Call for competitive application procedure ‘Validation Funding’ guidline

The validation of research results has the goal to transfer research results into commercial application. The funding supports to verify, prove and evaluate the innovation potential of promising research results and to explore possible future applications. Successful validation of research results provides evidence of both the technical and commercial feasibility of these research results according to concrete requirements of the future users or providing companies of the products/services.

The funding is part of the Free State of Saxony's innovation strategy and strives for the most effective exploitation of innovation potential, allowing for openness in terms of technologies and sectors and using different innovation paths. There will be a special focus on the innovative fields of environment, raw materials, digital applications, energy, mobility and health.

Funding is available for projects for the validation of research results that are promising for commercial exploitation with a project period of up to
18 months and eligible expenditure of up to EUR 250,000 with a maximum grant of EUR 225,000 ("validation project").

If the application is selected and approved, the funding amounts to
90 percent of the eligible expenditure. Personnel expenses that are already covered by public budgets and own contributions are not eligible for funding. In the subsequent disbursement procedure, only 90 percent of the invoiced and proven eligible costs can be subsidized (reimbursement principle). The own contribution must therefore be paid in cash. As personnel expenses are funded as a lump sum and this is generally lower than the actual costs incurred, additional own funds are required to cover shortfalls in personnel expenses in addition to the above-mentioned own contribution. A forecast for these costs is made in the application process.

As part of the call, the number of admissible applications for universities with an already funded program module is limited to three. For this reason, an internal university pre-selection will be made.

Furthermore, the orientation projects mentioned in the guidelines cannot be applied for at TU Dresden. For such projects as well as for smaller validation projects than those listed above, the TUD Innovation Pool is available at TU Dresden, from which TU Dresden can quickly and flexibly support smaller validation projects.

The evaluation is initially carried out within the university according to the criteria specified in the call for funding. TU Dresden attaches additional importance to using the funding to exploit existing copyright laws (e.g. patents, software) and to support spin-offs. The six selected project outlines are then evaluated again by the funding provider using the same criteria and are then in competition with the outlines from other institutions.

The individual weightings can be found in the call for funding. The structure specified there must be adhered to - failure to do so may lead to exclusion from funding.

Only one outline per research result is possible, i.e. no collaborative projects.

Eligible for funding are

• Personnel costs in the form of a monthly lump sum in accordance with the simplified cost option (VKO),
• materials,
• instruments and equipment, insofar and as long as they are required for the project. If these instruments and equipment are used beyond the project, only the reduction in value determined in accordance with the principles of proper accounting during the duration of the project is eligible for funding, unless these instruments and equipment are used by a public research institution for non-economic activities in the field of research and teaching within the earmarking period specified in the grant notice,
• External services including contract research, development and production, testing services; legal and economic advice and market studies,
• copyright law research and the acquisition of copyright laws.

During the term of the projects, futureSAX GmbH supports the grant recipients with support meetings (individual and group formats) to draw up an exploitation plan for the projects and to identify potential exploitation and/or cooperation partners as well as to establish contacts and exchanges on the futureSAX platform. Travel expenses incurred will not be reimbursed.

Universities and non-university research institutions located in Saxony can receive funding.

Only one individual project module is funded per research result. If several institutions collaboratively work on a research result, the institution that owns the rights to the research result should submit the application. This institution may subcontract other research institutions involved in the validation project.

Funding under the Directive on Validation Funding does not constitute aid, i.e. only non-commercial activities are eligible for funding. Commissioning external services to companies is permissible. Contract research for companies as well as cooperation projects with companies are excluded from funding. The results obtained in validation projects must be freely accessible in principle, i.e. validation must not be carried out for the benefit of specific companies.

Testing a technology at a company is possible as long as it does not give the company preferential access to use the technology.

Please submit the following documents to the Excellence Center TUD|excite at by 24.10.2025 at the latest :

• Project outline (PDF): digitally signed Professor:in, 8 pages A4, including attachments maximum 10 pages
• Cost calculation (calculation template validation)
• Confirmation of own funds
• Classification of the project idea (SAB form)
• Notification of third-party funding (digital signature Chair sufficient without Dean's Office)

A maximum of three outlines to be submitted to the SAB for TU Dresden are then selected. The selection criteria are generally based on the criteria specified in the SAB's call for funding. TU Dresden attaches additional importance to using the funding to exploit existing copyright laws (e.g. patents, software) and to support spin-offs. Prior to submission, a consultation with the TUD|excite or the Startup Service dresden|exists is recommended. The selected outlines are submitted in a legally binding manner exclusively by the EPC via TU Dresden's access to the SAB funding portal by 01.12.2025 at the latest. For any necessary revisions of the TUD-internally pre-selected outlines, applicants must plan to be available in the period from 10.11. to 28.11.2025.

In the next step, a committee with the participation of representatives of the Saxon State Ministry of Economics, Labor and Transport, the Saxon State Ministry of Science, Culture and Tourism and the Sächsische Aufbaubank will decide on the project outlines selected and submitted by TU Dresden. The project proposals are in competition with those of other institutions.

Interested parties will be informed of the selection result in writing. In the event of a positive decision, they will be asked to submit a formal funding application to supplement the project outline.

Projects in this call will start from 01.05.2026 at the earliest and from 01.06.2026 at the latest if they have a duration of 18 months. The projects in this call must be completed by 30.11.2027.

According to the SMWA call, there will be two further deadlines until 2026. The next deadline will be 01.06.2026, the internal deadline for this is expected to be 30.04.2026.

• Structure Outline and evaluation
• SAB_Classification Project idea
• Calculation template Validation

• Confirmation Financing Own funds

• Notification of third-party funds

• Announcement of Saxon State Ministry of Economics, Labor and Transport
• Directive on Validation Funding 2021-2027

*all pages/forms only in German available