topic Hightech Strategy

"Entrepreneurial Regions" The BMBF's innovation initiative for the New Länder

The ability to create innovations has a considerable influence on a region's economic development and employment situation. There are still considerable deficits in the development of innovations in East Germany as a result of structural weaknesses. Against this background, the BMBF has in recent years systematically developed a series of programmes for the New Länder to improve the framework conditions for innovations.

These programmes are intended to

• develop regions with competitive profiles in industry and science,
• create attractive prospects for talented young scientists,
• stop the exodus of young specialists,
• promote successful, innovative start-ups.

The BMBF has put five programmes together under a single roof with its "Entrepreneurial Regions" innovation initiative.

The title of the initiative has a programmatic character and stands for the BMBF's regionally and entrepreneurially oriented funding policy. The Ministry is helping regional cooperation alliances to develop their own sustainable technological profiles and to make consistent use of and develop the strengths and potential of their particular regions. The BMBF wants to promote the type of collaborations that can lead to the development of regional clusters. The funds are start-up capital and investments for regions which act in an entrepreneurial manner. The precondition for success is close, market-oriented cooperation between the regional partners.

The idea behind this concept is based on a simple insight: Innovations occur in those areas where partners from industry and science and education join together in innovation alliances to increase the value-added and the competitive ability of their regions. The partners themselves define the key area of their alliances with regard to content. This is based on the economic and research profile and the traditions of the region as well as on the type of skilled staff available. The core of every regional initiative is a clear innovation strategy which is aimed from the very beginning at the competitive implementation of the new products, processes and services.