Closed call 2022-06-13: Industrial Innovation Projects

This is the second call for Industrial Innovation Projects (IIP) within Digital Futures.

Background

Digital Futures is a cross-disciplinary research centre that explores and develops digital technologies. We bring solutions to great societal challenges in Sweden and globally. We generate knowledge, innovations, and future leaders of high industrial relevance and strategic importance. Digital Futures is jointly established by KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Digital Futures awards funding to strategic research projects to support a specific action or project that furthers the vision of Digital Futures. Find out more about Digital Futures here.

Current already established funding schemes under Digital Futures with either ongoing projects or active calls relate to Collaborative Projects, Research Pairs, postdoc funding as well as Demonstrator Projects. Societal and Industrial Innovation Projects (formerly known as Partner Innovation Projects) have been launched in 2021, and this is the second call for such projects. IIPs should serve as a seed to accelerate the collaborative research efforts between industrial companies and academic partners, while significantly increasing the success rate for attracting funding from Swedish and European funding agencies. Researchers at KTH and Stockholm University (SU) are encouraged to be active in the formation of these projects.

Important dates

• Call opens: 11 March 2022
• Proposal Submission Deadlines: 3 April 2022, 13 June 2022
• Expected decision on Projects: 6-8 weeks after the submission deadline
• Expected Start of Projects: 1 July 2022 or 1 January 2023

Purpose

Industrial Innovation Projects are one of the main instruments within the Industrial and Societal Partnership Program (ISPP) of Digital Futures to foster research collaboration and industrial impact. The ISPP is intended to grow into a network of industrial companies as well as public entities primarily located in the Stockholm region, which have a strategic interest in technologies for digital transformation. The main goals of the ISPP are to (I) position Stockholm as a leading area in the field of digitalization, (II) to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities related to digitalization for different players (private companies, public authorities), and (III) to foster the creation of novel and innovate project consortia that can address challenges and grow into larger consortia and initiatives. Thus, a major part of the industrial and societal impact and dissemination of Digital Futures is intended to take place through the ISPP.

Scope

Industrial Innovation Project proposals are welcome in all areas of digital transformation (represented by the Digital Futures research matrix, see below figure). Thematic matchmaking workshops held during March and April 2022 address the following topics, (however, all proposals within the Digital Futures research matrix are welcome):

• Sustainable mobility, logistics, and cities
• Machine learning for personalized medicine and digital health
• Cyber-secure digital transformation
• Industrial metaverse

Eligibility

The following positions/titles/roles are eligible to apply:

• Assistant Professor
• Associate Professor
• Full Professor
• Permanent full-time Researcher  (”tillsvidareanställning”)

with a PhD degree and 80% employment or more at KTH Royal Institute of Technology or Stockholm University.

The PIs do not need to be Digital Futures faculty when applying but will become Digital Futures faculty if the project is granted.

Project duration and maximum funding

In this call, up to six Industrial Innovation Projects are to be selected. Industrial Innovation Projects can be one-, two- or three-year projects and should preferably feature the collaboration of multiple academic faculty and one, or multiple, industrial entities. New collaboration constellations are desirable for a project proposal, but not a necessary condition.

Each successful project can be provided up to 1.5 MSEK/year in terms of Digital Futures cash co-funding. An important eligibility criterion is the provisioning of an equal co-funding amount through industrial entities, matching (in the aggregate, i.e., summing all industrial contributions) the requested Digital Futures funds in the project. The minimum contribution per industrial entity to a prospective project is 500 kSEK per year. Industrial entities which are ISPP members can split their project contribution into arbitrary amounts of in-kind and cash contribution while assuring at least 50 % cash contribution. Digital Futures will match the total project contribution of such ISPP members with cash co-funding. For industrial entities that are not ISPP members, in-kind contributions will not count as matching funds when requesting Digital Futures cash funding, while additional in-kind contributions can strengthen a project proposal.

Further requirements on the amounts of requested funding per academic project partner is to be found in the project template.

Partner funding (cash and/or in-kind) provided to the project needs to be clearly outlined in the project application and in a Letter of Intent provided together with the proposal.

Please note the Digital Futures funding policy

Researchers can be involved in several projects under different instruments, but within Digital Futures, the funding per PI is limited to 1 MSEK/year. Hence, funding that you may have received under the current Digital Futures instruments Collaborative Research Projects, Research Pairs, Demonstrator Projects, Collaborative projects targeting Diversity and Inclusion, and Seed Projects will be taken into consideration. Funding from Digital Futures to Societal Innovation Projects, Partner Innovation Projects, Industrial Innovation Projects, and ISPP Demo Projects is included, but not the part from partners. Digital Futures Postdoctoral Fellows projects or C3.ai Digital Transformation Institute projects are not taken into account.

Evaluation

Industrial Innovation Project proposals are evaluated in two steps. They are evaluated in step 1 by external evaluators, who review proposals according to the criteria:

1. Potential for research advancement and impact measured through
   • Industrial transfer
   • Scientific excellence
   • Societal outreach
2. Feasibility of the proposed project plan
3. Relevant qualification of the project consortium

In step 2, the panel feedback from step 1 will be evaluated by the Digital Futures Industrial/Societal Committee to prepare a recommendation by the Digital Futures Industrial and Societal Board, followed by a Governing Board decision on Digital Futures cash co-funding (and finally approved by the KTH rector).

How to apply

1. Prepare your application according to the project description template: 2022_03_11_DF_ISPP_Project_Template
2. Send your application file together with all supplementary material to: call@digitalfutures.kth.se

Contact & Questions

Contact call@digitalfutures.kth.se for further questions. Please include “Industrial Innovation Projects call” in the subject of your email.