Kista Science City (Stockholm, Sweden), Sting, LEAD, Ideon Science Park and Uppsala Innovation Centre have jointly been granted 35 million Swedish kronor in funding from sources including the EU. The initiative, called TACTIC, will according to the press release establish a national structure to accelerate the development of technology with both civilian and military applications.
"Sweden has an enormous civilian innovation capacity, but technical solutions rarely make it all the way through to the defence sector. By joining forces across regional boundaries, we can help companies navigate everything from innovation support to regulatory requirements and become market-ready for the defence sector," says Karin Bengtsson, CEO of Kista Science City.
This is stated by the organisations in a joint press release dated 9 June.
The background to the initiative, according to the press release, is that small technology companies are developing solutions relevant to Swedish security, but that pathways for introducing this technology into the defence sector are often lacking. TACTIC will therefore connect civilian innovation environments, technology companies and actors within Sweden's total defence (Totalförsvar) framework, with the Stockholm region as its base.
Through the initiative, companies will gain access to needs dialogues, business development support, test and demonstration environments, and international partnerships.
By the end of the project, at least 80 small and medium-sized enterprises will have received support linked to dual-use technology. At least ten innovation processes between companies and requirements owners within the total defence framework will have been completed, and at least ten international partnerships will have been initiated. In addition, a long-term cooperation structure between civilian innovation environments and defence actors will have been established.
The five participating organisations are active within incubation and business development in Stockholm, Uppsala (eastern Sweden), Linköping (southern Sweden, home to Sweden's aerospace industry), Norrköping (southeastern Sweden) and Lund (southern Sweden).