“We’re delighted to welcome Fraunhofer IRB onboard as a partner in the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research. With its research into the exploitation and transfer of research results, Fraunhofer IRB is the perfect addition to the group’s skillset and will advance the open science culture,” says Professor Wilhelm Bauer, chairman of the group and executive director of Fraunhofer IAO.

Director of Fraunhofer IRB Thomas H. Morszeck had the following to say about the institute’s role in the group: “Becoming a member of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research is an interesting and exciting opportunity because it paves the way for the institute to introduce its expertise in the exploitation and transfer of research results to a much wider field. Against the backdrop of digitalization and the increasing levels of transparency called for in science, the cultivation of an open science culture, with a particular focus on open access and open data, will be an important component of the new group’s activities.”

Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research: Understanding change, shaping the future

As an expert partner that uniquely combines socioeconomic and sociotechnical research, the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research offers support to stakeholders in politics, industry and science. By creating the new group, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft aims to further consolidate its role in researching and supporting innovation systems and processes – including the associated developments in technology, industry and society.

In its first major project, the group is supporting the recently launched Research Lab Microelectronics Germany. For this initiative the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany is granting eleven Fraunhofer Institutes and two Leibniz Institutes funding to the tune of 350 million euros to combine their expertise in future-oriented areas of technology. As part of its associated socioeconomic and sociotechnical research, the group supports this major project, helping design and implement efficient organizational structures and suitable research and innovation strategies.

Socioeconomic and sociotechnical research combined

The Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research was launched on July 1, 2017, initially comprising four research institutes. The partners’ skillsets complement each other perfectly, providing the group with a holistic view of innovation systems. Based in Stuttgart, the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO brings to the table its expertise in the systematic organization of the ways in which people, organizations and technology interact with a special focus on the corporate sphere. Specializing in the design and identification of innovation systems, the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe concentrates on the macroeconomic level. The Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW in Leipzig addresses internationalization and contributes its specialist knowledge in the field of socioeconomic research, while the Fraunhofer Institute for Technological Trend Analysis INT in Euskirchen focuses on technology forecasting and analysis together with strategic research planning. Now, the latest institute to join the group is Fraunhofer IRB in Stuttgart whose role will revolve around the transfer and exploitation of research results (publication management and infrastructure).

Fraunhofer Groups – Pooling expertise

Institutes working in closely related fields join forces to form the eight Fraunhofer Groups and compete in the research and development market as a combined entity. These groups are actively involved in corporate policy as well as implementing the tried-and-tested function and financing models of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.