Q&A IVA’s 100 List

IVA’s 100 List presents selected research projects believed to have the potential to be developed into innovations, to promote business development or to provide other benefits. The list reflects a diverse range of research projects and researcher expertise from Sweden’s universities in a given field.

IVA’s 100 List was launched in connection with IVA’s 100^th anniversary in 2019, hence the name of the list.

IVA's conviction is that more successful collaborations around research results that result in innovations or other business development strengthen Sweden's competitiveness and contribute to positive societal development.

Through the 100 list, IVA highlights research with great potential to create value in the foreseeable future, for example through industrial commercialization, business and method development or social impact - and creates opportunities for collaboration and utilization.

The work with IVA's 100 list is conducted within the Reserch2Business project, which is a long-term investment in collaboration with organizations, companies, colleges and universities and their innovation support organizations.

The 100 List consists of a selection of research projects in a specific field that are under way at Swedish universities and that are considered to have the potential to be commercially developed or benefit society in other ways. The research projects on the list are selected in a nomination and selection process based on a number of established criteria.

The 100 list is a unique showcase that can give research projects increased opportunities to come to actual benefit, through collaboration with, for example, business. In addition to the publication on the list, representatives of the selected research projects are offered to participate in tailor-made activities aimed at increasing the opportunities for collaboration around utilization.

9 out of 10 participants recommend other researchers to apply, according to our evaluations.

The application is open to researchers and research teams, within technical and economic sciences, who are active at a university (or equivalent) in Sweden and are looking for contacts outside the academy for collaboration regarding continued development, application and utilization of their research. The researcher/research team must have a pronounced drive to want to develop their research through, for example, business development, and be able to provide an in-depth description of the research and its purpose.

After ensuring that your research meets the criteria, that you have the right to represent the research and that you can consent for it to be presented to the public, you are welcome to apply by providing information on your research using the application form available on the Award Force digital platform.

The application is open for about 1 1/2 months, usually at the beginning of the year.

All applications received are verified by a specially appointed review group who ensures that the research is in the relevant field and meets the criteria for the list.

A designated selection committee then reviews all applications. The selection committee consists of around 40 individuals representing broad areas of IVA’s network. The R2B Steering Committee makes the final decision on which research projects to present on the 100 List.

There is also a quality assurance team assigned to participate in all stages of the process.

The purpose of the 100 List is to highlight researchers and research teams who want to increase their contacts with the business community/industry and their local community. Being selected for the list is therefore not based on scientific excellence; the focus is instead on the potential of the research for commercial development and innovation, and its possible benefits for users, businesses and society. High scientific quality is, however, a basic requirement to be considered for the list.

Read  See adetailed description of the selection criteria here 

The research should have reached a stage where it can be disseminated and presented to the public, and be able to be commercialised in the near future. Emphasis is placed on the researchers themselves having the drive and will to develop their research for commercial applications or to turn their knowledge in another way into something that will benefit society – see the capacity selection criteria. 

Clarity regarding both the creation and management of intellectual property rights and other knowledge-based assets is required. The strategy developed cannot be based on rights that are already limited to an exclusive party, but on a clarity between the parties regarding the ownership relationship and developed business interests around the research results. If there are conceivable business model/s, we see it as a strength in the selection process. Management of intellectual property rights and any thoughts about the business model must be described in the application.

The 100 List is aimed at researchers and research teams whose research is at a stage where it can be disseminated and presented to the public. There should therefore be no information included in your application that is confidential or sensitive and that cannot be shared openly with the public. Confidentially cannot be maintained within the framework of participation in the 100 List.

Parties with a stake in the research should actively weigh in on what confidentiality within the framework of collaboration might look like, as confidentiality may be crucial for subsequent, possible patent applications. Since wording on confidentially is dependent on many different factors, the parties need to be able to jointly present wording that is formulated to be sustainable.

The person completing the application is responsible for managing the confidentiality aspect. IVA operates on the assumption that the person completing the application is managing the confidentiality aspect. If there is any uncertainty or if support is needed to describe the project in sufficient detail without including sensitive or confidential information, you can consult the innovation support department at your university.

No, decisions on selection and admission to IVA's 100 List cannot be contested or appealed.

IVA works with the 100 List within the Research2Business project, a long-term initiative run by IVA to promote cooperation between researchers, business and society that can strengthen Sweden's competitiveness in an international and sustainable perspective. Research2Business is run in collaboration with organizations, companies, colleges and universities with their innovation-supporting organizations, to create better conditions for innovation through collaborations and more contact surfaces between academic research and the business world.

No, IVA's projects do not have the means to finance research, or the opportunity to provide individual support or advice to researchers.

In matters of funding and advice, we refer to the respective college and university's innovation support activities, alternatively to surrounding organizations that work with innovation support.

Through publication on the 100 List and related activities, IVA gives participating researchers and research teams opportunities for increased visibility and valuable contacts, but cannot guarantee what this will result in.

Any results of participation in the 100 List always accrue to the participant. IVA is not a party to any business agreements reached as a result of the participation.

Participating researchers are responsible for ensuring that they have the right to represent the research and give their consent for it to be presented publicly, as well as that the information published by IVA is correct.