The Grand Solutions programme invests in ambitious, and preferably, interdisciplinary research and innovation projects that can create new, specific solutions to important, politically prioritized societal challenges and create value throughout Denmark.
To the extent possible, the Grand Solutions programme invests in projects that are carried out in close collaboration between research institutions and the business community.
Aim of the call
This call consists of the following parts:
A. Life science, health and welfare technology
At least DKK 127.4 million *
B. Stem Cell Research Center
24.5 million DKK
* With the possibility of transferring funds from Innovation Fund Denmark's other programmes. The potential transfer of funds can concretely result in an increased budget.
Applicants must submit their application under part A (Life science, health and welfare technology) or part B (Stem cell research center). If the applicant submits the application under part B, and the application meets the formal requirements for the application as specified in the guidelines for Grand Solutions, but nevertheless does not receive an investment, the application will subsequently automatically be considered under part A and will be processed here in the same way as other applications. This is because part A is the general part of the call, while part B is a specific part of the call, which is thematically contained in part A. If the applicant submits the application under part A, and the Innovation Fund Denmark assesses that the application also falls within the framework of part B, the Innovation Fund Denmark may choose to process the application under part B first.
A. Life science, health and welfare technology
With investments within ”Life science, health, and welfare technology”, Innovation Fund Denmark will support that Denmark’s strong knowledge and research position within the field is transformed into inventions, products, and technologies which benefit citizens in Denmark, healthcare sectors, the companies’ net income, and Danish exports. The funds must contribute to creating societal value and economic growth for private and public companies and/or consumers in the society, not least in the life science sector. As far as possible, the research must therefore be carried out in close interaction between research institutions and the business community.
The research can e.g. contribute to the development of personalised medicine, the development of the digital health area, including the health data area, artificial intelligence, and digital prevention and treatment options for people with mental illness, as well as knowledge about the use of medical cannabis.
The projects can support the development of local business powerhouses (in Danish: “erhvervsfyrtårne”) (see link in section 5: “Guidelines and inspiration”)
B. Stem cell research center
Innovation Fund Denmark also invests 24.5 mill. DKK to a center within stem cell research with significant international research and co-financing from public and private actors.
Evaluation
The three overall decision criteria are:
- Quality of the idea – the quality of the research and innovation
- Impact – value creation during and after the project
- Quality of execution – efficiency in the project execution and the implementation of the results
Further information about the decision criteria can be found in the guidelines for Grand Solutions, which will be published on Innovation Fund Denmark's website at the end of January 2022 (see link in section 5: “Guidelines and inspiration”)
It is emphasized that key stakeholders of the project contributes to develop the project and participates in, or in other ways are directly involved in the project, e.g. through investment.
In addition to the three decision criteria, reference is made to the guidelines for Grand Solutions. The distribution of the funds originates from the current Finance Act and the agreement on the disposition of the Research Reserve (see links under section 5: “Guidelines and inspiration”).
Evaluation Process
Applications to Grand Solutions must be submitted via www.e-grant.dk, which is the application portal of Innovation Fund Denmark. The call open in e-grant on February 1, 2022. Please note, that applicants will receive a receipt for submitting the application if the application is submitted after mid March 2022.
The evaluation process is described in detail in the guidelines for Grand Solutions and briefly outlined below.
Applicants are notified of the decision via www.e-grant.dk. E-grant has prepared a FAQ that can be accessed here.
It is expected that the project applications proceeding to phase 2, will receive either invitation for investment negotiations or rejection of application in November 2022, after which the investment negotiations can be initiated with an expected project start in the beginning of 2023.
Applications within this Grand Solutions call must take into account the following:
- Guidelines for Grand Solutions (NB: The new guidelines for Grand Solutions will be published on Innovation Find Denmark's website at the end of January 2022)
- The Government's green research strategy
- Future green solutions
The following can be used as inspiration for applications within this Grand Solutions call:
Innovation Fund Denmark hosts regular webinars and Q&A on Grand Solutions where everyone is welcome to participate. Registration for upcoming webinars and Q&A sessions takes place via Innovation Fund Denmark's website here (scroll down to see upcoming events).
Frequently asked questions to Grand Solutions and related answers can be found on Innovation Fund Denmark’s website here.
Contact
For questions regarding formalities, Innovation Fund Denmark's Investment Officers may be contacted. In connection to this, please note that Investment Officers or other employees of Innovation Fund Denmark are not allowed to answer specific questions regarding projects or ideas.
The following Investment Officers may be contacted regarding questions to this Grand Solutions call:
Marlene Fredborg (responsible for this Grand Solutions call)
Telephone number: 6190 5052
E-mail: marlene.fredborg@innofond.dk
Steen Bennike Mortensen
Telephone number: 6190 5026
E-mail: steen.bennike.mortensen@innofond.dk
Monica Milter Ehlers
Telephone number: 6190 5067
E-mail: monica.milter.ehlers@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
