topic Ministry

New Impetus for Innovation and Growth - The Six Billion Euro Programme for Research and Development

The Federal Government is investing an additional six billion euro in research and development projects (R&D) in this legislative period. These funds are intended for measures which promise to have a great mobilization effect on innovation and the markets of tomorrow. The Federal Government is setting the tone for Germany's future viability as a location for research and production. At the same time, it is providing an important contribution to increasing the share of expenditure on research and development to three percent of GDP by 2010.

Our economic performance and prosperity are based to a high degree on knowledge and skills. If we want to provide new impetus for growth and innovation, we need scientific breakthroughs which can be transformed into economic efficiency. The new Federal Government is introducing a seamless new innovation policy in the form of the Six Billion Euro Programme and the High-Tech Strategy.

As an important element of its new innovation policy, it is investing an additional six billion euro in research and development projects (R&D) during this legislative period. These additional funds are intended for projects which promise to have a great mobilization effect on innovation and the markets of tomorrow. 600 million euro are available for the start-up phase this year. These funds have been earmarked for projects which will begin in 2006. Funding will increase continuously in the coming years up to 2009. New processes will thus be set in motion and proven processes strengthened. At the same time, this is the beginning of a new process of cooperation across federal ministries. The Federal Government's entire research funding is to be pooled and merged to acquire a new quality.
The Federal Government is aiming to build bridges between research and the markets of the future. To do so, it is currently working on a High-Tech Strategy for Germany with a view to introducing a "seamless" innovation policy. This High-Tech Strategy will pool Federal Government measures over the next years, ranging from research funding right up to shaping the framework conditions in selected high-tech sectors. It will be finalized by summer 2006 and presented to the public.

The High-Tech Strategy concentrates on how we can make the best use of the means at our disposal. The Six Million Euro Programme focuses on where we can employ additional funds so that they exert the greatest leverage on growth and employment. With its Six Million Euro Programme, the Federal Government is providing an important contribution to achieving the three percent objective agreed by the European Heads of States and Government in Lisbon in 2000. R&D expenditure is to rise to three percent of GDP in the European Union by 2010. Industry is to contribute two thirds of these funds and the state - the Federal Government and the Länder - the remaining one third. By introducing these measures, the Federal Government is making an advance contribution. The onus is now on the Länder and industry in particular to make their contributions.

The Federal Government is thus also reacting to the fact that investments in research and development (R&D) on the part of industry are becoming increasingly dependent on economic trends. Experts have observed that companies are withdrawing from long-term research. Instead of taking advantage of strategic research to open up new markets, they are acquiring new competences by outsourcing research or buying in research results - including the results of publicly financed research. Publicly financed research is thus becoming more important.

In the first phase, the Federal Government is concentrating on three fields of action:

1. Gaining a leading position on the markets of the future by offering top-class and horizontal technologies
   Additional investments in key technologies, such as information and communication technologies, energy and security technologies and bio- and nanotechnologies, will make national research and development in these sectors more competitive internationally. In the BMBF's budget (Departmental Budget 30) alone, an additional more than 102 million euro will therefore be invested in top-class technologies, the life sciences and environmental research in 2006. This corresponds to a more than 9% increase in this area compared with 2005. The Federal Government is currently working on new funding concepts for the fields of health research, information and communication technology, security research, nanotechnology, energy research and aerospace research. Altogether the Federal Government has made an additional approximately 282 million euro available in this field in 2006.
   
   These funds will be used to finance the following measures for example:
2. • Strengthening Germany as a research base for medical technology and pharmaceuticals
     Germany is the second largest exporter on the world market for medical technology and leads the world in the field of research. Beacon projects such as "High-Tech for Health" are developing diagnostics and therapy procedures and accelerating the development of medicines. These projects are being accompanied by specific measures to promote young research talent in imaging techniques. A total of 140 million euro are to be made available in this field in the course of the next years.
     
