"The decision to continue the IGF funding program is an important signal for Germany as a location for innovation. The central importance and strengths of the research associations have been recognized and taken into account here," says Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Salomon, Managing Director of FOSTA - Forschungsvereinigung Stahlanwendung FOSTA and the Forschungsvereinigung Schweißen und verwandte Verfahren of DVS (DVS Research) are two of one hundred legally independent, non-profit industrial research associations that represent the interests of their industry in the IGF funding program.
At the end of last year, the research associations had feared a funding cutoff for the IGF program. "Fortunately, this scenario has now been averted for the time being," says Dipl.-Ing. Jens Jerzembeck, managing director of DVS Forschung. "However, we now have to do our homework and ensure that the expertise and know-how of the research associations remain the linchpin of the IGF funding program." FOSTA and DVS Forschung see the new role of the AiF (Network for the Promotion of Research, Transfer and Innovation in SMEs) as forward-looking. Currently, it accompanies and coordinates the IGF funding program on behalf of the BMWK. From 2024, a project management organization is to take over these tasks. The AiF will apply for the project sponsorship of the IGF funding program.