Threat of funding cut-off for IFG research network averted

The BMWK's new guideline was published in the Federal Gazette on December 29, 2022, and will expire on December 31, 2026. The IGF funding program enables industry-relevant basic research, industrial research, and experimental development and feasibility studies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The program is supported by around 100 research associations in Germany. Under the umbrella of the AiF Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen "Otto von Guericke" e. V., more than 25,000 companies and around 1,200 research institutions are currently involved in the IGF network. "The decision to continue the IGF funding program is an important signal for Germany as a location for innovation. The central importance and strengths of the research associations have been recognized and taken into account here," says Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Salomon, Managing Director of FOSTA - Forschungsvereinigung Stahlanwendung e. V. FOSTA and the Forschungsvereinigung Schweißen und verwandte Verfahren e. V. des DVS (Research Association for Welding and Allied Processes), or DVS Forschung for short, are two of a hundred legally independent, non-profit industrial research associations that represent the interests of their industry in the IGF funding program.

At the end of last year, the research associations had feared a funding cut-off for the IGF program and thus irreparable damage to the innovative strength of German industry. "Fortunately, this scenario has now been averted for the time being," explains Dipl.-Ing. Jens Jerzembeck, Managing Director of DVS Forschung. "However, we now have to do our homework and ensure that the expertise and know-how of the research associations remain the linchpin of the IGF funding program. Together with the AiF, we ensure a qualified process for research identification, preparation and evaluation of the submitted research projects. To this end, we always get small and medium-sized enterprises on board." FOSTA and DVS Forschung see the new role of the AiF as forward-looking. Currently, it accompanies and coordinates the IGF funding program on behalf of the BMWK. From 2024, these tasks will be taken over by a project management organization. The AiF will apply for project sponsorship of the IGF funding program. "We support the AiF in its efforts. The main thing for us is to avoid frictional losses and to use the proven structures and competencies of the AiF and the research associations for the benefit of research-based companies," explains Salomon.