How new must the idea be?

New may be:

The ground-breaking idea of the research (ERC and H2020)
Advanced beyond current knowledge/State of the art (H2020)
Innovation potential (H2020)
Filling knowledge gaps (RCN and HSØ)
Key challenges to knowledge (RCN)
Represents original thinking and scientific renewal (RCN)

It is up to you to convince the reader that your idea is new.

Programs differ in how new your idea must be:

ERC (European Research Council) is clearly the most ambitious. Your idea must be ground breaking and lead to advances in knowledge beyond any current research. This is the main criteria for funding.
In Horizon 2020 you must demonstrate that you will go beyond current knowledge. Which means that they will not fund research already done. You document this by describing current SoA (see SoA FAQ) and how you go beyond.
In the closer to market programs of H2020 (SME program, Fast Track to Innovation and Innovation Actions) and in some RCN/HSØ programs you may argue that the innovation potential is the “new” factor. This means that you will make an innovation that has a potential to outperform current products or services. The newness is in the market potential. Thus the technology or service does not need to be new in itself. However, it must be used in a new way satisfying new needs.
Both Research Council Norway (RCN) and Helse sør øst (HSØ) look for new ideas even if they call them knowledge gaps, challenges or original thinking. The RCN programs will differ in the degree of newness they will ask for so check the individual programs.

Be specific about what is new in your idea. Make it clear what makes your idea different.

Impact of your new idea

There is a relation between new and impact: A new idea in itself is not enough to claim that you have a GOOD idea. Your new idea must perform better than existing ideas to be credible for funding. A new idea must be assessed in the context of how current SoA satisfy user needs.

Describe the exact impact of your new idea to show the potential and value.

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