On July 26^th, 2023, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) published a funding directive for projects in the “Innovative SMEs: The Future of Value Creation” program (KMU-innovativ: Zukunft der Wertschöpfung), which is part of the “Future of Value Creation – Research on Production, Service and Work” program (Zukunft der Wertschöpfung - Forschung zu Produktion, Dienstleistung und Arbeit). On the same day, they also announced the October deadline for the ESF Plus program “Future of Work.”

With this funding measure, the BMBF aims to strengthen the innovative and competitive potential of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to promote value creation in companies, for example through the use of robotics in innovative application areas.

Funding is available for high-risk, pre-competitive and company-driven research, develop-ment and transformation projects that build on cutting-edge research, have a strong commercial, economic or social potential and whose complexity goes far beyond usual business activities.

Funded projects must focus on developing solutions that address aspects of commercial value creation.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are eligible to apply. Universities and non-university research institutions are also eligible to apply as part of collaborative projects.

Up to 100 % of eligible expenses can be funded for universities, research institutions and scientific institutions. In addition, a lump sum amounting to 20 % of the planned expenses for each project is paid.

Projects selected by the October deadline (October 15) will be co-financed by ESF Plus. The ESF’s “Future of Work” program has the specific objective of “supporting life-long learning, in particular flexible learning and retraining opportunities for all – taking into account entrepreneurial and digital skills, better anticipating changes and new skills requirements based on the needs of the labor market, facilitating occupational transitions and promoting occupational mobility.”

It is therefore reserved for drafts whose content focuses predominantly on non-technical innovations.

How to submit an application:

The application process consists of two stages.  In the first stage, project outlines must be submitted via the “PT-Outline” web portal by the specified deadline. If approved, you will be invited to submit a full application. Proposals must be submitted via the European Project Center (EPC).

Project outlines can be submitted at any time. The evaluation deadlines for project outlines are April 15 and October 15.

The deadline for submission of “Future of Work” project outlines is October 15^th, 2023.

Detailed links:

BMBF funding program website

https://www.zukunft-der-wertschoepfung.de/kmu-innovativ/

https://www.bundesanzeiger.de/pub/de/amtliche-veroeffentlichung?4

Contact at EPC: