding the humanities and social sciences research? In terms of number of PIs or how many different humanities and social sciences areas to include?

A: There are no expectations on number of participants within humanities and social sciences, sub fields or share of budget for these participants. The cluster should be designed to address the research questions. Please refer to “Evaluation criteria and guiding questions”, which cover humanities and social sciences.

Q: How do you define fundamental AI? Are all clusters required to work in developing fundamental AI?

A: A definition of fundamental AI is found in the call text and at least 100 million SEK is reserved for research on fundamental AI. We do not expect all clusters to work on developing fundamental AI, but we expect all clusters to apply AI methods in a way which is appropriate for their research area.

The Swedish Research Council and Vinnova have a common goal that by 2035 Sweden will have a number of excellence clusters in technology research of international top class. At the same time, the clusters should have built innovation ecosystems whose capabilities and results are among the top five in the world compared to similar environments. The clusters should be monitored and evaluated continuously against comparable international environments based on the KPIs listed below.

Attract talent and strengthen Sweden

The excellence clusters should be able to attract top international talent and have access to relevant equipment and infrastructure for research and innovation at the highest level. A graduate school may be included to ensure future competence supply. All clusters also need to take into account the rapid development of AI and its relevance for research and technology development in their respective areas. The impact of technology and its impact on society should be highlighted through social science and humanities research, also within each cluster.

The initiative also has a specific goal of strengthening Sweden's ability to conduct research and technology development in fundamental artificial intelligence on the international research and innovation front. The ambition is to build national capacity in fundamental and theoretically informed AI research, for example through the development of new methods, architectures and computational paradigms for next-generation intelligent systems. Particular priority is given to initiatives that can contribute to more general, adaptive and self-improving AI systems and enable future breakthroughs beyond today's application and model paradigms, as this is important for Sweden's and Europe's technological independence.

The initiative sets very high standards

The entire chain from research and technology development to innovation, entrepreneurship, capital attraction and utilization must have the potential to reach world class. This requires scientific excellence, strong innovation capacity, well-developed collaboration structures and strategic leadership with the ability to build partnerships and attract investments to Sweden.

To establish international leadership over time, a critical mass of resources and capabilities is required that enable larger investments, risk-taking, adaptation and rapid scaling of successful initiatives. The goal is that the clusters will eventually be able to leverage the Swedish Research Council and Vinnova funding through other public, industrial and venture capital-based funding sources. The funding from the authorities should therefore be seen as seed capital.

Only clusters of excellence that can reach this capacity and performance level are relevant within the initiative. The basic characteristics required are described in more detail under the heading Characteristics of successful clusters of excellence.

We will monitor and evaluate both the entire program and the individual clusters of excellence. The purpose is to contribute to ongoing learning and development, build knowledge and understanding of the clusters' performance and results, create a basis for continued funding and to contribute to policy learning for the financiers.

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
• The cluster's ability to attract external capital in the form of public research and innovation funds, industrial capital, venture capital and the extent of such capital
• Scale of engagement and utilisation in established industry and society

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 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

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.

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 75 percent 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.
• Vinnova can also fund activities aimed at coordination and cooperation between clusters.
• Efforts to drive skills development, standardisation and policy and system change.

Read about Vinnova's support criteria External link.