Business networks

Business networks across Norway can apply for grants for main projects lasting up to three years.

The participants in the business network must agree that one of the participating companies will act as the applicant company and administrator on behalf of the network.

To be considered for further assessment, your business network must meet the following minimum requirements:

• The business network must consist of at least three small and medium-sized enterprises with established operations in Norway and sound finances.
• The companies must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises
• The companies should not normally have any ownership interests in each other
• Large companies and knowledge institutions in Norway or abroad may participate, but Norwegian small and medium-sized enterprises must account for at least 50 per cent of the participants
• The project must aim to increase growth and value creation by developing and realising new market opportunities in existing or new markets in Norway or abroad, based on the companies' existing products, services, expertise and technology
• The project must be based on strategic collaboration between companies with shared needs and complementary resources that offer potential for synergies
• Letter of intent signed by the participating companies

You can apply for grants of up to NOK 1,000,000 per year for up to three years.

Our funding covers costs related to the administration and project management of the network.

Costs that may be included when calculating the grant are:

• The applicant's/network administrator's costs related to managing the network. This includes purchased services (project management, report preparation, workshop facilitation and more) and other invoiced costs related to the network.
• The applicant/administrator company's own hours spent running the network project. For more information about standard hourly rates, read about approved hourly rates.

Costs that are not eligible for funding:

• Hours worked and travel expenses incurred by participating companies.

We will determine the level of public funding based on an overall assessment of the project. Participating companies must expect to contribute both cash and their own time and resources.

We pay the grant to the applicant/administrator based on documented project costs recorded in the applicant's/administrator's accounts.

The total costs recorded by the applicant company/administrator must be at least equal to the amount of public funding.

You can apply for one year at a time, for up to three years. You can provide additional information in project documents attached to the online application.

You can apply when the applicant company and participating companies agree that the project is sufficiently well planned. You must submit applications for years 2 and 3 well before the current project period ends. You must submit the application for year 2 well before the agreed project period for year 1 ends.

De minimis aid

We provide grants for business networks under the rules on de minimis aid.

The support is distributed among all participants in the business network, including the company acting as administrator. For example, if the network has 10 participants and receives a grant of NOK 1 million, NOK 100,000 will count towards each participant's de minimis aid limit.

Declaration of de minimis aid

As part of the application process, the administrator company (applicant) will receive a task from us to complete the Declaration of de minimis aid. In the form on My Page / Online Banking, the administrator must download the PDF version of the declaration and then share it with all the business partners in the network.

Once everyone who is able to, including the administrator company, has submitted their declaration in the form, upload it and return it to us for further processing. If any of the network participants cannot submit a declaration because they have exceeded the de minimis aid threshold, you must inform your case officer. We will take this into account when determining the grant amount.

When we assess your project, we focus on:

The impact of the project

• The extent to which the collaboration and use of synergies strengthen the companies' competitiveness
• The potential for growth and value creation for the participating companies through collaboration, beyond what they can achieve individually
• Expected contribution to long-term value creation in Norway

Degree of innovation/novelty

We place particular emphasis on market innovation and risk:

• The extent to which the project targets new market segments and customer groups in existing or entirely new markets
• The extent to which the collaborating companies will offer new, integrated product and service solutions that deliver greater customer value
• Overall risk associated with the collaborative project
• The extent to which public funding helps make the project possible
• To what extent will the risk mitigation provided by public funding act as a catalyst and help to
  • the project is initiated and delivered
  • the scope of the project/activities will increase significantly
  • the project/activities will be completed more quickly
  • the participating companies commit significantly more of their own resources

Implementation capacity

The participating companies' ability to deliver, including whether they have sound finances and the financial resources, expertise and capacity to contribute the agreed resources to the project and realise their own value creation potential

The project's overall delivery capability

• Is the mix of participating companies appropriate for the project's goals and ambitions?
• Do the companies have complementary resources and shared needs, and has it been demonstrated that this creates potential for synergies?
• Is the implementation plan clear, agreed and realistic?
• Are the collaborative activities relevant and appropriately scaled to create synergies and achieve shared goals?
• Have the project organisation and management been described and clarified?
• Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined and agreed?
• Does the board have the right composition and expertise?
• Has it been demonstrated that the project manager and project team have sufficient experience and expertise?
• Whether the administering company has the capacity and resources, and is willing to take primary responsibility for successful delivery
• Does the project have sufficient funding, specialist personnel and other resources to achieve the agreed goals and ambitions?

A project must meet all four main criteria to qualify for funding.

