Minister Altmaier: Transfer initiative to turn more ideas into successes

Minister Altmaier is launching the Economic Affairs Ministry’s transfer initiative today. He is opening the launch event of the initiative, which aims to improve the transfer of technology and expertise from research into commercial products and services.

Federal Minister Altmaier said: “Germany is well positioned in terms of innovation. More is going into research and development. But we need to get better at translating innovation into commercial success. Agile small and medium-sized firms are particularly important for our innovativeness and prosperity. We will design policies to ensure that as many of them as possible can realise their creative ideas. In this way, we can ensure that more ideas are brought to market and more innovative companies flourish in Germany. Where that happens, the jobs and growth of the future will be generated.”

The motto for the conference is “More ideas – more successes”, and participants from business, science and associations, project managers and government will be discussing what barriers currently exist and how to improve Germany’s innovation ecosystem. The event marks the beginning of a series of dialogues to be continued on different aspects at various locations. Intensive discussions between experts are to come up with ways to tackle obstacles to the transfer of research findings and to make full use of their potential.

Federal Minister Altmaier said: “We want to talk with all the stakeholders involved in the process of innovation. We want to listen to the people working on the transfer of research findings in their day-to-day work. We will then draw up and implement joint solutions.”

In addition to the series of dialogues, the transfer initiative also includes further elements:

The successful concept of the Economic Affairs Ministry’s sector-neutral and technology-neutral innovation funding will be further optimised and expanded to include measures in the digital sector, forming a joined-up innovation policy. This approach is summed up in the new brochure entitled "Von der Idee zum Markterfolg - Programme für einen innovativen Mittelstand” (From concept to market success - Programmes for an innovative SME sector), which offers an overview of the funding programmes and initiatives tailored to address a variety of challenges.

Also, a roadshow will be taking the message about the Economic Affairs Ministry’s transfer initiative and innovation policy to companies around Germany.

When it comes to improving the transfer of research findings, the support for basic and horizontal technologies like artificial intelligence is just as important as the right policy mix for innovations, such as the quality infrastructure.