«ntn innovation booster» call for tender: funding period ...€¦ · tion without having to...

Innosuisse – Swiss

Innovation Agency

«NTN – Innovation Booster» call for tender:

Funding period 2021 – 2024

The key points in brief

This document describes the objectives and concept of the third call for tender by National

Thematic Networks, as described in Art. 31-33 of the Innosuisse Funding Ordinance (420.231),

for the period from 2021 to 2024. In order to take account of the repositioning of this KTT

instrument, only the term «NTN – Innovation Booster» will be used below.

«NTN – Innovation Booster»: Describes the individual initiatives funded in parallel by Inno-

suisse. These initiatives are aimed at stimulating (“boosting”) innovation activities on a selected

theme through specific idea development and testing. The initiatives are referred to as «NTN

– Innovation Booster – description of the innovation theme». The new support measure no

longer pursues the objective of funding the development of structures and networks, as was

the case with the National Thematic Networks of the previous calls for tender. Under the new

approach, Innosuisse finances the development and operation of activities to promote the

transfer of knowledge and technology between research, industry and society and the devel-

opment and testing of novel innovation ideas by third parties using appropriate scientific meth-

ods, provided that the innovation ideas have arisen from the activities of the «NTN – Innovation

Booster» and have the potential to create sustainable added value. Consortia (of existing or-

ganisations and structures) assume responsibility for implementing an «NTN – Innovation

Booster».

The roles are allocated as follows:

Consortium: Each individual «NTN – Innovation Booster» is supported by a consortium con-

sisting of representatives of the relevant stakeholders from universities and business/society,

who together wish to assume responsibility for the successful implementation of a joint under-

taking. The consortium is therefore the responsible body of an «NTN – Innovation Booster»

and jointly represents it to the outside world. The roles of the consortium members are de-

scribed in the application and the members confirm their commitment by means of declarations

of support, which are attached to the application.

Leading house: This is a non-profit organisation that acts as an applicant vis-à-vis Innosuisse

and on behalf of the consortium. The leading house assumes responsibility vis-à-vis Inno-

suisse for processing the «NTN – Innovation Booster». The leading house supports the con-

sortium in the conception and implementation of the «NTN – Innovation Boosters».

https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20171056/index.html

«NTN – Innovation Booster» call for tender – the key points in brief 2

Contents 1 Management summary ...............................................................................................3

2 Glossary .....................................................................................................................5

3 Concept ......................................................................................................................7

3.1 Motivation – why this new initiative? .................................................................7

3.2 Objectives .........................................................................................................8

3.2.1 Forming innovation teams ...................................................................8

3.2.2 Development of concrete results and basis for decision-making .........8

3.2.3 Methodical support in the innovation process ......................................8

3.2.4 Promoting “open innovation” ...............................................................8

3.2.5 Support with further implementation ....................................................9

3.2.6 Focus on supporting SMEs .................................................................9

3.3 Expected impact ...............................................................................................9

3.4 Who is the target audience of this call for tender? .......................................... 10

3.5 Implementation ............................................................................................... 10

3.5.1 Setting themes .................................................................................. 11

3.5.2 Assembling innovation teams ............................................................ 12

3.5.3 Generation and verification of ideas .................................................. 12

3.5.4 Embedding the ideas into the corporate strategy .............................. 13

3.5.5 Open innovation culture .................................................................... 13

3.5.6 Methodical support ............................................................................ 14

3.5.7 Support with further implementation .................................................. 14

4 Appendix .................................................................................................................. 18

4.1 Themed specialist events: Innosuisse support in developing interest groups .. 18

4.2 Implementation examples ............................................................................... 18

4.3 SME support from the Swiss RIS Community ................................................. 28


1 Management summary

New, emerging technologies as well as interdisciplinary and cross-industry business models

offer Swiss companies (in particular SMEs) interesting future growth opportunities. The «NTN

– Innovation Boosters» are intended to give SMEs a competitive edge through cooperation

with partners along the value chain and by incorporating the knowledge, skills and technologies

of the universities. In addition to incremental innovations, more radical innovation ideas are

also to be promoted. Innosuisse therefore calls on interested partners to jointly apply as a

consortium to implement a specific thematic «NTN – Innovation Booster».

What are «NTN – Innovation Boosters»?

The «NTN – Innovation Boosters» bring together interested teams from universities, business

and society at national level around a defined innovation theme and stimulate the emergence

and testing of concrete innovation ideas. Themes of economic relevance are to be addressed

in an innovative manner: new scientific findings provide important momentum and may lead to

the launch of process, product or service innovations in the foreseeable future. The novel ap-

plications can impact both industry and the services sector.

What are the thematic priorities?

Each «NTN – Innovation Booster» has its own thematic focus, which is determined by the

consortium. The term “innovation theme” can be interpreted broadly and in addition to technol-

ogy-based innovation themes, it may also focus on “business model innovations”, “innovation

culture” or “innovation methods”.

The overriding theme of each «NTN – Innovation Booster» is defined, taking account of the

involvement of the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the theme is highly relevant and at-

tracts a great deal of interest among both universities and implementation partners1.

How does an «NTN – Innovation Booster» work?

Within the framework of an «NTN – Innovation Booster», relevant customer needs are ad-

dressed together, new approaches to solutions are developed and future business areas are

discussed. The aim is to develop concrete, verifiable solution, product and service concepts.

Innovation ideas should consider all important aspects from the outset and actively include

both the customers’ needs and the framework conditions of the implementation partners to

ensure a successful market launch right from the onset. Customers’ needs, feasibility and prof-

itability should be the focus of the «NTN – Innovation Booster».

As part of this process, the «NTN – Innovation Booster» provides direct funding to selected

innovation teams for the development and testing of innovation ideas. This promotes an agile

1 Definition, see glossary.


process and continuously improves the quality of ideas. In addition, collaborative learning and

the exchange of experiences between the teams is specifically targeted and potential forms of

support for the subsequent development of the innovation idea are demonstrated.

