Grand Solutions project duration: Typically 2-5 years
Innovation Fund Denmark (IFD) invest in ambitious innovation projects with excellent science and strategic research that contributes to create improved or new tangible solutions to politically prioritized societal challenges and creates value for Denmark.
IFD share a risk with the project partners, when the knowledge level, value creation, project efficiency and implementation of results is correspondingly high.
Objective
The overall objective for investments in this call is to invest in projects that develop knowledge-based and cross-disciplinary solutions to tangible challenges in Danish Society and which – short or long term – will create growth and employment in Denmark.
In other words: IFD seek the good idea that secure production and jobs in Denmark and create new opportunities.
Note: For projects related to the green transition and health, please refer to the appropriate calls.
Investment strategy
IFD invest in projects that support challenge-driven research, technological opportunities and innovation that can help to maintain production and jobs in Denmark or create new opportunities.
The projects can, among other things, support robotics and drone technology and other automated production technologies, as well as research into artificial intelligence and digitization, space, and ICT/IoT which also has great potential in the private as well as in the public sector.
The projects should support the development of the digital field and contribute to, among other things, cross-disciplinary research in artificial intelligence and the digital transformation. The outcome of the projects can also create new knowledge about the importance of digitization for people and society, just as results can incorporate ethical and moral aspects of new technological development, and the use of artificial intelligence in a Danish context.
The research should pave the road for Danish companies to develop products and new technological solutions and increase their growth and productivity for the benefit of the whole of Denmark.
The projects could for instance contribute to maintaining production and to creating more and even better and gentle jobs in Denmark for the benefit of employees and the companies' bottom line. The funds can thus also be spent on research into physical, mental, and chemical working environment, as well as on research into new forms of organizations and enterprises, such as democratic and/or employee-owned enterprises, etc., as well as research into the socio-economic importance of civil society and volunteerism.
IFD invests in projects at all stages of the research and innovation value chain that fulfil the objective of the call. IFD invests in the early strategic research project where targeted efforts and cooperation with the most competent international and/or Danish partners from relevant professional disciplines are crucial as well as the good project that lacks the final steps to make it ready for successful introduction to the market or for implementation.
IFD's investments often do not take a project all the way through the value chain. Therefore, it is crucial that the project partners themselves can lift the result onto the market or ensure implementation - or have investors who can invest in or take over the project after IFD’s investment period.
Projects within this call should – whenever relevant – include security, ethical and moral aspects of projects using data as the driver for value creation in a Danish context, e.g., in the use of artificial intelligence and Big Data.
For further information, please refer to the IFD in-depth strategies and analyses in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, ICT and Digitalisation, Energy, Health, Environment, Bioresources, Tourism and Future Society.
Assessment criteria
The overall assessment criteria are (please refer to the IFD guidelines):
- Excellence - Quality of research and innovation
- Value creation
- Efficiency of project execution
- Implementation of results
In connection with applications for this call, value creation is to be understood in broad terms as targeted activities that lead to increased growth and employment through e.g., development of new products and services, creation of more and more intelligent jobs, increased productivity, improved earnings/bottom-line, fewer societal costs, reduced resource consumption or environmental impact as well as to solutions to major societal problems.
The partners must account for the specific value creation of the project in relation to the overall objective of the call.
Likewise, it will be emphasised that the project's beneficiaries/end-users and core stakeholders contribute to the formation of the project, participate in the project, or are otherwise directly involved in the project, e.g., through investments.
In addition to the above assessment criteria, reference is made to “Guidelines for Grand Solutions” and the Allocation of the Research Reserve. Allocation of funds will be made based on the 2021 Finance Act.
Assessment Process
Applications for Grand Solutions must be submitted via e-grant, IFD’s application system. The assessment process is shown below. It is a single-phase application process with potential interview:
The IFD Board of Directors decides which applications are sent for peer review and invited to interview at IFD. Prior to the interview the peer reviews are sent to the applicant in a consultation procedure in e-grant.
