The transfer of knowledge and technology is essential in order to strengthen the innovative capability of the federal state’s companies further and to support them on their digital transformation journey.


Digitalisation is changing all sectors of industry. Companies from the industry, crafts, commerce and services sectors are facing the task of using the opportunities of digitalisation and mastering the related challenges in order to strengthen their competitiveness. Mastering these tasks calls for extensive knowledge of the new echnological possibilities and their application in companies. Especially small and medium-sized enterprises need external support in view of their limited manpower and financial capacity.


In this context, digitalisation can also change the way in which knowledge and technology are transferred. Just like in the education sector, Internet-based tools will certainly become ever-ore important in the future.


Against this background, technology and knowledge transfer measures are supported when designed to strengthen the knowledge especially of small and medium-sized enterprises regarding smart, digitally interconnected systems as well as digital work and business processes or business models and to thereby support these companies in the implementation of their digitalisation projects. The transfer projects are available to companies from different sectors. Support is also available for innovative, digital forms of knowledge and technology transfer.

Who is to be supported?

Applications can be submitted by research and knowledge dissemination organisations within the meaning of sec. 15. ee) of the European Union’s framework for State aid for research and development and innovation (Communication from the Commission 2014/C 198/01). These include organisations like universities or research institutes, technology transfer organisation, innovation intermediaries, research-orientated physical or virtual co-operation organisations irrespective of their legal form (under public or private law) or funding schemes whose main task is to practice independent basic, industrial or experimental research or to disseminate the results of such activities through teaching, publication or knowledge transfer.


Potential recipients therefore include, for instance, the following organisations:

  • Research institutes (universities, non-university research institutes)
  • Technology transfer institutions
  • Chambers
  • Business associations
  • Business promotion organisations
  • Cluster initiatives and state-wide networks
  • Vocational training institutions


Consortiums of eligible applicants can also apply for support.

What is to be supported?

Support is available for innovative transfer projects in the field of the digitalisation of the economy. The results will directly benefit the medium-sized enterprises which are important for Baden-Württemberg, especially from the industry, crafts, commerce and service sectors, even in an international context. The aim is to make existing results in the field of digitalisation visible and available to the federal state’s small and medium-sized enterprises in the most efficient manner possible. Support is available for the following projects:

 

  • Development and testing of innovative event formats for the transfer of technology and knowledge between academia and business as well as between companies
  • Development and testing of Internet-based transfer concepts
  • Development and testing of innovative concepts and processes to promote networking and co-operation between research institutes and companies as well as between companies
  • Validation projects in order to open up new fields of application and to outline new business models
  • Development of demonstrators in order to identify economic implementation options and possible applications

The range of topics eligible for support includes all aspects related to the digitalisation of the economy, such as: digitalisation of business processes, digital business models and platforms, digitalisation of distribution channels, online marketing, electronic procurement (eProcurement), Industry 4.0, smart services, eHealth, smart home and living, digital planning tools, such as building information modeling, digital working and company culture 4.0, IT security.

What forms of support are available?

Support covers 70 percent of the eligible costs, but is limited to a maximum of 400,000 euro per project. Projects are selected and support decisions made by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing of Baden-Württemberg on the basis of a technical evaluation and the availability of funds from the state budget.


The project selection process consists of two phases: The first phase is the submission of an outline of the proposed project. This serves as a basis for the establishment of a shortlist by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing which decides which institutions can submit an application in a second round. The project must be completed by the end of 2019 at the latest.


The deadline for submission of project outlines (phase 1) expires on 16 October 2017.


The complete invitation to take part in the support process, including detailed information regarding the procedure, the selection criteria, the requirements for costing and representations as well as the legal basis can be downloaded as a PDF document from the side of this page.