Purpose
The purpose of the Pioneer Innovator Grant is to accelerate commercialization of research findings and development of novel technologies within the health sciences.
The Pioneer Innovator Grant seeks to support novel academic science-based discoveries with a commercial potential. The grant aims to stimulate the evaluation of ideas and to support experiments and activities leading to proof-of-concept.
Areas of support
The Pioneer Innovator Grant seeks to support research within Life Science (medtech, industrial biotech, or pharma) and to stimulate the evaluation of ideas that may lead to the development of new medical treatment, disease prevention, diagnostic methods as well as new health technologies, devices and technological platforms.
Eligibility
The research project must comprise a main applicant and has the option of including co-applicants when deemed relevant.
The Main Applicant:
- The main applicant must be a faculty member, a researcher or a student employed at a university, hospital, or other research institution in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden).
Co-applicant(s):
- Co-applicants can be included in the project, but not required.
- Co-applicants may come from the same hosting institution as the main applicant or from different university, hospitals, or research institutions locally and abroad.
Hosting Institution:
- A Pioneer Innovator Grant must be administered by a non-profit organization.
- A Pioneer Innovator Grant cannot be given to a company.
- Projects from incubator development programs and projects where IPR is owned by a university’s holding institution, are eligible to apply if:
- The administrating institution is the university
- The project and its findings are anchored in academia
- The project has not resulted in the establishment of a company (given company has not established a CVR/company number)
Project Scope:
The Pioneer Innovator project idea and focus must be directly linked to improving the lives of patients and health of people. Applications in which the project idea is not directly linked to patients or health of people, will receive an administrative rejection during the initial screening process of applications.
Funding
The total grant budget is DKK 35 million in 2022. Each granted project can receive a grant of up to DKK 1 million for one year.
