Innosuise As A Support For Entrepreneurs

What is Innosuisse?

Today, the combination of knowledge, research, and development is the key to economic success. Innosuisse aims to promote cooperation between science and the market through innovation projects, networking, training, and coaching. In this context, it is possible to create successful Swiss startups as well as innovative products and services. Therefore, it promotes a successful and sustainable national economy.

Innosuisse has its own legal personality and is a public-law institution of the Federation. The principle of subsidiarity applies to the support of projects and is only supported where innovation is not possible without funding or market potential has not been exploited.

The Tasks and Objectives

Innosuisse plans to support the promotion of science-based innovation, which means developing new products, processes, procedures, and services for the economy and society. This is achieved through research, in particular application-oriented research, and through the use of its results. Innosuisse coordinates its activities with regional and cantonal initiatives and acts as a subsidiary of private companies. Overall, the Agency has defined five targets for the period 2021–2024.

1. The main objective of Innosuisse is to promote innovation. It enables the effective and direct transfer of research results into practise and aims at increasing the investment of companies (especially SMEs) in research and development, successfully bringing developments to market, and achieving economic and social benefits.
2. Knowledge and technology transfer (WTT) between universities and business partners enables access to the latest research results in the field of business. Due to the decline in companies’ investment in research and development in recent years, Innosuisse’s funding opportunities are being targeted and expanded within the framework of the WTT.
3. Innosuisse offers tailor-made support to young entrepreneurs to increase their economic value and create jobs. The existing instruments will be enhanced and targeted by new initiatives in areas not yet developed.
4. Innosuisse has introduced a new tool to promote highly qualified people to help improve their capacity for innovation. This instrument includes internships (exchanges between research and practise) and targeted qualification measures. The necessary legal bases will be provided within the framework of the planned revision of the Federal Law of December 14, 2012, on the promotion of research and innovation.
5. Innosuisse supported companies with an employment share of at least 500 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in 2021 and 2022 to maintain their innovation activities in the recession phase and to focus more on innovation. In this way, we can better cope with the structural changes accelerated by the crisis.

Innosuisse is not only an important support for domestic promotion but also promotes collaborations abroad. Therefore, the Agency is an important factor in promoting innovation and supporting the interests of the Swiss economy and society.