Coordination of joint funding
The Joint Science Conference (GWK) of the Federation and the Länder, established on the basis of Article 91b of the Basic Law, determines joint funding and also serves as a forum for mutual exchange. The respective ministers for science and finance of the Federal Government and the Länder are represented in the GWK with an equal share of votes. The GWK deals with all issues relating to the funding of science, research and education, science and research policy strategies and the science system, insofar as these affect the Federal Government and the Länder jointly. The GWK is responsible in particular for decisions relating to joint science funding in cases of supraregional importance. This includes, among other things, pacts between the Federal Government and the Länder, such as the Excellence Strategy and the funding of research infrastructures and large-scale facilities at universities.
Evaluation and advisory
Advisory bodies fill a mediating role between research groups, the private sector and civil society. The German Council of Science and Humanities (Wissenschaftsrat, WR) advises the Federal Government and the Länder on issues relating to the content and structural development of science and research and the higher education sector. The Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation – EFI) consolidates the interdisciplinary discourse on innovation research in its annual report. Its tasks include providing advice to the Federal Government on the current status and prospects of the German R&I system as well as on selected key issues. The Future Council of the Federal Chancellor, for its part, examines new developments, findings and trends in the innovation cycle in order to plan proposals for strengthening resilience and technological sovereignty in both key enabling technologies and digitalisation. The expert panel Forum #Zukunftsstrategie is tasked with advisory on the implementation and ongoing development of the Federal Government’s R&I policy, in particular the implementation of the Future Research and Innovation Strategy.
Government
Public funding of science, research and education is mainly provided by the Federal Government and the Länder. Various funding instruments are available for targeted research funding. Medium- and long-term institutional funding, which is jointly financed by the Federal Government and the Länder, covers the entire spectrum of tasks: basic and applied research, research infrastructures and the strategic gearing of the German research landscape. Project funding from the Federal Government and the Länder supports fixed-term research, technology and innovation projects.
Business enterprises
The private sector finances about two-thirds of annual R&D expenditure in Germany. These funds are used for both the R&D activities of companies and joint R&D projects among partners from industry and science. Private-sector R&D activities are predominantly determined by large companies. Nevertheless, SMEs play an important role, as do start-ups, as they often produce pioneering innovations.
Foreign countries
A smaller proportion of R&D expenditure in Germany is financed from abroad. The European Commission’s funding of research, development and innovation is of great importance for the German research and innovation system. Other funders are international organisations (e.g. OECD, UN, UNESCO, NATO) and foreign companies.
Private non-profit institutions
Organisations that are not predominantly funded or controlled by the state or the private sector account for the smallest share of R&D expenditure. Stakeholders can be, for example, independent professional associations and learned societies as well as welfare organisations. In practice, organisations in this sector are foundations, associations, consortia, joint ventures, non-profit organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the like.
Higher education institutions
The differentiated higher education landscape is a key element of the German research and innovation system. The more than 400 higher education institutions in Germany include all state and state-recognised private and faith-based universities and universities of applied sciences. The spectrum of their research ranges from basic research to applied R&D for the private sector. The German higher education system is essentially the responsibility of the Länder and is regulated by their higher education laws. Agreements between the Federal Government and the Länder allow scope for them to cooperate in funding science, research and education projects in cases of supraregional importance.
Federal institutions with R&D tasks
The Federal Government and the Länder maintain their own research institutions in the relevant ministerial departments. They address current social and sectoral policy issues in order to support political action. On the basis of scientific evidence, they act as bridge builders between the realms of science and policy, and innovation and application. The generally problem-specific and practice-based research deals with a broad range of topics. The state and municipal facilities with R&D tasks are institutionally financed from state funds and in some cases from third-party funds.
Private sector research institutions
Industrial research associations play an important role as an interface between the research community and SMEs in precompetitive research. They are organised into groupings such as the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations ‘Otto von Guericke’ e. V. (AiF). In addition, many external research institutions, research companies and so-called associated institutes (An-Institute) joined forces in the Deutsche Industrieforschungsgemeinschaft Konrad Zuse e. V. (German Industrial Research Association Konrad Zuse – Zuse Association).
Civil society
Policymaking, research and innovation benefit from a lively exchange with society. In this way, the participation and involvement of civil society actors contributes to orienting scientific knowledge towards the needs of society. This can create understanding, trust, open-mindedness and openness to research and innovation. Science, research and innovation can benefit from the knowledge of the many, for example in the context of citizen science. Formats such as hackathons offer open participation opportunities for specific development processes.
Research organisations
Compared internationally, non-university research institutions constitute a characteristic feature of the German research and innovation system. As the cornerstone of public research, they cover the entire spectrum from excellent basic research to socially relevant applied research. Most non-university research is carried out at institutions that are jointly funded by the Federal Government and the Länder. These primarily include the research institutions of the four major research organisations: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V. (Fraunhofer Society for the Promotion of Applied Research; Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft), Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren e. V. (Helmholtz Association), Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e. V. (Leibniz Association) and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V. (Max Planck Society).
Academies
The academies of sciences and humanities in Germany include the state academies of sciences and humanities, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina – National Academy of Sciences, and the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech). Their key tasks are to advise on political and social discourse, to engage in interdisciplinary scientific dialogue and to promote emerging researchers. In addition, they coordinate and implement long-term basic research projects. The general budget for the state academies of sciences and humanities is financed by the relevant host state.
Research and development in the private sector
Research and development activities are of crucial importance for the international competitiveness of the German economy. For the most part, they are carried out in companies. These activities are for the most part conducted by large, internationally active companies, but research and development is also a key aspect of the innovative capacity of SMEs. Basic research has a lower priority in the private sector. R&D in that context is predominantly application-based and essentially geared towards achieving directly utilisable economic results. It is not just the strong commitment of the business sector itself that spurs the success of innovation in German companies but also intensive collaboration between companies as well as between companies and science institutions. In particular, these collaborations make it easier to translate research results into innovative products and services.
Intermediaries
The group of intermediaries in the German R&I system essentially comprises actors that support R&D activities through their own funding programmes or represent the interests of the stakeholders. Apart from funding actors such as non-profit foundations, these include interest groups and chambers of commerce, as well as the German Research Foundation (DFG) as the central self-governing research-funding organisation in Germany. Intermediaries can also be understood as mediators between the funding actors and the implementing providers.