     The quality and number of clinical studies are limiting factors for the international competitiveness of the German pharmaceuticals industry. Research funding in this area will be increased and the framework conditions for clinical research in Germany improved. Corresponding calls for proposals have already been published for clinical study centres (48 million euro for 8 years) and for integrated research and treatment centres (280 million euro for 10 years). Further calls for research into specific clinical syndromes will be published in the course of 2006 (involving a total of 400 million euro).
   • Combating infectious diseases (particularly zoonoses)
     The BMBF; the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) and the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) have united their efforts to study and combat zoonoses and influenza. A total of 60 million euro will be made available for this purpose in the course of the next few years.
     
     This measure complements current activities on the part of the BMBF and BMG in the field of infections research. The new funding priority to study natural resistance mechanisms to infectious diseases, which was also published in 2006, is intended to encourage the development of further therapeutic methods in the field of clinical applications and the pharmaceutical industry.
   • Security Research
     Security is a growth market of the future (with a turnover of 10 billion euro in Germany). The Federal Government is expanding its research funding in the field of technical security and reliability as well as external security (e.g. the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is receiving an additional approximately 6 million euro for its IT security research in 2006; the Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg) is receiving an additional approximately 32 million euro for its defence technology research and security in 2006).
     
     In order to help the Government's research funding to develop more power, the Federal Government, under the leadership of the BMBF, will be drafting the first ever national civil security research programme by the end of 2006. This programme will systematically pool efforts across the various government departments and aim at priority fields of application in the field of civil security. Germany is thus establishing a good starting position for participation in the European Security Research Programme (ESRP), which will start at the beginning of 2007 within the context of the Seventh Research Framework Programme.
   • Energy Research
      The Federal Government is drawing up guidelines for an overarching strategy to study and develop new, secure, economic and environmentally sound sources of energy under the leadership of the BMBF and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It is funding research and development work on modern energy technologies with a total of 2 billion euro between 2006 and 2009. The additional funds from the 6 Billion Euro Programme will be used, among other things, to finance measures in the following fields of technology.
   • • modern and highly efficient power station technologies based on coal and gas,
     • hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies (e.g. national innovation programme: hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies; additional 35 million euro per annum with effect from 2007),
     • efficient utilization of energy,
     • renewable sources of energy (e.g. test field for offshore wind energy plants; additional 40 million euro per annum)
3. Strengthening the powers of innovation of small and medium-sized companies
   The aim is to further increase the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in innovations, to improve the funding of innovations and to intensify the exploitation of research results. The Federal Government is making an additional 62.5 million euro available in this field in 2006.
   
   This will help to strengthen and extend the newly launched High-Tech Start-up Fund (10 million euro in 2006, planned total volume in the next five years 262 million euro, thus triggering approximately 300 new start-ups in the field of top-class technology), the programmes to finance innovations (including strengthening the ERP Innovation Programme by a total of 7.4 million euro; anticipated mobilization effect of the programme more than one billion euro) as well as funding measures for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises, such as PRO INNO II (an additional 18.7 million euro in 2006), NEMO (an additional 0.5 million euro in 2006), cooperative industrial research (an additional 6 million Euro in 2006) and the funding of innovative growth leaders (INNO-WATT, an additional 5.5 million euro).
4. Strengthening Germany's efficiency and international attractiveness as a location for research.
   Additional investments in the German science and research system are aimed at structural measures to enable an innovation system which is more efficient and internationally more attractive. Additional funds totalling approximately 251 million euro are being made available for these measures in the course of 2006.
   
   The Federal Government/Länder Initiative for Excellence will enable selected universities to become internationally visible centres of top research with a strong profile of their own. International panels of experts will choose the winners in the first round of selection in autumn 2006. The BMBF will be making more than 95 million euro available as additional funding for this purpose in 2006.
   Under the Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation, the German Research Association, the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the Helmholtz Association and the Leibniz Science Association will be receiving annual increases in their budgets of at least 3% up to 2010. The BMBF is making an additional 105 million euro available in 2006. The science and research organizations will report regularly on their progress within the framework of a monitoring procedure starting in 2007.
   