Final decision on the application is expected in October 2021 with project start in Q3 2021.
Applicants are notified via e-grant of the decision by the IFD Board of Directors to reject or invite projects to negotiations for an investment agreement.
Michael Adsetts Edberg Hansen
M: 6190 5037
E: michael.hansen@innofond.dk
Børge Lindberg
M: 6190 5012
E: boerge.lindberg@innofond.dk
Erik Bech Jacobsen
M: 6190 5032
E: erik.bech.jakobsen@innofond.dk
Jens Peter Vittrup
M: 6190 5023
E: jens.peter.vittrup@innofond.dk
Jakob Dahl Wedel
M: 6190 5031
E: jakob.wedel@innofond.dk
Any legal entity in Denmark or abroad can be a project participant and receive funding from Innovation Fund Denmark eg.:
- Businesses
- Research institutions
- Public institutions
You can apply for funding for projects that create societal value and/or economic value in Danish public and private companies and/or from buyers in society, for example from citizens, the state, regions and municipalities.
A buyer can be an end user of the innovation, but it can also be a public or private investor who is willing to invest in the project after the Fund's commitment is completed.
It can be an advantage if the purchaser(s) of the project's results and other core stakeholders are involved as active participant(s) in the design of and through the project.
Grand Solutions projects will range from DKK 5,000,000 - 40,000,000
The money can co-finance expenses for salaries, equipment, other project-related costs, external services, etcetera.
The budget must include all direct project costs, meaning costs that can be directly attributed to the project, regardless of whether the costs are to be covered by Innovation Fund Denmark or will be covered by the project participants themselves or another party.
For further details, please see the programme guidelines.
The projects are of 1 to 5 years duration.
The application process for the Grand Solutions programme consists of two phases.
In phase 1, all interested applicants submit a short letter of interest, outlining their project. On this basis, applicants will either receive an invitation for phase 2 or a rejection.
In phase 2, the invited applicants submit a final application, describing their project in detail. When Innovation Fund Denmark has assessed all applications, the fund makes a decision as to which projects will be invited to enter negotiations for an investment agreement.
The application material for both phases must be created and submitted via the electronic application system: www.e-grant.dk. You must register as a user of the system with either a username and password or with MitID before you can create an application.
You create a new application by finding the correct call under "Search Options" and pressing "Start your application". Note that the list of search options is sorted alphabetically and that the names of all calls from Innovation Fund Denmark start with "IF".
You must write your application material for both phases in English.
You can find a guide to e-grant on the website of the Danish Ministry of Education and Research.
In both phases, the application consists of an electronic application form designed in the electronic application system e-grant (www.e-grant.dk), which you must fill out in English.
Your application must have an official title (maximum 180 characters including spaces), which briefly describes the project for which you seek investment. You must also enter an acronym.
You can find the Grand Solutions guidelines below under “Guidelines and general terms and conditions.
Application for phase 1
In phase 1, the application is a letter of interest and must contain:
- Official project title and acronym
- Short summary of the project (maximum 600 characters)
- Overview of the expected budget and duration of the project
- Requested total investment from Innovation Fund Denmark
- Foundation and concept of idea (maximum 1,800 characters)
- Quantifiable goals (maximum 1,200 characters)
- State of the art and competition (maximum 2,400 characters)
- Expected impact (maximum 1,200 characters)
- Description of the project's methods used (maximum 1800 characters)
- Contribution for up to 5 core project participants (maximum 600 characters per participant)
- Description of any other project participants and their contributions to the project (maximum 500 characters per participant).
