Innovation cheques

Innovation Cheques for SMEs now available

Do you run a limited company or an economic association and are in an innovation phase? Then there is now the chance to take part in Innovation Cheques of up to SEK 100,000 and infrastructure cheques of up to SEK 400,000. The cheques have been initiated by Vinnova to strengthen the innovation capacity and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises. Below you can read more about how to apply, what conditions apply and what you can use the cheques for.

What is an innovation cheque?

An innovation cheque is used to strengthen your company’s innovation capacity and thus competitiveness. Up to the maximum amount, it is possible to combine the use of different types of cheques, for example to first use an infrastructure cheque and then a business development cheque if they relate to the same project in the company.

The cheques fund external expertise in three different areas:

1. Business development: validating and verifying the commercial and technical conditions for the development and exploitation of an innovation idea that the company has.
2. Infrastructure: Access to labs, test beds, test and demo facilities, production facilities and similar infrastructure, needed to verify and validate various production and development critical features. It also includes computing capacity, major IT infrastructure.
3. Intangible assets (IP): Develop a strategy for the company’s intangible assets with a focus on improving sustainable competitiveness and new value creation in the company.

Who can benefit from cheques?

To be a suitable cheque candidate, the following criteria need to be met:

• Complies with the EU definition of small and medium-sized enterprises:
  a. Medium-sized enterprises are defined as enterprises with fewer than 250 employees and an annual turnover not exceeding SEK 500 million or a balance sheet total not exceeding SEK 430 million.
  b. Small enterprises are defined as enterprises with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding SEK 100 million.
• Your company must be a limited company or an economic association. Grants are only awarded to Swedish companies. Foreign companies that have a branch or place of business in Sweden where the costs of the project are recorded.
• Your company is in an innovation phase or, with the help of the innovation cheque, will initiate an innovation development that develops the company’s value creation and competitiveness.
• The check project should include activities that drive sustainability and the 2030 Agenda in the company’s processes, operations and value creation.
• The company contributes to the equal development of society
  a. Both women and men have equal influence over the company. Influence means representation on the board and in management.
  b. The second perspective is about analysing and taking a position on whether there are gender equality aspects (sex and/or gender) that are relevant in the area in which the cheque is intended to be used. Read more at Vinnova.

How do you become eligible for an innovation cheque?

1. Contact a cheque broker in your region. You can find links to innovation centres below.
2. The preparation and decision-making process is expected to start in March and continue throughout 2022 (subject to the possibility of running out of allocated funds).
3. The cheque provider will evaluate whether your company meets the criteria for receiving a cheque and has a clear innovation need in the company. The innovation need should be described in a project description
4. The intermediary makes an evaluation of your needs where the project description serves as a basis for decision. Together with the intermediary, you decide on the type of external expertise that is best suited for execution, after which the intermediary procures the external expertise.
5. As a company, a certificate of de minimis aid must be signed by the authorised signatory before a cheque can be issued
6. At the end of the project, there is a debriefing to the intermediary and completion of a mandatory questionnaire from Vinnova. Failure to complete the questionnaire may lead to a repayment claim.
   

More about the different innovation cheques

The Business Development Cheque provides companies with opportunities to determine the potential of an innovation idea. This may involve, for example, investigating and validating customer demand, market size, business model and other commercial uncertainties. It can also be about business renewal in terms of, for example, testing new materials in existing products that have a lower climate impact and thus contribute to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda or developing a circular business model. The business development cheque must be used to purchase external knowledge from research institutes, universities, colleges or private actors.

Infrastructure vouchers allow companies to test, for example, scale-up or technical validation through access to labs, test beds, test and demo facilities, production facilities, etc. This includes computing capacity, database. Infrastructure vouchers must be used to purchase the opportunity to investigate and test technology and upscaling, etc. that the infrastructures allow.

The IP Check is designed to enable companies to develop a strategy for managing their intangible assets. Developing an IP strategy should include, but does not have to cover, all the steps in Vinnova’s process description for developing an IP strategy. Steps A: Identification of ownership issues, B: Business environment analysis and C: Development of strategy and implementation plan. The IP cheque will thus be used to purchase external expertise to develop an IP strategy. Before a company is granted an IP cheque, the company must also complete PRV’s course “Business strategy management of intangible assets”. The course fee may be paid via the IP cheque. Read more about IP cheques in a separate information sheet.

Examples of what can NOT be financed by an innovation cheque:

• Costs that are deemed to be part of the organisation’s regular work, such as outreach to businesses and dialogue with other stakeholders
• Ongoing ordinary activities, R&D or similar
• Projects where the main focus is on patents or a freedom to operate (FTO)
• Costs of working on a patent application, including patent registration, fees for e.g. trade mark, design, etc.

The IP Check is designed to help companies develop a strategy for managing their intangible assets.

The project manager at SISP is Bodil Rosvall Jönsson. If you as a company have specific questions about Innovation Cheques, we recommend that you first contact an intermediary near you as listed below.

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Innovation voucher intermediaries by region