Over the past decade, the concept of design has become more prominent in research and debate on innovation. One example of this is the success of Apple's smart phones, where design and technological innovation have gone hand in hand to produce the touch-sensitive screens. In the management-related literature, the concept of "design thinking" has emerged as a way of capturing a new relationship between design and management. In the design-related literature, concepts such as "innovation in meaning" have instead taken hold, as a description of what kind of innovations design contributes. A large part of the previous research focuses primarily on company innovations and the role design can play in these contexts, and has contributed theories, empirical studies and actionable knowledge. However, we know less today about how design can play a role for the actors in the innovation system that are close to, or partly constitute, actors close to basic research. The aim of this project is to contribute knowledge about how design can contribute to the transformation from research-based ideas to products on a market.