Future of Food Systems (FutureFoodS) – first external call (2024)

The application platform can be with an international secretariat or with IFD. This will be clear from the call announcement.

The main difference is that in EU Horizon partnerships and programmes under the Nordic Council of Ministers, the evaluation is conducted by international secretariats, while in EUREKA and bilateral programmes such evaluation is conducted by the national funding agencies in the countries that participate in the call.

Read more in our guidelines

The call text announced on the Innovation Fund Denmarks website defines a limit for our support to the project. The maximum amount per Danish partner in international projects is EUR 300,000. Minimum amount is 50.000 EUR. The maximum amount for all Danish partners, if the project has two or more Danish partners, is EUR 500,000.

The maximum investment rate may vary between 35-90% for each individual participant. Please see tables 1-4 in the Guidelines.

Read more in our guidelines

Note: Danish participation in the calls on our website is subject to the Danish Finance Act being passed in the year in which the funding decision is made.

Applicants will be notified either by the call secretariat or by Innovation Fund Denmark. In the following process each Danish project participant will through e-grant be invited to upload additional documents, within approximately 4 weeks, including:

1. Acceptance of the terms and condition of the grant
2. An individual budget sheet.
3. A Gantt diagram.
4. A signed Consortia Agreement.

Applicants should ensure that the right people have access to the file in e-grant.

Read more in our guidelines

In international projects the participants should not start project activities before the Consortia Agreement has been signed by all partners and sent to Innovation Fund Denmark. In special cases, IFD can allow for a start of the project before the Consortia Agreement has been signed and uploaded.

In the Consortia Agreement, the participants in the project decide:

• how to use background and foreground knowledge
• distribution of the project results
• who will have/gain access to the project results,
• rules for publication and publications of project data
• the process for project participants leaving or entering the project etc.

Negotiating the Consortia Agreement is often time-consuming. We recommend that the participants start negotiations as soon as possible.

Read more in our guidelines

We have tried to gather the most frequently asked questions and answers below. We hope this answers some of your questions, and if not, please feel free to contact the program managers. See “Contact”.

Q1: We are two Danish partners in the project who are applying for funding from Innovation Fund Denmark. We can receive a maximum funding amount of EUR 500,000. Can one partner receive EUR 400,000 and the other EUR 100,000?

• Answer: No, a maximum financing amount of EUR 300,000 per partner. However, it is correct that the total funding amount for Danish partners must be equal to or lower than EUR 500,000. This means that one partner can receive a maximum of EUR 300,000 and the other up to EUR 200,000. Also note that maximum funding rates applicable to the specific types of organizations still apply.

Q2: Is overhead included in the maximum funding?

• Answer: Yes, specific overhead is included in the maximum funding from Innovation Fund Denmark, both in the maximum funding amount and the maximum funding rate. You can find specific overhead rates that apply to your organization in our guidelines. However, some types of organizations (eg regions and municipalities) do not receive overhead.

Q3: How do I calculate my financing rate?

• Answer: The funding rate (also called the investment rate) is calculated by dividing the requested funding amount by the total budgeted costs for a single partner. This means that the total budgeted costs for a partner are the sum of the requested funding amount and the partner’s own contribution to the budget.

Q4: Can I request a 100% financing rate?

• Answer : No. It is expected that you partially contribute to your project activities. For example, if the maximum funding rate for your organization is 75%, you must contribute at least 25% to your own budget. If your funding request corresponds to a funding rate of 100%, your application will be considered ineligible.

• If you apply for maximum support of EUR 300,000 and the financing rate is 75%, you must contribute EUR 100,000 yourself. If you apply for maximum support of EUR 300,000 and are from a university, where the funding rate is 90%, the university in-kind contribution is a minimum of EUR 33,333.

Q5: Can my organization apply for several projects in the same search option?

• Answer: Yes. But you are expected to participate in all the projects that are selected for funding. 

Q6: I have submitted my application to the call secretariat. Should I send it to Innovation Fund Denmark?

• Answer: Yes. You will receive an invitation from Innovation Fund Denmark with further instructions on uploading your application for e-grant. This typically happens 2-4 weeks after the application deadline.

