Innosuisse Funding Ordinance
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only, has no legal force and may not be relied on in legal proceedings.
Section 1 Common Provisions on Coaches and Mentors
Art. 58 Accreditation of coaches and mentors
1 A public selection procedure shall be conducted for accrediting service providers that work as coaches or mentors. 2 No public selection procedure is required if only a small number of persons must be selected and a public procedure would be excessive or would cause inappropriate delay. In this case, individuals who are suitable for the task may be selected directly. 3 The disciplines that are particularly significant for science-based innovation, the various regions of the country, the language regions and gender must be adequately represented among the selected coaches and mentors. 4 The number of coaches and mentors shall depend on demand. No person shall have a legal right to be included on the list under Article 20 paragraph 3 or Article 21 paragraph 2 RIPA. 5 The fact of being included on the list of coaches and mentors does not confer any right to employment in that capacity.
Art. 59 Obligations to be fulfilled
1 Any person who applies to become a coach or mentor must be prepared to do the following when working in that capacity for Innosuisse: a. publish their personal profile as a coach or mentor in accordance with the Innosuisse regulations; b. preserve confidentiality in relation to information while acting as a coach or mentor; c. preserve independence; d. disclose vested interests; e. render account in relation to the activities carried out; f. participate actively in continuing education and training and networking measures; g. participate in the quality assessment of the coaching or mentoring services. 2 The coaches and mentors must provide their services in person.
Art. 60 Review of and time limit for qualification
1 The services provided by coaches and mentors shall be reviewed at least every four years. Regular inspections of coaching and mentoring activities may also be carried out. 2 If the quality requirements defined by Innosuisse are no longer met, the coach or mentor concerned shall be removed from the list. 3 Coaches and mentors may be included on the list for a maximum of twelve years.
Art. 61 Exclusion of financial participation
1 Coaches may not participate financially, directly or indirectly, in the start-up company receiving coaching during the coaching and for one year after its conclusion. 2 Mentors may not participate financially, directly or indirectly, in the company concerned during the mentoring.
Section 2 Qualifications of Coaches
Art. 62
1 Coaches must offer their services through a company that has its registered office in Switzerland. 2 For coaches that provide general coaching services, the following criteria apply to their selection: a. experience in business management at management level, especially in development and turnaround situations for small and medium-sized enterprises, and in particular science-based start-up companies; b. relevant experience in developing strategies and organisations; c. relevant theoretical knowledge and practical experience in business model development, innovation management, product development, marketing and sales; d. experience in financial management and of financial issues; e. good knowledge of the national and international market in one or more sectors; f. ability to arrange contact with potential investors or business partners in Switzerland and abroad; g. proven success in providing advice and support in a comparable environment; h. good network in the environment for start
Section 3 Qualifications of Mentors
Art. 63
1 Mentors must offer their services through a company that has its registered office in Switzerland. 2 For their selection, the following criteria apply: a. relevant experience in research, development, product management or in the management of innovation projects; b. experience in defining and implementing strategies for developing products, services and processes; c. experience at management level; d. very good knowledge of and a network in the Swiss research environment; e. good contacts with and experience of dealing with cantonal and regional business development agencies, and sectoral and industry federations; f. very good knowledge of national and international knowledge and technology transfer; g. good analytical and communication skills and high customer orientation; h. availability in the vicinity when needed.