   Modern large-scale research equipment enables top-class basic research and exercises a great attraction on outstanding young research talent. Additional funds of almost 21 million euro will be made available for the construction of new large-scale research equipment such as the XFEL X-ray laser or the FAIR accelerator facility in 2006.
   
   With all these measures, the Federal Government is aiming in particular to consistently support young researchers and to strengthen international exchange and cooperation programmes. One particular key area is to expand the promotion of the gifted in higher education with the aim of reaching out to one percent of all students. All in all, the Federal Government is increasing its expenditure on supporting young researchers and international exchanges by approximately 38 million euro in 2006.

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  topic Hightech Strategy

  High-Tech Strategy

  
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  topic Hightech Strategy

  Information Society

  The development of the information and communication technologies has been the driving force for major new developments in production and services in recent years. The further development of technology is decisive if we are to be able to continue producing internationally competitive products and services in the future. Support for this sector of future-oriented technologies has made our country competitive again and has created many new jobs. The BMBF published its new research programme IKT 2020 in March 2007. The EU sets a new focus in the 7th Framework Programme.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/398.php)
   

  Further links to this topic

  • "IKT 2020" - Research for Innovation: Information and communication technologies (ICT) are the...
    (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/9069.php)

  
  
  
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  topic Hightech Strategy

  Nanotechnology - A Future Technology with Visions

  Nanotechnology is increasingly considered to be the future technology. Instead of "ever higher, ever wider" its motto is "ever smaller, ever faster". Nanotechnology provides access to the world of the smallest things. One nanometre is a millionth part of a millimetre. The diameter of a human hair is fifty thousand times bigger. The possible applications of this technology are immense. Future progress in nanotechnology will also determine the further development of future-oriented branches. The Federal Ministry of Research has presented a new overall strategy for this area.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/nanotechnologie.php)
   

  Further links to this topic

  • Nanomaterials - small dimensions, huge effects: Research in the area of nanotechnology deals with the...
    (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/3790.php)

  
  
  
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  topic Hightech Strategy

  Life Sciences

  The new century is the century of the life sciences. They contribute considerably to understanding living organisms and ecological systems. They provide unprecedented opportunities for understanding genetic diseases or diseases triggered by external impacts and facilitate new therapies. At the same time, the life sciences have great potential for the creation of new, future-oriented jobs. The political task - as envisaged under the BMBF biotechnology programme - is to combine innovations with social responsibility.
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  topic Research

  The Environment and Sustainability

  "What we need first and foremost in Germany is more enthusiasm for the opportunities provided by new technologies. But it is also true to say that: The acquisition of knowledge, progress in the field of know-how and the early evaluation of acquired knowledge all belong together in the interest of the people and are of equal value. One must also consider the ethical aspects of protecting human life as well as aspects of consumer safety or the preservation of our natural environment." The BMBF is therefore providing a total of 800 million euro to fund partnerships for innovation between science and industry which face up to this challenge.
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  topic Science

  Initiative for Excellence

  By promoting top-class university research within the framework of the Initiative for Excellence, the Federal Government is aiming to establish internationally visible research beacons in Germany. 1.9 billion Euro will be made available to the institutions of higher education within the framework of the Initiative for Excellence. The Federal Government will contribute 75% of this sum. The evaluations will be implemented by the German Research Association and the Science Council. The final decisions for the first round of funding were published on 13 October 2006. In a second round the drafts for the last phase have meanwhile also been named.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/1321.php)
   
  
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  topic Science

  Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation

  German research now has a tail wind for better opportunities in international competition and is to become even more competitive in order to master the global challenges. On 23 June 2005, the Federal Government and the Länder have therefore adopted the Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation. The major science and research organizations will as a result receive more money from 2006 onwards for enhancing their performance, for stronger cooperation and better support of young scientists. New and unconventional topics will also receive funding.
  more (URL: http://www.bmbf.de/en/3215.php)