Forschungsvorhaben zur Verbesserung der Explorations- und Integrationsphasen der IKT-Forschung Bewilligung

If you have an idea for the (further) development of innovative technologies in information and communication technologies (ICT), you may be eligible for funding under certain conditions. The aim is to transfer knowledge from research to industry.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds projects for the research, development and use of innovative technologies in information and communication technologies (ICT) that partners from science want to carry out alone or in alliances between science and industry.

They can apply for funding for basic academic projects or overarching technology alliances, either alone or together with collaborative partners. The prerequisite is that these promise a significant technological contribution to the mastery of future complex IT systems. Funding is possible in the following areas:

• ICT industry
• Mobility, vehicle industry and transportation
• Mechanical engineering, process technology, automation
• Health, medical technology
• logistics
• Innovative user-oriented services
• Energy (especially renewable energies)
• Environment and resource protection

You can apply for funding for grassroots projects or technology alliances.

Basis-oriented projects are academically oriented individual and joint projects that research topics that create the prerequisites for many fields of application. For example, algorithm development, software methods or tools for data structures. As a prerequisite for funding, you must submit a research strategy.

You can also apply for funding as a broad-based alliance of science and industry as a technology alliance. This must either create a broad-based, open-industry technology innovation or develop cross-industry basic technologies and bring them into application. The participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in such alliances is absolutely essential.

As a university, research and scientific institution in the non-commercial sector, you can apply for funding of up to 100 percent of the project-related costs/expenditure.

Universities and university hospitals can also receive a project allowance of 20 percent for non-commercial research projects.

As a commercial enterprise, you can receive funding of up to 50 percent of the eligible project-related costs.

There is no entitlement to the grant. Rather, the granting authority decides on the basis of its discretionary powers within the framework of the available budget funds.

For the 1st stage of the procedure, project outline with the following information:

• Cover sheet with project name, postal address, telephone and e-mail address of the submitter as well as information on total costs, funding requirements and duration
• Letter of motivation, initial question, objectives and social need of the planned project
• State of the art in research and technology, novelty of the solution approach, own preliminary work, data basis, differentiation from previous and ongoing national and international research work and standard market solutions or services
• Description of the cooperation partners including the project-relevant competence profile, in the case of companies including the own contribution to be made
• In the case of collaborative projects, designation of the coordinator or consortium leader
• Description of your own approach with details of the methods to be used
• Time and labor planning with person months per partner
• Work plan showing the contributions of all partners involved
• tabular financing overview
• Exploitation plan with explanations of market potential, competitive situation, economic and scientific/technical prospects of success, connectivity, added value for Germany as a business location

Eligible applicants are

• small and medium-sized enterprises. This means
  • They employ fewer than 250 employees,
  • have an annual turnover of no more than EUR 50 million or
  • had an annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 43 million in the previous financial year
• Companies that are not SMEs
• universities
• University and non-university research institutions

Further requirements for companies:

• They have permanent employees with proven specialist knowledge in computer science and proven expertise in the specialist areas addressed to the required extent.
• They are in a position to raise their own share of the project funding from their ongoing business operations.

In general:

• You are carrying out a research and development project with partners from science or industry that meets the following requirements:
  • The focus and degree of novelty of the projects must be on complex IT systems with a focus on embedded systems, intelligent learning systems or the Internet of Things and Services, where there is a clear added value compared to established processes or solutions.
  • They have a sufficient data basis in terms of both quantity and quality.
  • The protection of personal data must be ensured. It is imperative that European and German data protection guidelines are taken into account.
  • The results must benefit Germany as a business location beyond the network.

The new or further development of hardware is not eligible for funding.

The application procedure for funding research projects to improve the exploration and integration phases of ICT research has 2 stages.