The «NTN – Innovation Boosters» play a role as part of the innovation chain and draw on

existing synergies. In so doing, they focus on the needs of the innovation stakeholders, ranging

from the selection of themes to the needs for further support outside the «NTN – Innovation

Boosters».

The call for tender

Innosuisse calls on interested partners to apply for the implementation of a four-year «NTN –

Innovation Booster». The annual financial support of an «NTN – Innovation Booster» can

amount to as much as CHF 500,000. Eight to ten thematically different «NTN – Innovation

Boosters» are expected to be supported in the 2021-2024 funding period.

The support provided by Innosuisse is based on the possibility of making contributions to National The-

matic Networks (the term for the network activities funded to date) as described in Art. 31–33 of the

Innosuisse Funding Ordinance of 20 September 2017 (420.231) and the Implementing Provisions for

Networks and Specialist Events of 16 November 2017.

https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20171056/index.html


2 Glossary

Activity funding Innosuisse funds that are used to finance all the necessary development and operation of activities to promote the transfer of knowledge and tech-nology between research, industry and society of an «NTN – Innovation Booster» (communication, organisation of workshops, methodical support of the innovation teams, etc.).

Consortium Each individual «NTN – Innovation Booster» is supported by a consortium consisting of representatives of the relevant stakeholders from universities and business/society, who together wish to assume responsibility for the successful implementation of such an «NTN – Innovation Booster». The consortium is therefore the responsible body of an «NTN – Innovation Booster» and jointly represents it to the outside world.

Idea funding Innosuisse funds that are used within the framework of the «NTN – Innova-tion Booster» for the development and testing of novel innovation ideas, provided that the innovation ideas have arisen from the activities of the «NTN – Innovation Booster» and have the potential to create sustainable added value.

Implementation partners Implementation partners are those stakeholders who implement the innova-tion ideas, thus creating economic added value. These can be start-ups, SMEs or larger companies that offer products or services and create eco-nomic added value. However, they can also be non-profit organisations such as municipal administrations that can generate societal benefits and reduce public costs through the implementation of innovations.

Innovation teams Innovation teams comprise implementation partners, university representa-tives and ideally, customers who are expected to benefit from the planned innovations. They may also include other key stakeholders who play a role in developing the idea, such as regulatory authorities.

Innovation theme The term “innovation theme” covers both technology-based innovations (e.g. products, services or processes) as well as conceptual innovations (e.g. business model, organisation or culture).

Leading house This is a non-profit organisation that acts as an applicant vis-à-vis Inno-suisse and on behalf of the consortium. The leading house assumes re-sponsibility vis-à-vis Innosuisse for processing the «NTN – Innovation Boosters». The leading house supports the consortium in the conception and implementation of the «NTN – Innovation Boosters».

Science-based

innovations

These innovations contain elements based on scientific findings that go be-yond the latest technology or knowledge and require an exchange of know-how and/or technology between the university and implementation partners.

University representatives These are primarily the employees of universities (professors, researchers, etc.). However, this concept also includes students who can and wish to contribute to the development of innovation ideas.


Terms related to innovation methods:

A/B test A/B tests are a randomised experiment with two variants, A and B. They provide an opportunity to compare two versions of a single variable, typically by testing a subject’s response to variant A versus variant B and determin-ing which of the two variants is more effective.

Brain dates These are individual or small group meetings (also known as “appoint-ments”) during which participants with overlapping interests can exchange information. Participants formulate offers or questions on themes, which are then compared with the interests of other participants (this can be done manually or via an app). The objective is to promote learning and network-ing.

Design sprint An agile five-day approach designed to help companies find unconventional answers to critical business questions through idea generation, prototyping and testing. This approach includes strategic elements, design elements and behavioural elements.

“Dirty prototype” A first rough version of a visualisation or physical implementation of an idea aimed at serving as a basis to enter into dialogue with the user. A minimum of money, time and resources should be invested.

Idea napkin Idea napkin is an inspiring visual thinking tool that provides a simple, con-sistent form of summarising and communicating a new concept.

Fireside discussions A fireside discussion is an informal but structured conversation between a moderator and a guest. It offers a unique opportunity to get to know the speaker’s personal stories and ideas.

Mock-up The most common application of mock-ups is the creation of simple web ap-plications that show the end user how the digital solution will look and func-tion without having to create the software or the underlying functionality.

Pitching events Pitching events are a series of presentations where teams present their ideas convincingly to decision-makers within a very short space of time (c.3-5 minutes).

Smoke test A smoke test is a technique used to test an idea. It aims to find out whether an idea really arouses customer interest and can be profitable before money, time and resources are invested in its implementation and produc-tion.

Storyboard Thanks to this visualisation technique, short scenarios can be created as a series of sketches, illustrations or photo collages to express how concepts are used by potential users in proposed situations.

Wireframe A wireframe is a simple sketch that illustrates the type of things the user can do. It clearly shows a presentation of all the important aspects of the final solution. For example, a wireframe of a website shows the navigation, main buttons, columns and placement of various elements.


3 Concept

3.1 Motivation – why this new initiative?

New, emerging technologies and business models are offering Swiss companies attractive

future growth opportunities. At the same time, public institutions such as municipalities or hos-

pitals can also benefit considerably from innovations in areas such as mobility or digitalisation.

In order to fully exploit the potential of these new possibilities we need to address and encour-

age individual bilateral projects as well as boosting cooperation in heterogeneous and interdis-

ciplinary innovation teams, where different competencies are brought togetherThe develop-

ment of viable innovations involves the consideration of all the essential aspects right from the

outset: customers’ needs, feasibility and profitability.

