The Innovation Booster Technology and Special Needs is lead by the FRH

Technology & Special Needs

Powered by Innosuisse

People with disabilities should be able to develop their autonomy in order to integrate and actively participate in the different spheres of society – public, professional, private.

Technological innovations developed with and for people with disabilities will enable Switzerland to be more inclusive and to participate in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

In collaboration with the HES-SO Valais-Wallis and the HE-Arc, the FRH has obtained an Innosuisse funding of approximately 2 million Swiss francs for the years 2021 to 2024. This funding aims at supporting and promoting ideas and projects related to disability.

Ongoing call for projects

Call for projects opening date: 01.02.2024

More information on the call for projects

Training day: 09.03.2024

More information on the training day

Deadline for project submissions: 31.03.2024

Contact us

Sarah Sandoz, Project coordinator

sarah.sandoz@hevs.ch

Tel: +41 77 502 52 03

Benjamin Nanchen, Living Lab for Special Needs Manager

benjamin.nanchen@frh-fondation.ch

Video Portrait

How the Innovation Booster Technology and Special Needs works

The process is described in the diagram below and in the text that follows. The diagram is available in standard French, simplified French, German, Italian and English. Switch to other languages with the left and right arrows.

Each year the Innovation Booster Technology & Special Needs allocates CHF 245,000 as a seed fund to help new projects get off the ground:

  1. The needs are defined by the people concerned
  2. Ideation sessions allow all interested people to come up with ideas to meet the defined needs
  3. Interdisciplinary teams are formed around innovation ideas
  4. The teams, as well as anyone interested in submitting a project, participate in the training day and/or a meeting with the experts of the methodological group.
  5. In the framework of the call for projects, teams submit their project for a feasibility study, exploratory research or a prototype
  6. The Innovation Booster jury, consisting of concerned persons (experts) and scientists, evaluates the proposals, selects the most relevant projects and awards cheques: 
    • CHF 5’000 for feasibility studies
    • CHF 10’000 for exploratory research
    • CHF 10’000 for prototypes
  7. The selected teams receive support from the experts of the methodological group
  8. Teams carry out their project, then submit a final report presenting the results
  9. Teams can
    • submit a new project in the next Innovation Booster call for proposals, to develop a new aspect of their idea
    • apply for funding from Innosuisse or another organisation
    • terminate the project.

For the implementation of projects, different funding can be used (Innosuisse innovation cheque, Innosuisse project, etc.). The Living Lab Disability can support the teams in this step.

Our partners

Organisations of and for people concerned

logo club fauteuil roulant valais romand
logo forom écoute
logo Forum Handicap Valais Wallis
logo insos
Logo of ISAAC Francophone
logo kbk kantonale behindertenkonferenz bern
logo MaRaVal maladies rares Valais seltene Krankheiten Wallis
logo Pro Senectute Plus Forts Ensemble
logo de Unitas, associoazione ciechi e ipovedenti della svizzera italiana

Institutions and social actions

Logo Arkadis begleiten beraten bewegen
logo école de la pomme L'accès aux nouvelles technologies
logo Ekkharthof Leben aus anderer Perspektive
Logo of EnableMe
Logo Erwo Plus Bildung für Alle
Logo Fondation Foyers Valais de Cœur
logo Hackahealth Geneva
Logo of the Foundation Les Buissonnets and of Home-Ecole Romand
Logo Mit Mänsch Oberwallis
logo de Ramp To Go

Companies

logo Adnovum
Logo BLS
logo Effectum Medical Your Startup to Market
logo Raising the Floor Because Technology should work for all
logo SaneoPlus
logo Slowlution
logo Soundmap.io
logo Vision Positive
logo Web Accessible

Public authorities

logo Canton du Valais Kanton Wallis

Academics

Logo Cybathlon ETH Zürich
logo HES-SO Valais Wallis
Logo von der Hochschule Luzern, soziale Arbeit
logo i Home Lab, Hochschule Luzern
logo Ostschweizer Fachhochschule
logo de la SUPSI University of applied sciences and arts of southern switzerland
logo Université de Genève Faculté de Traduction et d'Interprétation
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