Are you an SME with an innovative idea and would like to clarify its effective feasibility? Thanks to the innovation cheque you can clarify this question with a research partner.
What does the innovation cheque finance?
With the innovation cheque Innosuisse finances preliminary studies of your innovative idea, for example concept developments and idea studies as well as analyses of the innovation and market potential of new processes, products, services or technologies. Innosuisse finances 100% of the costs of the research partner up to 15,000 Swiss francs.
Requirements
In order to apply for an innovation cheque, your organisation as an "implementation partner" must meet the following requirements:
- You are an SME, a start-up or a small or medium-sized organisation with fewer than 250 full-time employees. For Group companies, the number of full-time equivalents of the entire Group is decisive.
- Your organisation is based in Switzerland. You will need a Swiss company identification number (UID number) as proof.
- You already have a Swiss research partner who can conduct this preliminary study on your behalf.
What your application should include
Fill out the application in the Analytics online application portal of Innosuisse. Your application should contain the following information:
- Title of the preliminary study
- General information: Implementation partner, research partner, contact information, etc.
- Innovation: novel and innovative content, feasibility of the results, task of the research partner, deliverable result, competitive situation, potential benefit for the implementation partner
- Financial plan: Personnel expenses and material costs. Further information on the financial plan can be found under Frequently Asked Questions.
Submit application
Do you meet the requirements? Then fill out your application in the Innosuisse online application portal. The application must be submitted by the implementation partner, for example an SME. You can submit your application at any time. As soon as the application has been submitted, you will receive a confirmation by e-mail.
If you are logging in for the first time, you will need to register. If you are already registered, you can go directly to the application form after logging in. After the application has been submitted, Innosuisse will start the evaluation process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prepare and submit an application
What is the UID number?
Who has to submit the online application?
Where can I find out whether my research partner is eligible for funding?
Every enterprise operating in Switzerland receives a unique enterprise identification number (UID). To ensure that numbers are correctly assigned, managed and used, the UID register is run by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The UID register can be accessed via the following online address:
www.uid.admin.ch
The application has to be submitted by the implementation partner.
All research partners listed in the Overview of research centres with approved innovation projects (PDF, 307 kB, 19.07.2022) are entitled to execute innovation cheques. If your research partner is not named, they must belong to one of the following categories:
- University research centres in accordance with Art. 4 c RIPA
- Non-commercial research centres outside the higher education sector in accordance with Art. 5 RIPA
- Research institutes commissioned by departments of the federal government in accordance with Art. 16 (3) RIPA which carry out their own research projects for the purpose of fulfilling their mandates
- Federal research institutes in accordance with Art. 17 RIPA
Last modification 03.03.2022