Chart 1: Concept of sustainable innovation

Another important aspect of a sustainable innovation is the question concerning a company/or-

ganisation’s capacity to implement the innovation idea.

Innosuisse specifically supports the development of science-based2 innovations resulting from

cooperation between universities and implementation partners. Combining scientific findings,

the latest technologies, market knowledge, strategic considerations and implementation expe-

rience makes it possible to find new and concrete solutions.

2 Definition, see glossary.


In this context, the new «NTN – Innovation Boosters» provide mixed innovation teams with

methods and resources to enable them to jointly develop and test new innovation ideas at an

early stage.

3.2 Objectives

3.2.1 Forming innovation teams

The «NTN – Innovation Boosters» bring together various interested parties from universities,

business and society around a relevant innovation theme. They stimulate an exchange be-

tween them and support the formation of heterogeneous, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral

innovation teams.

3.2.2 Development of concrete results and basis for decision-making

Thematically-relevant needs are addressed jointly, new solutions are formulated and future

business areas are discussed. The objective is to develop concrete, verifiable product and

service ideas and concepts.

As part of this process, an «NTN – Innovation Booster» provides direct funding to innovation

teams, comprising at least one university representative and one implementation partner, for

the development and testing of innovation ideas. This promotes an agile process and contin-

uously improves the quality of ideas.

In addition to the successful development of viable innovation ideas that lead to specific further

projects, the added value for the innovation teams is mainly in the review of their hypotheses

and the development of a basis for decision-making. The reorientation or a qualified termina-

tion of a project may therefore also be regarded as a success under certain circumstances.

3.2.3 Methodical support in the innovation process

In addition to supporting concrete innovation ideas, an «NTN – Innovation Booster» contrib-

utes to developing and applying of methods and formats for the joint development of ideas and

the successful transfer of knowledge and technology.

The innovation teams are also introduced to methods of agile innovation development and

shown how these can be successfully applied in the development and verification of viable

innovation ideas.

3.2.4 Promoting “open innovation”

Promoting an open culture of innovation between stakeholders and joint learning and ex-

change of experience between participants is an important element of the «NTN – Innovation

Booster». The different roles within an innovation team are addressed in order to ensure a


targeted exchange of knowledge and technology between the university and implementation

partners. Likewise, teams working on different projects, albeit in a similar field, should learn

from each other and support one another.

3.2.5 Support with further implementation

The consortium also supports the teams in initiating projects that might be eligible for subse-

quent Innosuisse funding or involving other suitable regional, national and international funding

bodies or private sector financing with the aim of further developing promising ideas. Synergies

with existing offerings, such as Innosuisse’s innovation mentoring, are optimally exploited and

any unnecessary duplications avoided.

3.2.6 Focus on supporting SMEs

SMEs that wish to gain a competitive advantage by working with partners along the value chain

and tapping into university-level know-how, skills and technologies (open innovation) will par-

ticularly benefit from the new «NTN – Innovation Boosters». In addition to incremental innova-

tions, more radical innovation ideas are to be developed and tested.

3.3 Expected impact

An «NTN – Innovation Booster» contributes to value creation by:

Encouraging the emergence of new process, product or service innovation

Contributing to increasing efficiency, reducing costs or resolving socially relevant chal-

lenges in the public interest

Encouraging the emergence of a targeted, open culture of innovation between stakehold-

ers

Bringing the methodological competencies of agile innovation development closer to stake-

holders

Inspiring other stakeholders by sharing success stories and experiences

Stimulating specific innovation projects that potentially meet Innosuisse’s eligibility criteria

Showing the innovation teams with promising ideas how the next steps on the way to im-

plementation could look like .


3.4 Who is the target audience of this call for tender?

This call for tender is aimed at consortia3 that have recognised the opportunities offered by a

certain theme and are prepared to jointly stimulate the development and testing of specific

innovation ideas. These consortia comprise representatives of the relevant stakeholders from

universities and business / society who together wish to assume responsibility for the success-

ful implementation of such an «NTN – Innovation Booster».

Innosuisse no longer pursues the objective of funding the development of structures and net-

works, as was the case with the National Thematic Networks of the previous calls for tender.

The new concept provides consortia with a tool to give important impetus in selected innovation

themes and to stimulate innovation activities. The success of an «NTN – Innovation Booster»

therefore depends to a large extent on whether the chosen theme, level of knowledge or state

of technology achieved and the willingness of the stakeholders involved allow the development

and verification of concrete and viable innovation ideas that could lead to process, product or

service innovation in the foreseeable future. When the application is submitted, Innosuisse

assesses these criteria. In the event of a positive decision, the consortium can show that the

potential can indeed be realised and that effective momentum can be generated over the four

years.

Innosuisse does not prescribe how the consortium should organise itself. However, only one

non-profit organisation acts as applicant (leading house). This organisation can, for example,

be an association in which the key stakeholders from science, business and society have

joined forces and organised themselves and act jointly as a leading house.

If an organisation that does not include all the participants in the consortium acts as a leading

house, it creates appropriate support structures/bodies to involve the other consortium mem-

bers and demonstrates their motivation and contribution through appropriate declarations of

support. All organisations that meet the formal criteria are eligible to participate in the call for

tender4.

3.5 Implementation

An «NTN – Innovation Booster» plays a role as part of the innovation chain and therefore

draws on existing synergies with other organisations and programmes. In so doing, it focuses

on the needs of the innovation stakeholders, ranging from setting the themes to arranging

contacts for further support outside the «NTN – Innovation Booster».

3 Innosuisse supports the formation of interest groups and consortia around an innovation theme of national importance through the complementary instrument of “themed specialist events” (see Chapter 4.1 in the Appendix).

4This includes the organisations that had received CTI or Innosuisse support in the first or second call for tender of the earlier concept as “National Thematic Networks”.