Use the checklist below to help you discuss and prepare a project description. Write briefly and clearly about the factors you consider relevant and important for understanding and accurately assessing the potential and risks of the collaborative project.

Partnership structure

• Brief presentation of all participating companies:
  • briefly about the company
  • core expertise and technology
  • main products and key markets today
  • revenue in the most recent financial year and number of employees
• Rationale for the composition of the group of companies
• How do the companies complement each other, and what needs do they share?
• What are the companies' shared goals and ambitions?

Potential for synergies and increased competitiveness

• What is the potential for market, competence or technology synergies resulting from the collaboration?
• To what extent will strategic collaboration and synergies strengthen the companies' competitiveness?
• To what extent can the companies gain a competitive advantage by offering new, integrated product and service solutions that deliver greater customer value than competing offerings?

Market opportunities

• Which geographical markets does the project target?
• What are the key characteristics and trends in the market?
• A specific description of the new market opportunities
• Are the market opportunities related to:
  • existing markets and customer groups
  • new segments and customer groups in existing markets
  • entirely new markets
• To what extent are the market, market segment and customer group new to the participating companies?
• Do any of the participants already have knowledge of, networks in or an established business in this market or segment?

Growth and value creation potential

• What is the potential for growth and value creation for the participating companies beyond what they can achieve individually?
• Expected contribution to long-term value creation in Norway through increased competence in the participating companies and job creation

Project risk

• What are the main areas of risk?
• How is the overall project risk assessed?
• What is your plan for managing risk?

Project implementation

• A joint strategy and implementation plan with a three-year time horizon.
• Description of how the plan is embedded in the participating companies' boards, executive management and strategies
• A brief presentation of the steering group, project management and any project team, focusing on their composition and expertise
• Reasons for potentially strengthening the project's capacity and expertise by engaging an external project manager
• Allocation of roles and responsibilities for implementing the activity plan
• Explain how the main activities will create synergies and achieve the partnership's shared goals
• Budget and financing plan for the three-year period (estimate)
• Budget and financing plan for year 1 (detailed)
• Self-financing in the form of cash contributions from the participants
• Are all participating companies aware of their rights, responsibilities and obligations to contribute their own funding, staff resources and other resources to the project?
• Have the commitments been agreed at management level in the participating companies?
• Have all participating companies agreed that a letter of intent must be drawn up, signed and attached to the online application?
• Do all participating companies understand that the collaboration must be formalised through a signed collaboration agreement before the project starts?

• Detailed presentation of the project participants
• Overview of the participants' core expertise
• Pre-project report
• Market reports
• Strategy and implementation plan, project organisation
• Letter of intent (must be attached to the online application)

Download a sample letter of intent

Key points for a collaboration agreement

This list of points is not exhaustive. You may need to include additional points, and other solutions than those outlined may be appropriate.

The participants must adapt the cooperation agreement to the specific circumstances of each case. You must assess whether you need legal assistance in this connection. We are not liable for any errors or omissions in the checklist.

Participants

• The companies participating in the collaboration should be listed by name and organisation number (collectively referred to below as the 'participating companies').
• You must specify which participating company will be responsible for the project. You may also specify who will be the project manager.

Area of collaboration/project

• Describe the scope of the collaboration/project (hereinafter referred to as 'the project') and its purpose. If the project needs to be distinguished from the participating companies' other business areas or activities, describe these boundaries. Include the project strategy in the collaboration agreement or attach it as a separate document.

Legal structure and organisation

• Whether you will set up a separate company for the project or incorporate it into one of the participating companies. You should describe in more detail how you plan to organise the project, taking into account the chosen legal structure.
• Roller, oppgaver, ansvar og fullmakter for deltakerbedriftene, prosjektansvarlig og prosjektleder bør tas inn eller legges ved samarbeidsavtalen i eget dokument. Det bør avklares hvem som kan inngå kontrakter på vegne av bedriftsnettverket/prosjektet.

Ownership, rights and obligations

• Det bør beskrives hva deltakerbedriftene skal bidra med i prosjektet, for eksempel kompetanse, produkter, metoder, immaterielle rettigheter (IPR), fysisk utstyr og distribusjonsnett. Eierskap og rettigheter til slike bidrag bør reguleres.
• Eierskap og bruksrett til IPR og øvrige verdier som utvikles innenfor prosjektet bør tas inn.

Utviklingsoppgaver og framdriftsplaner

• Viktige utviklingsoppgaver, faser og milepæler for prosjektet bør tas inn. I tillegg kan det vises til årlige handlingsplaner i egne dokumenter.

