Germany
DE: Germany BMBF - Ministry of Education and Research
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany (BMBF) is the ministry primarily responsible for defining and executing the German federal government’s educational and research policy.
The BMBF performs a number of different tasks within the scope of its constitutional responsibility:
- regulation of non-school vocational education and training and continuing education and the necessary
- policy and coordination tasks,
- Support for research,
- Legislation governing training assistance and its financing (together with the federal states),
- Talent promotion, support for young researchers, and
- Promotion of the international exchange of trainees, students, participants in continuing education programmes, instructors, academics and scientists.
By means of special funding programmes, which are based on public competitive calls and peer-review evaluations, the BMBF supports innovative projects in various research sectors; e.g. in basic sciences, sustainable development, information and communications technologies, life sciences, production research, chemistry and materials science, transport or space research.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has been directed by Federal Minister Anja Karliczek since March 2018. The Ministry has around 750 staff members at its main office in Bonn and around 250 at its Berlin office. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is the owner of the national funding programme “From Material to Innovation” and “Innovation for Tomorrow´s Production, Services and Work”, which will be the German national programmes participating in the joint calls of the proposed M.ERA-NET 3.
DE: Germany JÜLICH - Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Projektträger Jülich
The Projektträger Jülich (Project Management Jülich) is a German research management agency within the Forschungszentrum Jülich which undertakes the management of R&D and innovation programmes on behalf of various contractors representing the national government: mainly the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and the Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU). It also hosts several national contact points (NCPs) for Horizon 2020, among others for Industrial Technologies “Nanotechnologies, Materials, Biotechnologies and New Production Technologies” (NMBP). With expertise in research and innovation management, Project Management Jülich supports its clients in the German federal government and state governments as well as the European Commission in implementing their research policy goals with a focus on project funding.
Project funding furnishes the public authorities with an instrument that they can use to set the course for research. With more than 1100 employees, Project Management Jülich covers a broad range of topics. It combines scientific and structural expertise with administrative competence in a neutral manner independent of its own economic interests. In 2018, the managed funding volume increased to 1750 Million €. As a largely independent organizational unit of Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, which is one of the largest scientific research centres in Europe with over 5,000 employees, Project Management Jülich benefits from a progressive scientific environment and access to excellent infrastructure facilities. Apart from Jülich, it has branches in Berlin and Rostock-Warnemünde. In 2004, Project Management Jülich introduced a quality management system and in 2005 this quality assurance measure was certified according to the DIN EN ISO 9001 standard.
DE: Germany - Saxony SMWK - Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Kultur und Tourismus
SMWK is part of the executive power of the Free State of Saxony (German land). The Free State of Saxony with its 4 universities, 5 universities of applied sciences and more than 50 research institutions has a strong research tradition especially in engineering. Material research and innovation, including materials for future batteries, and their contribution to the circular economy and sustainability is one of the main innovation policy priorities of the Saxon Innovation Strategy.
International cooperation and sharing of knowledge and resources are seen as crucial to strengthen the excellence and competitiveness of research and innovation in Saxony and their further development.