Grand Solutions

Innovation Fund Denmark defines innovation as the process that, through the realization of new ideas in practice, creates value from knowledge. It is essential that the ideas have an actual application, and projects that only create new knowledge are therefore not immediately innovation projects.

Innovation Fund Denmark can invest in projects located throughout the value chain. The division between basic research, strategic research and applied research can be difficult in practice, but Innovation Fund Denmark invests in research and development that creates value that will be implemented in society in the short or long term. It is important that the results are implemented either by the partners or a defined buyer, and Innovation Fund Denmark therefore emphasizes that there is a clear implementation strategy in the project, and that the buyer plays a significant role in the project.

Examples of concrete value creation are given in the specific calls.

The success rate varies from year to year and between the individual calls, depending on the available funds, the total number of applicants, and similar.

Innovation Fund Denmark expects a success rate of 15-30% in phase 1, depending on the number of received letters of interest. But due to the new application process in 2024, the expected success rate is harder to predict than usual.

The investment framework and themes are in most cases politically decided and are typically determined in connection to the Financial Law. Therefore, the call text and the final framework can only be published when a political settlement is submitted. Innovation Fund Denmark will strive to be able to publish preliminary call texts or themes as early as possible. Within the politically decided investment framework and themes, the Board of Innovation Fund Denmark decides the final investment budget. In addition, the Board of Directors of the Innovation Fund can allocate funds to specific focus areas.

The themes and especially the investment framework can vary from year to year - but the biggest themes often recur. One can therefore make a qualified guess as to what general themes are coming up by looking at last year's themes. Often, new themes or sub-themes will derive from the traditional subject themes. The final calls will be announced as soon as the grant basis has been adopted.

We place great emphasis on the projects not stopping when our investment ends. We want the projects to lead to value creation for Denmark. This is most easily ensured by the fact that the project purchaser is an integral part of the project. For more information, see the answer to the question "What is innovation?".

First and foremost, the project's governance structure and organization must be balanced and reflect the project's challenges, complexity, budget and size. It is recommended that the steering group, which is the project board and has the strategic management, have representatives from the most important partners and those who benefit from value creation. In addition, the members must have sufficient decision-making power to be able to resolve, for example, resource conflicts in the project. It is important that the members of the steering group are not part of the day-to-day operations.

The project manager is the project director and takes care of the daily tactical management, both upwards and downwards, and communication with all stakeholders. Innovation Fund Denmark places great emphasis on the project manager's qualifications for effective management of people and management of stakeholders.

It is recommended that the project administrator comes from the most financially stable partner, for example university or GTS institute, and not from e.g. and SMEs.

Is it correct that it is quick to get a negative response to your application?

Yes. In phase 1, you can expect a response after 7-8 weeks (11 weeks in 2024) if your project is rejected.

This is done so that applicants do not waste time and resources and can move on with a better application or a new project.

Only applicants who are invited for phase 2 must spend time on writing a full application. These applicants can expect a total timeline of 9 months from they submit a letter of interest in phase 1 and until they receive a final response in the form of a rejection or an offer of investment in phase 2 (however, please expect up to 10 months in 2024).

We have previously had an application rejected. Can we apply again, or will we be quarantined from the Grand Solutions programme?

If the applicant has made improvements to the project, it is always possible to apply again. Innovation Fund Denmark has no quarantine period for rejected applications or applicants.

This means you are welcome to submit a new and improved application based on the same or another project next time there is a Grand Solutions call. In Innovation Fund Denmark's experience, several of our best projects have experienced a previous rejection and since been improved.

Is it an advantage if the main applicant is a university or a company?

It does not matter who the main applicant responsible for submitting the application is. The application will be assessed based on the entire project, including the qualifications, motivation and contribution of all project partners. However, it is important that the buyer of the project’s solution plays a significant role in the project.

Should the main applicant and the project manager be the same person?

No, the project manager does not have to be the same as the person who submits the application as main applicant. What is important is that the project manager has the necessary experience, qualifications and time for the specific project.

