National-regional governance of STI

In Germany, R&I policy is governed at both the national and regional levels, with coordination and collaboration between various stakeholders to foster a conducive environment for scientific advancement and technological innovation. At national level two ministries play key roles. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is responsible for shaping Germany's overall research and innovation policy. It develops strategies and funding programmes to support research and innovation across the public and private research sectors. It coordinates with other federal ministries, research organisations, and stakeholders to design implement policies and initiatives. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) plays a significant role in fostering innovation, particularly in the context of industrial and economic development. It supports technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and innovation within businesses through various funding schemes and programmes. In terms of agencies, the German Research Foundation (DFG) is an independent organization primarily responsible for funding research at universities and other research institutions. It supports basic research across all disciplines through competitive grants and funding schemes. A range of intermediaries implement the programmes. Germany is a federal republic consisting of 16 federal states (Länder), each with its own government and legislative powers following the subsidiary principle. The Länder have full competences on education policies and play a crucial role in shaping R&I policies within their respective jurisdictions. They provide funding for universities, research institutions, and innovation clusters within their boundary. Multi-level governance structures include notably the Coordination Committee for the Joint Task for the Improvement of Economic Structures (GRW) with members being the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (chair), the Federal Minister of Finance and the economic affairs ministers of the Länder), the respective GRW-subcommittee and working groups. THere are also committees on managing and control systems of EU Structural Funds representing the federal government and the managing authorities of the funds in the federal states.

National and regional S3s: organisation and governance

The High-Tech Strategy (HTS) 2025, is Germany's overarching R&I strategy, aimed at positioning the country as a global leader in science and technology. It focuses on nine key areas or "future projects", including artificial intelligence, digitalization, sustainable economy, health research, mobility, and more. The HTS 2025 emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration, international cooperation, and the integration of R&I into societal challenges. The strategy is implemented through various funding programmes and initiatives, coordinated by the BMBF. These include: Innovation Forums (Innovationsforen) which aim to facilitate knowledge exchange, networking, and joint projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, mobility, and sustainability; Clusters of Excellence (Exzellenzcluster) interdisciplinary research networks focused on cutting-edge scientific and technological topics; Innovation Competitions (Innovationswettbewerbe) to encourage the development of innovative solutions to societal or economic challenges, etc. In addition to the national strategy, each federal state develops its own R&I strategy which in some cases is specifically titled as a smart specialisation strategy. For instance in Bavaria, the Free State Government has both an R&I strategy for 2021-2027 (Innovationsland.Bayern) and a High-Tech Agenda (HTA) adopted in 2021. The latter provided an additional €2 billion aimed at securing and strengthening Bavaria's position as a leader in innovation and technology. In Lower Saxony, the regional innovation strategy for intelligent specialisation (RIS3) 2021 - 2027 builds on the previous 2014-2020 priorities. Seven areas of strength were identified along with the cross-cutting field of “digital economy”, which takes into account the importance of information and communication technology as well as digitalization across technologies and strengths. These eight specialisation fields represent the economic and scientific backbone of Lower Saxony's innovation system and were identified as part of the analysis carried out through a participatory process with Lower Saxony actors. The funding for the state level R&I policies comes from both state level budgets, as well as the Joint Federal/Länder Task for the Improvement of Economic Structures (GRW) which is a notified state-aid scheme for the Structural Development of the Regions, as well as European Structural Funds. For the latter the Partnership Agreement 2021-2027 for Germany’s implementation of EU Structural Funds covers 2 national programmes, 31 regional programmes and 23 INTERREG programmes (concerning territorial cooperation). The ERDF is focused on innovation, digitization and economic transformation (56% of the budget).

For information on regional S3s, please return to the homepage: https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/assets/s3-observatory/index_en.html