Innosuisse innovation cheque (Switzerland)

What it funds

The cheque pays for a preliminary study that checks whether an innovation project can be carried out: idea and concept studies, analyses of the innovation and market potential of a process, product, service or technology. That is article 24 of the Innosuisse Funding Ordinance (SR 420.231). The money goes to the research partner, not to the company: the rate on the fact sheet applies to the institution's costs.

Requirements and what is left out

• For a company that belongs to a group, the headcount of the whole group counts. The page also admits public or private organizations below the same threshold.
• The research partner is one of these: higher education research institutions, non-commercial research institutions outside the higher education sector, federal administration research institutions, federal research institutes. A consultancy can never be one, and that applies to me too.
• A study on software, data or AI falls within the general wording of article 24, which names no technology.
• Companies that received a cheque in the last two years are out.
• The eligible-costs document excludes standard business software licenses (Office, CRM, ERP), general IT infrastructure, outsourcing the core activities together with the technical and economic lead of the project, publications and patent filing. A license is allowed only when the study requires it.
• Travel within Switzerland (with accommodation, meals and conferences) is excluded, as are trips abroad made only to attend a conference; cross-border travel the project needs is eligible.
• No double funding of the same costs: costs already covered by other funds do not count, and applications for similar projects elsewhere must be disclosed. The rule is Swiss and does not derive from EU State aid law.

How to apply

1. Choose the research institution and agree the study's question together.
2. Submit the application at any time on the Innosuisse submission portal.
3. If the application is approved, carry out the study within the period set on the measure's page; then send Innosuisse the scientific final report and the financial report.
4. Innosuisse issues the final statement; once the objection period has passed, it pays the institution without any further request.

What this budget builds

A feasibility study answers a question before the actual investment: whether a model holds up on the data the company really has, whether an integration works on the existing systems, which path leads from proof of concept to product. The institution does the study; my part is helping the company frame the technical question and, afterwards, build on ground already tested.

This entry is informational and is not advice: I do not handle grant applications, and before committing to a purchase it is worth reading the official source above or talking to whoever files the application.