How do I insert references in the application?

In phase 1, you must attach a list of references to your letter of interest as Appendix B.

In phase 2, it is possible to insert references in Appendix A.

Is it necessary to enclose letters of recommendation with the application?

In general, endorsement letters or letters of recommendation will not be included in the evaluation process and it is therefore not necessary to enclose one. Evaluation of the application is based on the content of the application, which is assessed in accordance with the decision criteria as described in the guidelines of phase 1 and phase 2 of Grand Solutions.

I have submitted the application form in e-grant but have not received a PDF file with the complete application. Have you registered my submission?

You can check if your application has been submitted correctly.

After you approve and submit the application form in e-grant, the system creates a PDF file with all the stated information. This may take several minutes. Very close to the application deadline, when there is a lot of activity, it can take up to an hour. When this PDF file has been created, you will be able to open it via e-grant and read the application that you submitted. It will also be possible to have it sent to you by email. The application can be reopened and edited until the deadline, but you must remember to submit the latest version for changes to be registered.

You can find a guide to e-grant on the website of the Danish Ministry of Education and Research.

Technical inquiries about e-grant
Phone: +45 33 92 91 90 (phone hours are 9:00-12:00)
Email: support.e-grant@fi.dk

No, applicants will not be invited for an interview with Innovation Fund Denmark in relation to their application or to pitch in front of the committees. Instead, decisions on investments are based completely on the submitted, written material. Additional information may be imparted by external sources in accordance with standard procedures for sufficient elucidating of the case and if so, it will include the applicant’s response to such information in a consultation process.

It is important that projects relate as well as possible to the specific call. At the same time, the fund has its three overall decision criteria: quality of idea, impact and quality of execution, which are in place independently of the specific calls. In both phase 1 and phase 2, there exists a set of sub-criteria for each decision criteria, and these sub-criteria can be found in the guidelines for phase 1 and phase 2 of Grand Solutions. Please note that the sub-criteria for the two phases are not identical.

For industrial research, the focus is on the acquisition of new knowledge, etcetera. For experimental development, the focus is on the utilisation of existing knowledge.

The EU definition of industrial research and experimental development is described in the EU General Block Exemption Regulation (definitions in paragraphs 85 and 86, Article 2, page 25).

As a rule, all partners (business organisations, interest organisations as well as other organisations and companies) that carry out economic activities, meaning that they provide goods or services in a market, must apply the budget rules for companies in Denmark and abroad as described in the programme guidelines, including the maximum investment ratios. This applies to non-profit organisations as well.

Yes, Innovation Fund Denmark can invest in projects in which money will go to foreign partners. The most important thing is that the results of the project will benefit Denmark. International knowledge plays a large and important role in this, and it is essential that the application argues the project’s ability to create growth and employment in Denmark.

SSH is an abbreviation of “Social Sciences and the Humanities” (in Danish often called HUM/SAMF) and includes a large number of research disciplines or subject areas, for instance economics, politics, law, psychology, history, linguistics, media studies, pedagogy, philosophy, sociology , ethnography and plenty others.

Innovation Fund Denmark attaches great importance to Grand Solutions projects focusing on solutions for which there exists a real need – and which it is possible to implement. For this reason, Innovation Fund Denmark requires that there is a plan for the implementation of the solutions, and this is where SSH disciplines can often contribute, for instance with knowledge related to behaviour, incentives, end-user involvement, regulation, and market conditions.

This kind of knowledge can help clarify how a given technology, idea or solution will affect the individual, an organisation or society in general, as well as provide input on how any barriers to implementation can be overcome.

Often, projects can benefit from integrating humanities and social science research and innovation right from the beginning.

E-grant technical questions?

Contact e-grant support

T: +45 33 92 91 90
E-mail: Support.e-grant@ufm.dk

Weekdays: 09.00-12.00

If you have submitted an application or have a grant from Innovation Fund Denmark, please contact us via your case in e-grant.