Finansiering

• Hvordan prosjektet skal finansieres - fordeling av kontantbidrag fra deltakerne og offentlig tilskudd.
• Det bør sørges for at prosjektet har tilstrekkelig likviditet til enhver tid.

Økonomi og regnskap. Inntekts- og kostnadsfordeling

• Hvem som skal ha ansvaret for budsjettering, rapportering og regnskapsføring bør tas inn.
• Hvordan prosjektets inntekter og utgifter skal fordeles mellom deltakerbedriftene.

Ledelse og informasjon

• Det bør fastsettes hvordan prosjektet skal ledes. Det bør etableres en styringsgruppe. Rollefordelingen mellom styringsgruppen og prosjektleder bør beskrives.
• Ledelsens arbeidsform, herunder beslutningsregler og hvorvidt fullmakter skal gis.
• Informasjon og kommunikasjon mellom ledelsen og deltakerbedriftene. Kommunikasjon utad på vegne av prosjektet.

Konfidensiell informasjon

• Det bør tas inn hva som skal være konfidensiell informasjon i tilknytning til prosjektet, og hvilke regler som skal gjelde for behandlingen av slik informasjon. Videre hvorvidt deltakerbedriftene bør undertegne taushetserklæring.

Inntak og uttreden av deltakere

• Regler for inntak av nye deltakerbedrifter i prosjektet bør tas inn. Regler for uttreden av deltakerbedrifter fra prosjektet bør tas inn

Mislighold

• Det kan tas inn hva som skal skje ved mislighold av samarbeidsavtalen.

Varighet

• Det bør tas inn hvilken tidsperiode samarbeidsavtalen skal gjelde for, og hvilke regler som skal gjelde for eventuelt å kunne forlenge avtalen.

Lovvalg og tvister

• Det bør tas inn at samarbeidsavtalen skal reguleres av norsk rett. Det bør tas inn hvordan tvister skal løses, og om de alminnelige domstoler eller voldgift skal benyttes dersom tvistene ikke løses i minnelighet.

Finansiering av nettverket skjer gjennom tilskudd fra oss og kontantbidrag fra deltakerne i nettverket.

Tilskuddet gis som bagatellmessig støtte og vår finansieringsandel vil kunne utgjøre inntil 100 % av godkjent støttegrunnlag. Utmåling av støtten baseres på en vurdering av utløsende effekt, prosjektets godhet og den aktuelle rammesituasjonen.

Resterende finansiering av godkjent kostnadsgrunnlag er kontantbidrag fra deltakerbedriftene.

Dersom en eller flere av deltakerbedriftene ikke har ledig ramme for å kunne motta bagatellmessig støtte, må de aktuelle bedriftene betale et høyere kontantbidrag tilsvarende deres andel av tilskuddet fra oss.

Det betyr at samlet støttefra oss reduseres tilsvarende.

Vi forventer at alle deltakerbedriftene legger innsats og tid i prosjektet. Personalkostnader hos deltakerne kan ikke inngå i kostnadsgrunnlaget i søknaden, eller prosjektregnskapet som leveres til oss. Det er kun personalkostnader hos administratorbedriften som kan inngå i kostnadsgrunnlaget.

Dersom støtteutmålingen fra oss forutsetter egenfinansiering fra bedriftsnettverksdeltakerne, innebærer dette at deltakerne i nettverket må betale et kontantbidrag til administratorbedriften. Administratorbedriften må også bidra med egenfinansiering på lik linje med de øvrige deltakerne, men for administratorbedriften er det ikke naturlig å kreve et kontantbidrag, men f.eks. finansiering over drift. Omfanget bør beskrives i søknad og prosjektrapport.

Oppsummert: I prosjektregnskapet som leveres til oss skal kun prosjektkostnader som er regnskapsført hos administratorbedriften medtas.

Omfanget av deltakerbedriftenes innsats (deltakelse på arrangement, møter, prosjekter osv) skal beskrives i sluttrapporten. Det kreves ikke dokumentasjon i form av timelister.

Innovasjon Norge tilbyr også medfinansiering til bedriftsnettverk som ønsker et digitalt kompetanseløft gjennom bruk av "European Digital Innovation Hubs" (EDIH). To EDIH-er er lokalisert i Norge: Nemonoor og Oceanopolis.

Høres dette interessant ut? Ta kontakt direkte med EDIH eller Innovasjon Norges kunderådgivere som kan sette deg i kontakt.