Chart 2: Support process through «NTN – Innovation Boosters»

3.5.1 Setting themes

An «NTN – Innovation Booster» pursues an innovation theme throughout Switzerland that:

is given important impetus from new scientific findings and can lead in the foreseeable

future (four to eight years) to the introduction of process, product or service innovations in

industrial or service-oriented applications.

is of economic relevance5 and whose attractiveness can appeal to a large number of inter-

ested industries, interest groups and fields of application.

provides a unique selling proposition and added value for prominent sectors of the Swiss

economy and society, which would not be possible without this «NTN – Innovation

Booster».

A specific innovation theme is required to initiate focused, effective R&D and innovation coop-

eration. Megathemes are not suitable.

The term «innovation theme» can be interpreted broadly and in addition to technology-based

innovation themes, includes management-based innovation themes in the area of «business

model innovations», «innovation culture» or «innovation methods».

The overriding theme of the «NTN – Innovation Booster» should be defined, taking account of

the involvement of the relevant stakeholders from science, business and society to ensure that

5 expected gross value added / cost reduction, employment, interested sectors, fields of application and companies.


the theme is highly relevant and meets with major interest from both universities and imple-

mentation partners.

Within an overarching innovation theme and together with the interested groups, a series of

specific working themes are then identified at which relevant problems exist, new solutions can

be enabled or future business areas can be addressed.

3.5.2 Assembling innovation teams

An «NTN – Innovation Booster» concentrates on the development and advancement of spe-

cific innovation ideas in a subject area and the straightforward testing of these ideas. The

potential stakeholder groups around the chosen theme must therefore already be in contact

with each other and be interested and willing to work together on specific topics6. The «NTN –

Innovation Booster» then provides suitable ways of supporting the formation of specific inno-

vation teams.

The «NTN – Innovation Booster» focuses on the interface between the Swiss universities,

business and society and networks all the relevant stakeholders within the innovation theme

vertically (along the value chain), horizontally (across themes and sectors) and geographically

(supra-regionally, nationally, internationally). This involves all stakeholders who have the po-

tential to make an important contribution to the development and testing of innovation ideas.

This may include the following stakeholders:

Universities: researchers, students, scientific officers etc.

Business: start-ups, SMEs, larger companies, industry associations etc.

Society: authorities and public administration, public or semi-public organisations (hospi-

tals, public transport companies, etc.), associations (tourism association etc.) etc.

Within the context of developing sustainable innovations, users and customers should also be

involved as stakeholders in the early development phase, since they should define the needs

and thus be actively involved in the process. Users and customers can be involved either di-

rectly through the innovation teams or already in advance as interest groups in the definition

of the working themes.

International stakeholders along the value chain should also be involved, where appropriate.

3.5.3 Generation and verification of ideas

An «NTN – Innovation Booster» supports the innovation teams with suitable methods and formats with the aim of developing verifiable product and service concepts. As part of this process, innovation teams can receive direct financial support for the uncomplicated verifica-tion of promising innovation ideas in the early phase. This promotes an agile process and continuously improves the quality of ideas.

6 Innosuisse supports the formation of interest groups and consortia around an innovation theme of national importance through the complementary instrument of “themed specialist events” (see Chapter 4.1 in the Appendix).


3.5.4 Embedding the ideas into the corporate strategy

Particular attention is paid to embedding the innovation ideas into the strategic planning of the

implementation partners. The ideas that are developed as part of an «NTN – Innovation

Booster» (open innovation) must be anchored with the implementation partner to ensure they

can also be implemented and ultimately, create added value (Chart 3). The implementation

partner should therefore also keep an eye on company-related questions regarding the ability

to absorb innovations (competences, resources, etc.) in parallel to developing ideas. In the

regions and cantons, complementary and company-specific advice is offered in this area.7

Chart 3: Integration of thematic and company-specific support

3.5.5 Open innovation culture

Within the framework of the «NTN – Innovation Booster», suitable formats are developed that

offer participants direct added value by, for example, addressing overriding (e.g. legal frame-

work conditions) and pre-competitive issues (e.g. international competition, technical hurdles,

etc.) and being able to benefit from each other’s experience. The teams within the thematic

«NTN – Innovation Booster» also introduce themselves to one another, along with what they

are working on and the insights they have gained. The «NTN – Innovation Booster» creates

the framework conditions for fruitful exchange without disclosing or endangering trade secrets,

competitive advantages or intellectual property worthy of protection.

7 The Swiss RIS Community can be the point of contact here. The Swiss RIS Community is an interest group made up of innovation promotion agencies in Switzerland. They offer needs-oriented innovation promotion for Swiss SMEs (see also chapter 4.3).


3.5.6 Methodical support

To this end, those responsible for the «NTN – Innovation Booster» acquire the necessary skills

or call in specialists in order to familiarise the innovation teams with the methodological com-

petencies of agile innovation development and to use these successfully in the development

and verification of viable innovation ideas.

Chart 4: Examples of supporting methods in idea development and verification (© Spark Works, courtesy of Spark Works)

The effectiveness and added value of the methods and formats used for the participants should be discussed with the innovation teams. The feedback should lead to the further de-velopment and improvement of the methods and formats used.

3.5.7 Support with further implementation

Within the process of implementing a promising innovation idea, many additional support

measures are available outside the «NTN – Innovation Booster». The responsible parties cul-

tivate an exchange with Innosuisse and other organisations and actively help the innovation

teams to plan suitable next steps. Innosuisse offers a wide range of support options, such as

advice for start-ups (coaching programme), assistance in setting up innovation projects (men-

toring programme), access to project funding (national and international) and support in finding

international partners (Enterprise Europe Network).

http://www.sparkworks.ch/

http://www.sparkworks.ch/


In addition to the Innosuisse offers, other interesting support is available. For example, if an

implementation partner needs help embedding the innovation idea into the existing organisa-

tion, specialised staff in the cantons and regions may be able to help. They also offer risk

financing programmes (see also chapter 4.3).