Stage 1: Project outline

• You submit a project outline, in the case of a joint project a joint project outline, of a maximum of 15 A4 pages (1.5 line spacing, Arial font, minimum size 11) to the project management organization (German Aerospace Center) and via the pt-outline portal.
• In addition to the project outline, you must print out the pt-outline project sheet, sign it and send it by post to the project management organization (PT).
• The project outline will be evaluated in a competitive procedure with the involvement of external experts, if necessary, according to the following criteria:
  • Strategic contribution to solving the challenges
  • Innovation of the approach of the proposed solution under the given and foreseeable technical and economic boundary conditions
  • Relevance of the proposed solution for industrial applications depending on the respective subject areas
  • Own preliminary work relevant to the project
  • Contribution to the development and expansion of expertise on the part of industrial users and to profile building, particularly on the part of the research partners
  • Sustainable implementation of ideas, concept for model and software maintenance, contributions to the standardization of development methods and software tools
  • Contribution to training and further education on the user side, increase in professional competence.
• If your project idea is selected, you will receive a positive written request to submit the application (stage 2)

Stage 2: Application

You submit your application for funding for research projects to improve the exploration and integration phases of ICT research as follows:

• The application is submitted online via the "easy-Online" portal.
• Call up the "easy-Online" Internet portal. There you will be guided step by step through the application process.
• Fill in all the fields required for the application and send it off with a qualified electronic signature.
• If you do not have a qualified electronic signature, you must print out the application in addition to submitting it electronically, sign it and send it to the project management organization together with the other application documents in the next step.
• Once the project management organization has received the application, you will receive a confirmation of receipt.
• The responsible administrator at the project management organization will contact you during the processing of your application to clarify any queries.
• Applications are evaluated and checked according to the following criteria:
  • In the case of an SME: Proof of SME status by means of an SME declaration and of the significant share of the research work by the participating SME(s)
  • Implementation of any conditions from the first stage and compliance with the financial framework recommended there for funding
  • Quality of the detailed description of the solution concept, the work plan and the organization of the collaboration within the consortium
  • informative value of the detailed description of the exploitation plan, also with regard to the funding policy objectives of this funding measure
  • Eligibility of the requested funds
  • Necessity and appropriateness of the requested funds
  • Comprehensibility of the explanations of the financing plan, in the case of companies including a description of the own contribution
• You will receive a decision on your application.
• In the event of a positive decision, you will receive a grant notification by post.

You can submit your project outline to the BMBF's project management organization (DLR-PT) by 30.06.2024.

• Administrative court action

• Research project to improve the exploration and integration phases of ICT research Approval
• Funding measure addresses both the initial development of innovative technologies and the integrating aspects of technology development of cross-cutting importance
• Academic preliminary research contributions or basis-oriented technology contributions for mastering future complex interoperable IT systems with a focus on embedded systems, intelligent learning systems and the Internet of Things and Services
• Aimed at the following sectors:
  • ICT industry
  • Mobility, vehicle industry and transportation
  • Mechanical engineering, process technology, automation
  • Health, medical technology
  • Logistics
  • Innovative user-oriented services
  • Energy (especially renewable energies)
  • Environment and resource protection
• Promotion of projects in the field of explorative and integrative ICT
• are promoted:
  • grassroots projects, i.e. academically oriented individual and joint projects, also with research partners from industry, provided that a research strategy and roadmap are presented
  • Technology alliances, i.e. broad-based alliances between science and industry, provided that the application maturity is demonstrated by
    • vertically oriented technology innovations or
    • horizontally oriented cross-industry basic technologies are to be achieved
  • in the case of alliances with partners from industry, the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is required
  • Coordination and accompanying measures, insofar as these specifically serve to expand and support the cooperation of strategic partners, such as associations and social partners, in cooperation with representatives from industry and science in the realization of a technology field
• Applications for funding can be submitted by
  • academic research partners alone or together with partners from science and/or industry
• Amount of funding:
  • up to 100 percent for universities, research and scientific institutions and comparable institutions
  • Universities and university hospitals receive an additional project allowance of 20% for non-commercial research projects
  • up to 50% of eligible costs for commercial enterprises, depending on the research and development character (application proximity) of the planned work
• Information via the service number of the project sponsor: German Aerospace Center (DLR)
• Application via 2-stage procedure:
  • Submit project outline to the project management organization (German Aerospace Center)
  • If the project outline has been positively reviewed: electronic application to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research via "easy-Online"
• responsible: Project Management Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR-PT), Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Forms available: No

Written form required: Yes

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance necessary: No