- Description of competencies and experience for up to five key people (maximum 600 characters per person)
- Literature list (maximum 1200 characters)
- Budget overview (see the instructions in the application form in e-grant for further information)
The following optional appendices can be attached to the electronic form: Appendix A: Figure (max. 1 A4 page with max. 1 figure)
Application for phase 2
In phase 2, the application is a full application. The content of the electronic application form for phase 2 and the corresponding appendices will be announced in the invitation to applicants who make it to the next round. You can find more information on which adjustments are allowed from phase 1 to phase 2 in the programme guidelines
You can also see a preliminary outline of the application form for phase 2 below – please note that this is only a preview of the expected application form and that the final form may be subject to change.
The programme text for Grand Solutions has been updated in February 2024. To learn more about the changes to Grand Solutions, visit our Q&A here.
The applications are assessed by four committees with members who convene and qualify evaluations on committee meetings. The committees have the competence to assess as well as make decisions and are thus the bodies in which applications are evaluated and decisions on investments are made.
The committees consist of 10-18 members, divided between established international researchers and impact specialist with extensive knowledge of Danish affairs.
In phase 2, the applications are also assessed by external evaluators, and evaluations that are subject to consultation are sent to the applicants as part of a consultation process.
Applicants who are not invited for phase 2 or to enter an investment agreement after phase 2 will receive a rejection stating why.
Special conditions in 2024:
In 2024, letters of interest for phase 1 of the application process will be assessed internally and by external evaluators (including a consultation process for applicants) and decided by Innovation Fund Denmark’s board of directors. The reason is that the new committees are introduced for the first time in 2024 and will not be functional until later this year. Applications for phase 2 will be evaluated by the new committees in the second half of 2024.
Applications for the Grand Solutions programme are evaluated based on three overall decision criteria:
- Quality of idea
- Impact
- Quality of execution
You can find further information on the three overall criteria and their sub-criteria 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.
In phase 1, applicants will receive either a rejection as response to their letter of interest or an invitation for phase 2, in which applicants must submit a full application. The decision will be notified to you via e-grant.
In phase 2, invited applicants will receive either a rejection or an offer of investment and thus an invitation to negotiate an investment agreement. The decision will be notified to you via e-grant.
Applicants for Phase 1 of Grand Solutions will receive a response after 10 weeks.
Applicants who progress to Phase 2 can expect a 12-week response time in this phase itself and a total time horizon of 9 months from the time the expression of interest is submitted in Phase 1 until they receive a final response in Phase 2.
The programme text for Grand Solutions has been updated in February 2024. To learn more about the changes to Grand Solutions, visit our Q&A here.
An investment from Innovation Fund Denmark is conditioned by the project parties entering into an investment agreement with the fund on the organisation of the project no later than 60 days after receiving the written invitation to investment negotiations.
The project must be started no later than 90 days after this investment agreement has been signed by all parties.
Innovation Fund Denmark may demand repayment of parts of the investment if the agreed conditions are not met. You can find more information in the investment agreement and the document containing the general terms and conditions for the programme.
Below, you will find the standard documents needed for the investment agreement negotiations.
You are free to choose whether you want to prepare the agreement in Danish or English.
The project can start as soon as there is an approved investment agreement and it must start no later than 90 days after the agreement has been signed by all parties.
The payment is generally made two times a year and is handled in collaboration with Innovation Fund Denmark and the financial administrator appointed by the project.
Innovation Fund Denmark is an active partner in all Grand Solutions projects and engages proactively with the project for its entire duration. Specifically, Innovation Fund Denmark appoints one or more investment officers to carry out this task.
The project follow-up and the requirements for accounts and reporting will be evident from the investment agreement that Innovation Fund Denmark enters into with each project.
Innovation Fund Denmark may terminate the investment ahead of time if the Fund considers that there is insufficient progress, the project proves aimless, or if the project is unable to achieve the objectives which the Funds' investment to the project is based upon.
There will be an ongoing dialogue between the appointed Investment Officer from the Innovation Fund as well as with the steering group of the project about the progression of the plan.
At the project's last steering group meeting, the completed accounts are reviewed and the project's progress and results are evaluated.
Here you can find and download call texts