Example of a possible implementation of an «NTN – Innovation Booster»:

The diagram above shows an example of how an «NTN – Innovation Booster» can be organised. It describes various measures that the consortium could

take to support the various interdisciplinary working groups and innovation teams with an agile and cooperative process. After the application has been

approved, the process begins with an open introduction for everyone, where the working themes are defined and groups formed together with the inter-

ested parties. Innovation teams, which work independently on the development and verification of concrete ideas, are formed at a later stage. If necessary,

the innovation groups work further on their developed idea several times (e.g. by testing the underlying assumptions its regarding desirability, feasibility

and viability, by testing their idea with users or experts, etc.) until they reach the status of a «dirty prototype» (for completely new ideas according to the

explorative approach)/ proof-of-concept (for the use of existing technologies or business models for a new challenge). Innovation teams can apply for

funding from Innosuisse as soon as their idea has reached this level.

Once most innovation teams have completed the process, the process starts anew and reopens to new stakeholders and new fields of work. The process

above should be executed at least two to three times per «NTN – Innovation Booster».


Advantages of this set-up:

The set-up is designed to support an agile, collaborative approach that helps interdisciplinary teams find answers to key business questions through idea

generation, prototyping and testing. It promotes efficient and cost-saving behaviour and enables teams to complete the idea development phase faster

than in normal business operations.

See Chapter 4.2 in the Appendix for examples of how such an implementation could look in concrete terms:

Example 1: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Blockchain in the media industry»

Example 2: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Fighting bacteria without the use of antibiotics»

Example 3: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Human Resources 2.0»


4 Appendix

4.1 Themed specialist events: Innosuisse support in developing in-

terest groups

The organisation of general introductory events to bring together potential stakeholders and

raise awareness of a theme is not the aim of «NTN – Innovation Booster» and should, where

necessary, have already taken place prior to submission of an application. However, Inno-

suisse supports the organisation of such events and hence the formation of interest groups

around an innovation theme of national importance through the complementary instrument of

«themed specialist events» (TSE).

Formation of

interest groups

Sta

ge

of m

atu

rity o

f

the in

tere

st c

om

mun

ity

Low

--------------------

Hig

h

Ideas/project incubation

Chart 5: Positioning of themed specialist events and «NTN – Innovation Booster»

4.2 Implementation examples

The following examples are fictitious and for purely illustrative purposes. It is up to the appli-

cants to define the formats and procedures suitable for their project, innovation theme and

target audience and to explain them in the application.


Example 1: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Blockchain in the media industry»

Consortium and theme setting

Representatives of media and blockchain companies and the scientific community have long

been discussing the theme of “Applications of blockchain technology in modern media”. Joint

events have already taken place at which the various stakeholders have exchanged views.

These meetings revealed that there are many approaches to innovation ideas and a great

deal of interest in specific cooperation. A group of five people are convinced that blockchain

technology offers huge opportunities for the media industry and will play a significant role in

the future. They decide to form a consortium and bid for the Innosuisse call for tender. The

overriding innovation theme is «NTN – Innovation Booster – blockchain in the media indus-

try» and a number of more specific areas of interest have already been defined.

Organisation and submission of application

A non-profit association of media companies in Switzerland is prepared to assume respon-

sibility for the coordination and implementation of the «NTN – Innovation Booster» and as-

sumes the role of applicant (leading house). The other representatives of the consortium

help with the preparation and confirm their commitment through a declaration of support.

Together they represent a consortium that can network all relevant stakeholders from Swiss

universities, business and society within the innovation theme vertically (along the value

chain), horizontally (across themes and industries) and geographically (supra-regionally, na-

tionally, internationally).

The application is sponsored by Innosuisse and the applicants now have funds available to

finance their activities and develop ideas.

Ensuring the necessary skills for methodological support The applicants seek special-

ised external help with the planning and implementation of the first event to ensure that

innovation teams can be found who wish to work together on specific ideas.

Development of working themes and formation of innovation teams

Over a period of two days, around 50 stakeholders from media and blockchain companies

and science meet. The two days focus on earlier areas of interest defined in the process.

Day one starts with three short fireside chats in which global thought leaders within the pre-

defined fields of interest and blockchain experts from business and universities are intro-

duced. During the subsequent organised brain-dating, stakeholders are broken down into

working groups of three to five persons to exchange ideas and networks.

In the afternoon, the working groups have the opportunity to work with users (end users, but

also journalists, shop assistants, etc.) in order to gain an initial understanding of their needs

and the challenges they face. On the basis of these findings, the groups are guided through

an ideas workshop. An extensive list of ideas that might be interesting is created. Our sample

team A, consisting of two media company representatives, a professor from the ETH with a


focus on blockchain, a master student and a professor of media and communication sci-

ences at a university of applied sciences, decide to look into the idea of how blockchain

technology could be used to automatically compensate freelance journalists on the basis of

the click rate on online content. Thanks to the extensive knowledge of the science repre-

sentatives and the experience of the industry representatives, the team is able to quickly

assess which parts of the idea could be difficult to implement or require further research.

Developing ideas and selection

The next day, the team substantiate this idea in the form of an idea napkin. During the pitch-

ing event in the afternoon, 15 teams present their ideas for five minutes and receive quick

and preliminary feedback from an expert jury. At the end of the day, this jury then decides,

on the basis of its expertise and predefined criteria, which innovation teams receive financial

support to develop their ideas.

Sample team A successfully passes the initial selection and receives CHF 10,000 in funding

and advice on how to perform a design sprint working closely with freelance journalists and

an external coaching team. Since the media company involved believes this idea could be

very relevant for them, it contributes a further CHF 10,000 to the budget for the design sprint.

