Innosuisse Innovation Projects with Implementation Partner

Innovation Project without Implementation Partner

Funds Swiss researchers developing feasibility studies, prototypes, and testing facilities before engaging an industry partner.

The Innosuisse Innovation Project without Implementation Partner is a grant for Swiss researchers at non-profit public research institutions who wish to advance high-risk projects with strong market potential before an industry partner has been secured. Innosuisse — the Swiss Innovation Agency, a federal agency established under the Federal Act on the Promotion of Research and Innovation — funds feasibility studies, prototypes, and testing facilities under this track, with projects capped at 18 months. Eligible applicants must be researchers employed at a Swiss higher education institution, a non-commercial research centre, a federal research institute, or a qualifying policy research institution under RIPA. For-profit companies are not eligible for this track and should instead apply through the Innovation Project with Implementation Partner mechanism.

Awards range from CHF 50,000 to CHF 800,000, with a median of approximately CHF 250,000. The estimated annual pool for this track is roughly CHF 30 million out of Innosuisse's total estimated CHF 180 million Innovation Projects annual envelope. No IP regulation agreement is required when only one research partner is involved. The project must begin within three months of the funding agreement entering into force. Applications are submitted on a rolling basis through the Innolink platform and are evaluated by two independent experts before a decision by the relevant thematic subgroup of the Innosuisse Innovation Council; the full evaluation cycle takes six to eight weeks from submission.

Innosuisse specifically prioritizes projects that demonstrate above-average innovation potential and a higher-than-normal risk profile relative to current scientific and market alternatives — applications that address already-solved problems or low-risk incremental improvements are unlikely to succeed. Reviewers assess novelty, Swiss value creation potential, methodological quality, team expertise, and contribution to sustainable development. Researchers without a confirmed industry partner should be prepared to articulate a clear market pathway and to demonstrate why the work cannot yet be co-funded by an industrial partner.