Deadline: 15-Sep-2025
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced the Pioneer Innovator Grant to support groundbreaking academic research with strong commercial potential. This grant aims to accelerate the commercialisation of novel research and the development of new technologies by funding early-stage proof-of-concept activities.
The grant is offered under two research streams: Sustainability and Health. The Sustainability stream focuses on innovative research in agriculture, food, environmental and industrial biotechnology, carbon capture, and technologies related to nitrous oxide and methane emissions, as well as quantum technologies. Projects related to sustainable agriculture, healthy diets, and climate change mitigation are of particular interest.
The Health stream supports innovation in med-tech, pharma, industrial biotech, and quantum technologies. It aims to promote the development of new medical treatments, diagnostics, disease prevention tools, and healthcare devices. Special attention is given to projects targeting cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, as well as preventive health solutions.
The foundation will allocate between DKK 56–117 million in total funding. Individual projects can receive up to DKK 1.2 million for a duration of one year. Funding can cover salaries for research personnel at all levels, operational costs, project equipment (up to DKK 200,000 annually), communication and outreach, conference participation, travel, publication fees, commercialization expenses, direct administrative costs (up to 5%), and legal counsel on intellectual property. However, salaries for main or co-applicants, overhead costs, and other indirect expenses are not eligible.
Projects already funded from other sources must disclose this in the application to avoid budgetary overlap. If funding is awarded elsewhere after submitting the application, the Foundation must be notified immediately.
To be eligible, the project must have a main applicant and may include co-applicants if relevant. The main applicant must be a student, faculty member, or researcher employed at a university, hospital, or research institution in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, or Sweden). Co-applicants may be from the same or different institutions, both locally and internationally.
The hosting institution must be a non-profit organisation. Grants cannot be awarded directly to companies. Projects from incubators or those with intellectual property owned by a university’s holding institution are eligible if the university remains the administrative body and no company has yet been established for the project.
Applications will be assessed by the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s Innovator Grants Committee based on the novelty and potential impact of the project, the expertise and leadership of the applicant team, and the project’s commercial potential or scalability.
For more information, visit Novo Nordisk Foundation.
