Innovation projects between companies and research institutions are at the very heart of Innosuisse funding. The Swiss Innovation Agency funds projects intended for the development of innovative products, services or processes. Innosuisse only covers the project costs incurred by the research partner. By providing this support, Innosuisse accelerates the transfer of knowledge and technology between universities and business, with the aim of creating economic added value.

Project funding leads to 21 percent more revenue and 18 percent more employment

Findings from the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) at ETH Zurich show that funding innovation projects increases revenue for the companies involved by 21 percent on average over the next five years. This is in comparison to Swiss companies without project support from Innosuisse but that otherwise have similar characteristics, such as expenditure on research and development, the level of education of their workforce or their competitive environment. This is especially true of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The study also documents the impact of funding on employment. Compared with companies without support, companies engaging in innovation projects have created 18 percent more jobs on average over five years. The positive effects seen for both revenue and employment are reinforced over time.

Through this study, KOF has provided scientific evidence of the link between innovation promotion in Switzerland and the impact seen as a result. While doing so, KOF researchers chose to take a methodological approach that is recognised by the international research community, and that suffers from as little distortion as possible. The “difference in differences” approach compares companies that receive innovation funding against similar companies without support from Innosuisse. The findings also confirm the results of Innosuisse’s impact monitoring, which is performed regularly on the basis of surveys undertaken by project partners.

Academic study proves the direct impact that innovation promotion has on revenue and employment