Funding Opportunity: Vinnova Seeks Projects for Sustainable Water Solutions (Sweden)

The focus areas for this initiative include innovation, policy development, capacity development, research, and internationalisation, all aimed at ensuring water is available in the right quantity and quality to support people, ecosystems, the environment, and businesses despite a changing climate.

This call for proposals invites collaborative projects that develop and test innovative solutions with the potential to change water systems in practice. Projects should contribute to one or more of Water Wise Societies’ interim goals and missions, focusing on new working methods, technologies, and business models that ensure water resources are used more sustainably and fairly. Funding is aimed at initiatives that require multiple actors to collaborate in developing, testing, and preparing solutions for implementation and scale-up.

Eligible applicants include actors across the “source to coast” system, such as municipalities, water and sanitation organisations, companies and industries, public authorities, research and innovation actors, civil society, and other relevant organisations. Each applicant group must include at least two parties, with at least one acting as a need-owner.

Projects can receive funding for a maximum duration of 36 months, with a total funding ceiling of SEK 10,000,000 per project and an aid intensity of up to 70%. The overall budget for this call for proposals is SEK 100 million, with projects starting no earlier than June 1, 2026, and concluding by May 30, 2029.

Through this programme, Sweden aims to implement practical system changes where innovative solutions, collaborative efforts, and new business and governance models will make water use more equitable and sustainable. This initiative provides an opportunity for actors across society to collectively contribute to a resilient and future-ready water system.

For more information, visit Vinnova.