Deadline: 10-Sep-2025
The SustainGov program, part of the Swedish initiative Impact Innovation by the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas, and Vinnova, invites proposals for preparatory projects aimed at reforming the public sector. The goal is to promote health, well-being, and a sustainable society for all, regardless of geography or socioeconomic status.
The program supports preparatory projects that identify, analyze, and address system-level issues. These projects should build the groundwork for innovative, cross-sector proposals to be tested and developed in the future.
SustainGov focuses on four key areas: collaborative systems for complex care needs, inclusive societies for vulnerable groups, future-proofing food security, and redefining the social contract between the public and the government. Projects should offer systemic change, cross-sector collaboration, and solutions tailored to individual and societal needs.
Funding up to SEK 500,000 is available per project, covering up to 80% of eligible costs. Each project may run for a maximum of six months, starting December 1, 2025. Around 15 projects are expected to be funded in each focus area.
Eligible costs include personnel expenses, equipment, consultancy and licensing (capped at 20% unless otherwise justified), materials, travel, and indirect overhead. Projects must emphasize innovation, systemic transformation, and measurable societal impact.
Expected outcomes include a shift from reactive to proactive models, from rigid organizational approaches to individual-centric solutions, from process-driven to impact-focused results, and from passive recipients to active co-creators in the solution process.
Projects must involve at least two legal entities from sectors such as the public sector, academia, business, or civil society. The lead applicant must be a Swedish public sector entity, such as a municipality, regional authority, or national public body, and must operate in Sweden.
Only legal entities can apply; individual persons and sole proprietorships are not eligible. The project manager must be employed by one of the project participants. Applications must be submitted before the project begins and include all required attachments in either Swedish or English.
For more information, visit Vinnova.