The professors for their part decide that this could be an interesting case study and opt to

stay on the team.

Testing ideas

The different innovation teams work on their ideas over the next four months.

During an intensive five-day workshop (sprint days), sample team A go through the following

steps and several iterations of their idea as well as perform a user test:

Concept development (format e.g. idea napkin)

Mapping of the underlying assumptions (e.g. feasibility, profitability, desirability)

Review of assumptions (format e.g. user tests, research, expert interviews)

Conclusions for the first idea / possible revision of the idea or concept / documenta-

tion of the findings on the basis of verification

Construction of the first «Dirty prototype» (e.g. wireframe, mock-up, storyboard)

Testing of the first «Dirty prototype» (e.g. user tests, expert interviews, smoke test)

Conclusions from the test/integration of feedback into the «Dirty prototype» / docu-

mentation of the findings from the test execution

Ensuring the necessary skills for methodological support Sample team A invest part of

their resources in a team of specialised moderators to accompany them in the process.

Presenting the results

Two months later all teams present their results to the jury.


In the case of sample team A, the jury decides that the idea is promising and has high value-

creation potential for the media industry. The next step would be to test the technical imple-

mentation, which would require considerable resources. For this reason, it suggests that

sample team A apply for an Innosuisse innovation project in order to receive a further

CHF 200,000 for setting up and testing a pilot project within the media company.

Another team gained new insights during the testing of ideas, which led to a reorientation of

their original idea. The team present the new approach and the jury decides that the team

can receive a further CHF 10,000 as support if the implementation partner (in this case a

blockchain company) itself also invests CHF 10,000.

Promoting “open innovation”

In the afternoon of the same day, the teams share their findings about the process and the

needs of participants with the other working groups. General hurdles and obstacles in the

innovation process are also discussed. However, they do not share trade secrets or any

other information of relevance for competitive advantage. A team can subsequently provide

another team with an important contact that could provide additional help in solving the prob-

lem. In addition, two teams decide to join forces and work together on a new idea.

Support with further implementation

The leading house explains to sample team A the further support options offered by Inno-

suisse (mentoring, innocheque, innovation project) and provides the corresponding con-

tacts.

The blockchain company of the second team sees that its company is not yet properly posi-

tioned to implement the ideas, but wants to work on it. The leading house therefore procures

free advice, which is offered in the company’s canton by its location promotion office.

Specific results

Sample team A apply immediately for a mentoring voucher and start working with a mentor

on the project application. They submit their application to Innosuisse a few days/weeks

later. They receive an answer about whether Innosuisse is funding the project roughly two

months later. If the evaluation is positive, the team can start implementing their project.

Still another team realise after submitting their innovation idea to intensive examination that

they are unable to realise it on their own. They therefore decide to seek dialogue with their

customers and suggest their possible collaboration in continuing to work with them on this

idea.


Example 2: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Fighting bacteria without the use of antibiot-

ics»


The theme of antibiotic resistance is being researched in various research groups at Swiss

universities, and alternative approaches to bacterial control are being developed. These re-

search groups are already working closely together within the framework of a Swiss National

Science Foundation programme. This resulted in a series of new active substances and

materials that give rise to hopes of promising applications in practice. These results were

presented to interested representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, but also

companies from the food industry and manufacturers of sanitary facilities at a technology

transfer event organised by the participating universities. Interest was very high and it turned

out that a critical mass of stakeholders in the field of new materials and surface treatments

would be interested in the development of concrete innovation ideas.

Organisation and submission of applications

Representatives of various research groups and of two industry associations decide to jointly

found a non-profit association with the aim of making the potential of these new materials

accessible to Swiss industry. They bring other important players on board and take part in

the Innosuisse tender with a joint application for the purpose of setting up the association.

The applicants propose to deal with the following possible working themes within the over-

arching innovation theme: possible applications of structured surfaces, coatings on metal

surfaces, antibacterial materials in everyday hospital life and antibacterial surfaces in con-

tact with foodstuffs.

Ensuring the necessary skills for methodological support

The association is in contact with a person who already has several years of experience in

the field of knowledge and technology transfer between universities and companies and who

has successfully used various idea development formats. In the application, it is suggested

that this person be hired on a part-time basis to assist the association with organisation and

implementation if funding is secured.

The application is approved by Innosuisse and the association now has the available re-

sources to fund the activities and develop ideas after its foundation. The association gives

the mandate to the person mentioned above.

Developing working themes and formation of innovation teams

After a joint introductory event, where the technical possibilities and the different application

challenges are presented in different input lectures, the stakeholders are divided into differ-

ent application groups. Working groups of three to five persons discuss the advantages and

disadvantages of the different materials in the fields of application.


In the afternoon, the working groups have the opportunity to work together with material

manufacturers and processors (paint manufacturers, metal processors, surface finishers,...)

in order to gain an initial understanding of the challenges involved in the implementation. On

the basis of these findings, the groups are guided through an ideas workshop. An extensive

list of ideas that might be interesting is drawn up. Our sample team B, comprising a metal-

worker, two researchers and three representatives from the milk processing industry, decide

to address the idea of structured surfaces. Thanks to the intensive exchange between the

users, researchers and the metalworker, the team are able to quickly formulate a list of

requirements and specifications for the surfaces.

Developing and selecting ideas

The team substantiates this idea the next day and creates a test series. Parallel to this, they

consider how such a product would potentially change the manufacturing process.

During the pitching event, ten teams present their ideas for five minutes and receive quick,

preliminary feedback from an expert jury.

The teams then have one week to submit a small project outline. This together with prede-

fined criteria forms the basis on which the jury decides which innovation teams receive fi-

nancial support for testing their ideas.

Sample team B are supported with funds of CHF 15,000, with the implementation partners

also having to jointly contribute CHF 5,000.

