Technology & Special Needs
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: 05.09.2023
Training day: 23.09.2023
Deadline for project submissions: 15.10.2023
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:
- The needs are defined by the people concerned
- Ideation sessions allow all interested people to come up with ideas to meet the defined needs
- Interdisciplinary teams are formed around innovation ideas
- 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.
- In the framework of the call for projects, teams submit their project for a feasibility study, exploratory research or a prototype
- 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
- The selected teams receive support from the experts of the methodological group
- Teams carry out their project, then submit a final report presenting the results
- 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
Institutions and social actions
Companies
Public authorities
Academics
