Förderung für Forschungs-, Entwicklungs- und Innovationsvorhaben beantragen

If you want to develop an innovative system solution in interdisciplinary cooperation with companies and institutions for research and knowledge dissemination, you can receive funding under certain conditions.

If you want to develop interdisciplinary system solutions with companies and institutions for research and knowledge dissemination, you may be eligible for funding as a joint project. As many companies as possible should be involved in the project, preferably SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

• Service account application (company account)
• Online application or paper application
• Project description
• Cost and financing plan

• You must be a company with its registered office or place of business in Schleswig-Holstein.
• In justified exceptional cases, institutions for research and knowledge dissemination or companies based or operating outside Schleswig-Holstein can also be financially supported if the project brings benefits for Schleswig-Holstein and no suitable partners are based in Schleswig-Holstein.
• Preference is given to partners from neighboring regions, e.g. from the Hamburg metropolitan region or Denmark.
• Priority will be given to small and medium-sized enterprises.
• The project you are planning must have a sufficiently high degree of innovation.
• The project must address one of the following areas (specialization fields of the RIS3.SH - Regional Innovation Strategy Schleswig-Holstein): Maritime Economy, Life Sciences, Energy Transition and Green Mobility, Food Industry, Digital Economy.
• The project should be geared towards the needs of the regional economy.
• The project should make contributions in the areas of equality, non-discrimination and sustainable development.
• It is desirable for the project to contribute to the expansion of research and development skills in the areas of energy transition and climate protection, to strengthen innovation activities of companies for the transition to a CO2-neutral economy, to support the transformation to a circular economy and to intensify the necessary transfer of technologies and knowledge into marketable products and services.
• The overall financing of the project must be secured.
• The project will generally be carried out in Schleswig-Holstein and the knowledge gained will be utilized there.
• The project must not have been started yet.

The procedure involves two stages.

In the first stage, interested companies or institutions submit a presentation of their project to the WTSH in the form of a project proposal. It is recommended to seek advice from the WTSH beforehand. A project proposal can be submitted at any time.

Based on the project proposal, the WTSH examines and evaluates whether the project is eligible and worthy of funding. If the assessment is positive, the application is recommended.

On the basis of the project proposal, each network partner submits a formal, complete funding application to the WTSH.

This must contain the following points

• a comprehensible presentation of the innovation potential or innovative character of the project (including degree of innovation), the reference to Schleswig-Holstein's fields of specialization with a focus on the needs of the regional economy, the expected economic significance for sustainable value creation and feasibility and the contribution to the cross-sectional objectives and indicators;
• a presentation of the coherence of the project with the objectives and approaches of RIS3.SH (Regional Innovation Strategy Schleswig-Holstein);
• verifiable research to demonstrate the unique character of the project and the novelty of the knowledge, product, process or service; the WTSH can have the presentations reviewed externally if required;
• an assessment of the prospects of success on the market and the potential impact on the economy as well as exploitation plans;
• a fundamental technology impact assessment and an assessment of the effects of implementation on global, societal, economic, social and ecological aspects can be commissioned by the WTSH from an external expert if required;

• If necessary, a separate calculation between the project sponsor's economic and non-economic activities (when funding facilities for research and knowledge dissemination, the costs for financing economic activities and non-economic activities must be clearly separated);
• the submission of a work plan;
• the presentation of the applicant's competence to carry out the project;
• Cooperation agreements (in the case of a collaborative project, effective cooperation within the meaning of Article 2(90) of the GBER must be defined in writing by an agreement between all partners in the form of a cooperation agreement);
• a description of the sustainability of the funding beyond the end of the funding period, including the intended future prospects.

The WTSH checks the application and requests any missing documents or information. Once a complete application has been submitted, the WTSH will decide whether to approve the funding. There is no legal entitlement to funding.

We recommend seeking advice from the WTSH before submitting an application. The application must be submitted before the start of the project. The project may not be started without approval.

The beneficiaries are bound to fulfill the conditions associated with the funding and the purpose of the grant for a certain period of time (earmarking). The earmarking period is up to five years, depending on the type and design of the respective project, and is specified in the grant notification.

The grant must be reimbursed if the company or the Schleswig-Holstein business establishment is closed down or relocated out of Schleswig-Holstein within the earmarking period (location commitment).

• Objection
• Action before the administrative court

Funding for research, development and innovation Approval

Funding for collaborative projects in which at least one company and one research and knowledge dissemination institution work together

• System solutions are to be developed in interdisciplinary cooperation
• As many companies as possible should be involved
• there should be a concept for monitoring success.

Responsible body: Wirtschaftsförderung und Technologietransfer Schleswig-Holstein GmbH

Business Development and Technology Transfer Schleswig-Holstein GmbH