Testing ideas

The innovation teams test their ideas during the next eight months. The researchers from

sample team B use the funds to carry out some predefined tests together with the metal

processor. At the same time, the milk processors draw up a rough cost-benefit analysis of

various scenarios with the support of the metal processor. The team exchange information

at regular meetings and discuss the results in terms of benefits, feasibility and profitability.


All teams present their results to the jury nine months later.

In the case of sample team B, it turns out that although the surfaces produced in the labor-

atory show the desired effects in the application, its industrial production still faces consid-

erable unresolved challenges, which makes its direct use on an industrial scale impossible.

Another team tested a coating during the idea testing phase that could be produced on an

industrial scale but would not meet the requirements of the original application idea. How-

ever, the users have new ideas about the areas in which this coating could be used instead.

The jury finds these ideas interesting and approves another CHF 10,000 for a second test

round.



In the afternoon of the same day, the teams share their findings about the process and the

needs of participants with the other working groups. General hurdles and obstacles on the

way to resolving the technical challenges are also discussed. However, they do not share

trade secrets or any other information of relevance to competitive advantage. Two teams

realise that they would have to get a large foreign materials manufacturer on board to im-

plement the idea and decide to establish this contact together.

Support with further implementation

The leading house organises an event to which further researchers, engineers and compa-

nies are invited who might contribute new approaches or technologies to address some of

the unresolved technical challenges. The teams wishing to benefit from this event create

short case descriptions in advance, where they outline the problems and the solutions

sought. The consortium uses its network to disseminate this information to relevant stake-

holders and encourage them to participate in the event.

Specific results

Despite the termination of the original project, the metal processor from sample team B

wants to improve its methods of surface structuring, since some simplified structures would

also be interesting for other fields of application. The researchers also have experience in

these fields. They therefore decide to continue working bilaterally and to test some further

hypotheses as part of their master’s theses.

Two other teams are given the opportunity to talk to a large foreign company. Together they

can identify an interesting business opportunity that arouses the interest of this company.


Example 3: «NTN – Innovation Booster – Human Resources 2.0»


A consortium of representatives from large companies, SMEs, colleges and the scientific

community, supported by Innosuisse, have organised a series of themed specialist events

on the subject of «Human Resources 2.0». This series of events covered themes such as

talent retention, training in the digital age, competence and project-related teams, 21st cen-

tury skills and competencies. Employers see a great need for action here in order to be

prepared for the challenges of the future. Science can contribute essential findings that are

still largely unknown outside the scientific community today and are still not applied enough

in practice. At the same time, SMEs from the ICT sector have already developed certain

support tools in this area for international customers. Representatives of colleges of higher

education would like to adapt and expand their offerings, especially in the area of training.

A group of two scientists and an IT company decide to stimulate innovation activities in this

area and believe in the economic and economic potential. Together they bring on board a

representative from a large company and another representative from the conference of

colleges of higher education. They form a consortium and develop the concept together.

Organisation and submission of applications

A professor of a university of applied sciences and his team are prepared to assume re-

sponsibility for the coordination and implementation of the «NTN – Innovation Boosters».

The professor is willing to submit the application on behalf of his university of applied sci-

ences, which would then assume the role of leading house. Furthermore, he assumes the

role of applicant (leading house). All participants confirm their commitment with a declaration

of support. Together they represent a consortium that can network all relevant stakeholders

from Swiss universities, business and society within the innovation theme vertically (along

the value chain), horizontally (across themes and industries) and geographically (supra-re-

gionally, nationally, internationally).

The application is submitted, funded by Innosuisse and the applicants now have the availa-

ble resources to fund the activities and develop ideas.

Ensuring the necessary skills for methodological support There are two people within

the consortium who already have a wealth of experience in the area of design thinking meth-

ods and are confident that they can provide the «NTN – Innovation Boosters» with method-

ical support.

Development of working themes and formation of innovation teams

The kick-off event brings together around 50 interested parties from the various sectors.

Over the course of two days, the participants concentrate on earlier areas of interest defined

in the process, the selection of which they had voted on in advance.

Day one starts with three short fireside chats in which global opinion leaders within the pre-

defined fields of interest and experts from science and business are introduced. During the


subsequent organised brain-dating, stakeholders are broken down into working groups of

three to five persons to exchange ideas and networks.

Developing and selecting ideas

In the afternoon, the working groups have the opportunity to work with users (end users, but

also with important interest groups, such as team leaders and HR staff, etc.) in order to gain

an initial understanding of their needs and the challenges they face. On the basis of these

findings, the groups are guided through an ideas workshop. An extensive list of ideas that

might be interesting is drawn up. Our sample team C consist of an HR representative from

a large company, SME in the logistics sector, a recruitment agency and one researcher

(psychology) from a university of applied sciences. Their idea is to develop a tool for pre-

cisely targeted job advertisements that only addresses potential applicants with a very spe-

cific skills profile.

The next day, the team set this idea out in concrete terms. During the pitching event in the

afternoon, 15 teams present their ideas for five minutes each and receive quick and prelim-

inary feedback from an expert jury. This jury then decides, on the basis of its expertise and

predefined criteria, which innovation teams receive financial support to develop their ideas.

Our sample team C successfully go through the process but have to adapt the idea behind

it. While the jury is convinced that the idea has potential and could help HR professionals in

all industries, the team must find a way to test the idea without developing a tool and define

a hypothesis as a concrete case. Even if there is no immediate software development, the

team are advised from the outset to work with an IT company to ensure that a possible

implementation of their idea is technically feasible. The team receive CHF 5,000 for the

analogue development and manual distribution of a targeted job advertisement (i.e. a man-

ual test run of the idea in the company).

Testing ideas

After three months, sample team C manage to gain the support of an IT specialist and suc-

cessfully carry out a test in the company.