Q7: Is submitting a letter of intent the same as a pre-proposal?

• Answer: Search options can be one-step or two-step. A two-step search option will request a pre-proposal and a full proposal. A one-step search option will only request a full proposal. Additionally, a search option may request a Letter of Intent at an early stage, but this is not the same as a pre-proposal.

Q8: When do I need to submit material in E-grant after I’ve received a grant?

• Answer: You are required to submit the tasks “Consortium Agreement” and “Acceptance of the grant” as soon as possible. The latter will organize the E-grant tasks for the entirety of the project. After this, progress reports and financial statements must be submitted semi-annually, after the projects official starting date. However, it is possible for SME’s to request quarterly submission of financial reports. In addition, an auditor’s report must be submitted annually.

Q9: The auditor’s report task in E-grant. Should it be an independent, state-authorized auditors report?

• Answer: Organizations under Rigsrevisionen must report using “Appendix 5”, and may be completed by the financial manager (økonomiansvarlige) other organizations must submit an independent auditors report prepared by an external state-authorized accountant. The company’s annual reports and management statements are not sufficient.

Asger Narud
Head of International & Missions
+45 6190 5082
asger.narud@innofond.dk

Daniel G. Marques
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Advanced technologies + Energy
+45 6190 5006
daniel.g.marques@innofond.dk

Katrine Boeriis
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Health partnerships + Nordic
+45 6190 5092
katrine.boeriis@innofond.dk

Mathias Holm Tveen
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Bioresources + Sustainable transition
+45 6190 5073
mathias.holm.tveen@innofond.dk

Rebecca Stiig Vibæk
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Bilateral collaborations + Eurostars
+45 6190 5076
rebecca.stiig.vibaek@innofond.dk

Marie Friis Madsen
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Eurostars + EUREKA
+45 6190 5059
marie.friis.madsen@innofond.dk

Stine Holm (Maternity leave)
Program Officer, International & Missions
Funding area: Eurostars + EUREKA
+45 6190 5074
stine.holm@innofond.dk

The areas of funding are indicative. We recommend finding the contact information under the specific call.

When applying for funding for an international project with Innovation Fund Denmark, a number of documentations are required.

The Danish applicants will be invited, via e-grant, when their file has opened. This usually happens within four weeks after the application deadline. The invitation includes the task described in ‘From approval of appplication to start of the project’ and the following additional documents, where applicable.

• No undertaking in difficulty
  Declaration that the organisation does not hold the status of an undertaking in difficulty. This is a requirement for all applications from non-public enterprises and organisations.
   
• Financial and legal declaration
  All non-public organizations must, by using this form, declare that they have the necessary financial capacity to participate in the applied project, and that no legal circumstances exist that would disqualify them.
   
• SME-declaration
  Declaration that the small- or medium sized enterprise (SME) fulfills the requirement for an SME. This is a requirement for all applications from an SME.
   
• De minimis aid Compliance
  As an alternative to investment rates under the State aid regulations, Danish SMEs can choose to be financed according to The European Commission’s de minimis regulation. If this is applied, the maximum investment for the SME in a three year period is EUR 300.000. Salary is then calculated based on a fixed hourly rate of DKK 750 (approx. EUR 100) per hour. This form is a requirement for applicants wishing to apply under the de minimis rules. Note: Special rules apply for companies in the primary production of agro- and aquaculture products.
   
• Guidance for Gantt chart
  There is no mandatory template for the Gantt chart, but the chart must fill the requirements described in the guidelines. This is a requirement for all projects granted funding.

Documents

• No undertaking in difficulty.pdf
• Financial and legal declaration.pdf
• SME declaration.pdf
• De minimis aid compliance 2025.pdf
• Guidance for Gantt chart.pdf
• Guidelines for Evaluators – National Evaluation .pdf

Documents

• Revisionsinstruks – Innovationsfonden 2025_0.pdf
• Guidelines International Collaborations June 2026.pdf
• Annex to the Guidelines for International Collaborations.pdf