BMBF
To drive the development of new ideas and technologies, the BMBF supports research and innovation projects through thematically oriented and time-limited funding programs. By promoting cooperation between science and industry, the aim is to generate practical solutions to current issues and enable the development of innovative products and services.
- Health Research Framework Programme
- Sprin-D
- KMU-Innovativ
- Validation of the technological and social innovation potential of scientific research VIP+
- "Chancen.Regionen" (Chances.Regions)
Health Research Framework Programme
The Federal Government's Health Research Framework Programme is part of the HighTech Strategy 2025. The programme's guidelines are:
- Personalisation and digitalisation as the key
- the focus on people
These contain the central fields of action:
- Advancing medical progress
- Strengthening research locations
- Preventing and curing diseases
These are described by the Federal Government as the goals and requirements for a successful health research policy. In addition to contributing to international health research - in cooperation with European and international partners - the Health Research Framework Programme supports the Sustainable Development Goals (see the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development and the German Sustainability Strategy based on it).
Embedded in the Framework Programme is the new "Guideline for the Funding of Clinical Trials of High Relevance to Patient Care". In future, this is intended to close the gaps in medical evidence in order to provide empirical evidence of the benefits of diagnostic and therapeutic measures.
The funding projects are coordinated via three modules:
- Module 1 - confirmatory and exploratory clinical studies
- Module 2 - systematic reviews of clinical studies
- Module 3 - patient participation in the concept development phase
The funding is directed at clinical studies and systematic reviews that are highly relevant to the care of patients in Germany.
Project outlines can be submitted until 25 October 2022.
Sprin-D
The agency's primary goal is the discovery and further development of research ideas that have the potential to become leap innovations. Among these projects to be funded in the future is the establishment of new subsidiaries, which in turn create new ventures and thus jobs in Germany (BMBF).
A leap innovation is an innovation that changes life for the better in the long term. It can create a completely new market, change an existing market so fundamentally that a completely new ecosystem is created, or solve a massive technological, social or ecological problem.
The funding and support provided by an experienced SPRIND Innovation Manager* includes:
- Search for appropriate funding tools
- Advice and support from experts
- Support with e.g. bookkeeping, controlling, legal advice, product management or marketing
- Search for additional team members
- Network development
KMU-Innovativ
KMUs in cutting edge research receive preferential access to funding. Project outlines may be submitted at any time. All project outlines already submitted will be assessed on two cut-off dates during the year. The assessments take place on 15 April and 15 October. Submitted project suggestions compete with one another. More
The programme supports the following areas of technology:
- Bioeconomy
- Electronics and autonomous driving
- Electronics and autonomous driving; High performance computing
- Research for civil security
- Information and communication technologies
- Interactive technologies for health and quality of life
- Materials research
- Medical technology
- Human-Technology Interaction
- Photonics and quantum technologies
- Production research
- Resource efficiency and climate protection
Validation of the technological and social innovation potential of scientific research VIP+
The funding recipients are projects from all fields of research that systematically prove the feasibility and practicability as well as the innovation potential of research findings and that are in the validation phase. Examples of validation activities are investigations to prove feasibility, the development of demonstrators or functional models, carrying out of tests or pilot applications to prove suitability and acceptance, application-oriented basic research for the development of research findings towards application or for the adaptation to new areas of application, evaluative analyses to prove the economic or social innovation potential, plus analysis and safeguarding of intellectual property rights.
Information about the application
Without Current calls for proposals:
"Chancen.Regionen" (Chances.Regions) (until 2024)
By 2024, the BMBF plans to make around 600 million euros available for several new programmes that will provide visible and sustainable impetus in structurally weak regions. The concept "Chancen.Regionen" builds on the positive experience gained with the initiative "Unternehmen Region" and will replace it in the long term.
Research and innovation funding is at the centre of the programme family. It is based on the regionally existing potentials and is deliberately designed to be open to topics and technologies. It is aimed at structurally weak regions in Germany. More
WIR! – Wandel durch Innovation in der Region
The programme promotes new regional alliances and is intended to contribute to sustainable innovation-based structural change.
It is aimed at broad-based regional alliances beyond existing innovation centres, and strategic innovation concepts are to be developed that bring together scientific, economic, technological and social perspectives in an innovation field.The programme is open to all topics and is divided into two funding phases (concept and implementation phase).
For the concept phase, alliances can apply for a maximum of three projects with a total funding amount of up to 250,000 euros. Currently, no applications are possible for "WIR! - Wandel durch Innovation in der Region". According to the project management organisation, the third round of calls for proposals will probably start in 2022.
RUBIN - Regionale unternehmerische Bündnisse für Innovation
The programme aims to improve strategic cooperation between companies, universities and research institutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are targeted. There is also a benefit for universities and research institutions. Their research results can be used more intensively for emerging innovations.
Particularly in structurally weak regions, this can trigger a process that leads to long-term competitiveness. With alliances of 7 to 15 partners, "(...)regional value chains, innovative products and services as well as access to new markets (...)" are to be made possible through funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. More
The funding is divided into two phases. The concept phase with up to seven months of funding of 200,000 euros and an implementation phase with usually three years of funding of 5 million to 12 million euros.
Alliances in the concept phase
Alliances in the implementation phase
T!RAUM - Transferräume für die Zukunft von Regionen
In order for innovations to reach the region more quickly, the programme enables universities and research institutions to develop new transfer instruments. It is about the transfer of ideas, knowledge and technologies into application. The aim is to promote positive structural change.
Universities and research institutions are often a strong pillar of structurally weak regions and therefore have a special responsibility.
The transfer programme can be used to achieve long-term goals. In a funding period of up to three times three years, annual funding of up to 2 million euros is possible.
Profile and guidelines
REGION.innovativ
REGION.innovativ is aimed at actors in existing regional alliances, networks and clusters - provided they are working in a field of innovation that is particularly important for regional structural change. On the basis of these alliances, networks and clusters, regional research networks are to be formed that are predominantly supported by SMEs and small and medium-sized enterprises. Several funding rounds will focus on different cross-sectional topics.
At least one - preferably regional - university or research institution should participate in each network. Eight alliances were selected from the first funding round on the topic of labour research. This first funding round ended on 01.04.2020. More
The second funding round on the topic of circular economy ended on 30 September 2020. Seven alliances were selected for funding: More
The first stage of the current third funding round, with the topic of social innovation capacity, ended on 15 November 2021. More
Further rounds of calls for proposals are planned in the REGION.innovativ programme, which will, however, address other topics than those previously advertised.