Sample team C present these results to the expert team, which are now fully convinced that

the team are going in the right direction. Despite the first test being a success, the team of

experts remain critical about the viability of the tool’s development and its added value. They

propose that the team draw up a business case and further explore and test their idea (e.g.

A/B test). They suggest that the team consider alternative financing options and finally sell

their idea. The team receive a further CHF 10,000 for further developing the idea. To this

end, the team hire an intern for the research and receive an external coach to support them

with the business case.

Three months later, sample team C are again standing in front of the team of experts and

this time receive a recommendation from Innosuisse to apply for further funding for a project.



Six months after the kick-off event, the consortium organises a half-day event where the

funded teams present their ideas and insights on the innovation process to a wider audience.

In the meantime, word has spread that an interesting «NTN – Innovation Boosters» is under

way and the event is attended by representatives from various industry associations, training

policy and some companies that operate online recruitment platforms. Within the scope of

the event, the interested parties have the opportunity to exchange information with potential

partners, interested parties and/or customers in short meetings (brain dates).

A team then find a first potential customer for their innovation idea. A trade association rep-

resentative is enthusiastic about the results of the «NTN – Innovation Booster» in general

and would like to encourage the members of his association to take part in the second cycle

of the «NTN – Innovation Boosters» next year.

Support for further implementation

The leading house explains to sample team C the further support options offered by Inno-

suisse (mentoring, innocheque, innovation project) and sets up the corresponding contacts.

The expert team also draw the attention of sample team C to an interest group on this theme

that is working on similar issues within the framework of an EU project and refer them to the

EURESEARCH office, which can provide further information if they are interested in partici-

pating.

Specific results

Sample team C apply immediately for a mentoring voucher and then start working with a

mentor on the project application. In the course of this work, the team come to the conclusion

that they really want to involve another partner from Germany in order to have direct access

to a larger market for the implementation. The mentor establishes the contact to the Enter-

prise Europe Network, which finds three possible, suitable partners and establishes the con-

tact within three weeks. The team meet with a German company and decide to include it in

the project.

They submit their application to Innosuisse a few days/weeks later and receive an answer

roughly two months later about whether Innosuisse is funding the project. If the evaluation

is positive, the team can start implementing their project.

Another team broke up after the first phase because their implementation partner lost inter-

est. During the presentation of the innovation idea and the first results, other interested par-

ties approach the remaining team and discussions for a possible new project are held.

After testing the idea, a third team have a breakthrough and decide to implement the idea

together as quickly as possible without external financing.


4.3 SME support from the Swiss RIS Community

What is a Regional Innovation System (RIS)?

Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) are economic areas that transcend cantonal and some-

times national borders, and in which cooperation between three key stakeholders in the inno-

vation process is actively promoted: businesses, universities and the public sector. A RIS com-

prises all the organisations and institutions that work together in a network and contribute to

dynamic innovation in a region.

Possibility of «NTN – Innovation Booster» cooperating with the Swiss RIS Community

The RIS’ services speed up the pace with which businesses’ innovation plans are transformed

into reality. The RIS provide support to organisations including SMEs on issues relating to their

innovation activities, ranging from topics such as resources and expertise to useful networks.

Key Account Managers (KAMs) working in the RIS management units play a central role in

this. A KAM is a person who is in regular, direct contact with the companies in a RIS. The KAM

function is given different names in different RIS (e.g. innovation coach, technology and inno-

vation expert, manager, business consultant, etc.). KAMs carry out independent needs anal-

yses to establish the potential for innovation and the support requirements of an SME, define

the necessary action plan in partnership with it and support the implementation process.

In this way, KAMs can play an important and complementary role in the «NTN – Innovation

Booster» by helping SMEs to integrate ideas into their business strategies (see Chapter 3.5.4).

Those responsible for the «NTN – Innovation Booster» initiatives are encouraged to contact

the applicable RIS management office at an early stage and to explore the potential for SMEs

to unlock synergies.

Which regions in Switzerland have active RIS?

The Swiss RIS Community is an interest group made up of leading figures from the regional

innovation promotion agencies. The RIS management offices listed below offer needs-driven

innovation promotion for Swiss SMEs and startups and promote cooperation between them-

selves and with other partners in the field of innovation promotion, such as Innosuisse.


Contacts Swiss RIS Community:

RIS Suisse Occidentale (BE, FR, VD, VS, NE, GE, JU) • Platinn

Pico Lantini, Direktor [email protected] +41 26 347 48 48 www.platinn.ch

RIS Nordwestschweiz (BL, BS, JU) • BaselArea.swiss

Christof Klöpper, Managing Director [email protected] +41 61 295 50 05, www.baselarea.swiss

RIS Mittelland (BE) • be-advanced

Roger Neuenschwander, CEO, [email protected] +41 31 335 62 62 www.be-advanced.ch

RIS Zentralschweiz (LU, NW, OW, SZ, UR, ZG) • Zentralschweiz innovativ,

Bruno Imhof, Executive Director [email protected] +41 41 349 50 62 www.zentralschweiz-innovativ.ch

RIS Ost (AI, AR, GL, GR, SH, SG, TG, Zürcher Berggebiet) • Institut für Technologiemanagement,

Universität St. Gallen (ITEM-HSG) Lukas Budde [email protected] +41 71 224 7219

Sistema regionale d’innovazione SRI (TI) • Fondazione AGIRE

Lorenzo Ambrosini, Executive Director [email protected] +41 91 610 27 10 www.agire.ch

Kanton Aargau

Hightech Zentrum Aargau Dr. Martin Bopp, Executive Director [email protected] +41 56 560 50 60

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.platinn.ch/


http://www.baselarea.swiss/


http://www.be-advanced.ch/


http://www.zentralschweiz-innovativ.ch/



http://www.agire.ch/


«ntn innovation booster» call for tender: funding period ...€¦ · tion without having to...

Documents