Saxony supplements technology funding with an important building block for the validation of research results

With the publication of a call for funding on October 29, 2020, the Free State of Saxony will start the new program "Funding for the Validation of Research Results" (RL Validation Funding). It aims to improve technology transfer and adds an important component to Saxony's technology funding.

Projects to validate research results that are promising for commercial exploitation are funded with a project period of up to 18 months and eligible expenses/costs of up to 250.000 euros. Universities and non-university research institutions based in Saxony can apply for a grant of 29 percent of the costs until December 2020, 90. Funding decisions are made in the competitive process.

With the validation, proof of a successful technical and economic feasibility of the research results is to be provided. The aim is to reduce the gap between the results typically provided by research and the information required by industry to use them.

Economics Minister Martin Dulig: "The validation funding should help to make technology transfer faster and more efficient and thus further expand the chances of economic exploitation of the results provided on the research side."

During the term of the projects, the beneficiaries will be futureSAX GmbH supported by accompanying meetings to create an exploitation plan for the projects, to identify possible exploitation and/or cooperation partners and to establish contacts and exchange on the futureSAX platform.

A well-functioning and effective transfer of knowledge and technology is a basic prerequisite for a significant proportion of the research results achieved in the scientific institutions to be used for the benefit of society in concrete applications that add value. Against the background of the economic structure of the Free State of Saxony, the transfer of knowledge and technology is a significant source of innovation and is therefore essential for the competitiveness of the Saxon economy. Innovations serve to secure the future and are among the most important driving forces for growth, employment, social progress and the protection of living conditions.

With the validation of research results, an essential element in the process of technology transfer is promoted, for which there has previously been insufficient support. The validation funding helps to close the gaps between scientific knowledge and its marketable applications on the one hand and between public research and private investments on the other.

Background information:

On August 10, 2020, the Saxon State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport (SMWA) passed the guidelines for funding the validation of research results (RL validation funding). This was published in the Saxon Official Journal on August 27, 2020.

Details on the funding can be found in the funding call published in the Saxon Official Journal on October 29, 2020. This and further information and the application documents can also be found on the website of the Saxon Development Bank – Development Bank (www.sab.sachsen.de). Information on support from futureSAX GmbH is available at www.futuresax.de/transfer/validierungsfoerderung accessible.

As part of the Saxon technology promotion, the Free State of Saxony supports innovative projects of the Saxon economy with various measures. Funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) or the European Social Fund (ESF) are mainly used for this. In the funding period from 2014 to 2020, which is now coming to an end, Saxony has approved grants of around 3.000 million euros for almost 640 projects as part of the ERDF and ESF technology funding.

The Ministry of Economics plans to continue the technology funding programs in the coming structural fund period from 2021.

Source: SMWA press release from October 28.10.2020th, XNUMX