Fifth Switzerland-Sweden Call for R&D Project Outlines

 Scope

Switzerland and Sweden are member states of the EUREKA initiative and support innovation projects through the different EUREKA instruments (EUREKA Network, EUREKA Cluster and Eurostars projects). Both countries collaborate continuously with the 40 EUREKA member states and support all innovation topics as EUREKA is by nature bottom-up and focused mainly on the innovation activities of companies.

Sweden and Switzerland are jointly announcing a bi-lateral Call for outlines for joint innovation projects under all suitable EUREKA instruments. The Call is open for all SWII topics, but focuses on the development of products and services within life sciences and smart factories. The following subtopics have been identified:

Smart Factories:

 Digital & Real Factories: a) Modelling, simulation & visualization of manufacturing processes (engineering, operations, maintenance) b) Modelling, simulation & visualization of manufacturing factories (production and information flow, people, business models) c) Knowledge systems supporting decision making;

 Transparent Communication: a) Operator devices, sensors, tags and codes, 5G, ERP b) Vertical integration of business systems with shop floor systems c) Horizontal integration of supply chains

 Agile Energy System (Smart Grids, Energy etc.);

 People in Manufacturing: a) ICT support in new organizational models b) ICT for skill development & decision support;

 Solutions for Flexible Distributed Production: a) Autonomous automation that can adapt to products and people b) Automation, flexible monitoring.

Life Science:

No subtopics identified, the call is open for all project ideas within life science.

The call is managed by the EUREKA offices at the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) and the State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) in line with the EUREKA initiative (www.eurekanetwork.org).

Call Launch and Structure

The Call is launched on 9 September 2015. Eligible partners are invited to present joint outlines for market-oriented, innovative R&D projects according to the following procedures:

1. Qualifications

 The consortium should include at least one SME. Other partners such as large companies, research institutes and universities are welcome as additional participants.

 The project must have an obvious advantage and added value resulting from the cooperation between the participants from the two countries (e.g. increased knowledge base, commercial leads, access to R&D infrastructure etc.).

 The project should demonstrate the contribution of the participants from both countries in a balanced way, and the project must be significant to both countries.

 Partners from other EUREKA countries may also participate. This requires funding from their respective home countries.

Any partner, whose cooperative R&D project is consistent with the previously mentioned criteria, can apply to this announcement in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect.

2. Submission and the approval procedures will be of two phases:

In the first phase:

 Partners are encouraged to submit a short project outline.

 The completed project outlines of the phase 1 should be submitted to the Eureka offices in Sweden and Switzerland (main contact) simultaneously with copy to all partners of the project outline. Submission is open between 9 September and 27 November 2015. The submission of all relevant documents has to be done by email to the addresses listed at the end of this document (no physical documents needed).

The outlines will be screened by SERI and VINNOVA and the partners will be notified of the results within the shortest possible delay after the submission (about 2-3 weeks).

In the second phase:

 Partners with approved outlines will be recommended to submit their full applications according to national procedures to Eureka or international procedures to Eurostars.

 In cases where Eureka and Eurostars do not seem to be suitable, SERI and VINNOVA can propose other funding measures.

 SERI and VINNOVA will assist on how to submit full applications.

3. Financing

Funding support to successful project proposals of Phase 2 will be given to each partner by its own funding organization (VINNOVA in Sweden and SERI and the Commission for Technology and Innovation CTI in Switzerland) in accordance with the national laws, rules, regulations and procedures in effect.

Concrete funding mechanisms depend on the most suitable EUREKA funding (EUREKA/Eurostars/Clusters) that will be decided on in Phase 2 of the submission process.

Information on the funding mechanisms is available on the following websites:

Switzerland: Eureka Projects: www.sbfi.admin.ch/eureka; Eurostars projects: www.sbfi.admin.ch/eurostars.

Sweden: Eureka projects http://www.vinnova.se/sv/EU-internationell-samverkan/EUREKA/EUREKA-Natverksprojekt/; Eurostars projects: http://www.vinnova.se/sv/EU-internationell-samverkan/EUREKA/Eurostars/

Supportive Measures

 SERI and VINNOVA will facilitate the identification of project partners within academia as well as among industry partners. Both offices are cooperating with Enterprise Europe Network, with national clusters

and other national experts and points of contact.

 The call will be launched at the Nordic Life Science days (9-10 September,

2015, http://www.nlsdays.com/). Swedish / Swiss attendants of the event are

invited to participate at the present call.

 Partners participating in the present call are

invited to attend the Innovative Smart Factory

Networking Conference taking place on 23

September 2015 at ABB Research Center in

Baden-Daettwil. The conference matches the

most R&D intensive Swiss and Swedish MNEs,

SMEs and academia with the aim to launch common market oriented R&D projects. Swedish call participants may apply at VINNOVA for travel grants to Switzerland.

For further information, please contact:

www.swii.org

The Swiss contact points at SERI:

Mr. Andreas Gut (main contact), +41 58 462 11 07, andreas.gut@sbfi.admin.ch

Ms. Colette John-Grant (EUREKA and Eurostars), +41 58 464 91 43, colette.john@sbfi.admin.ch Mr. Janique Siffert (Eurostars), +41 58 465 46 03, janique.siffert@sbfi.admin.ch Mr. Stefan Klauser (supportive measures), +41 58 464 64 03, stefan.klauser@sbfi.admin.ch

The Swedish contact points at VINNOVA:

Ms. Elisabet Nielsen (main contact), +46 8 473 31 07 elisabet.nielsen@VINNOVA.se

Mr. Tero Stjernstoft (smart factory), +46 8 473 32 96, tero.stjernstoft@VINNOVA.se

Mr. Gunnar Sandberg (life sciences), +46 8 4546445, gunnar.sandberg@vinnova.se,