Press and Media

More than 80 percent of German companies surveyed are striving for innovation, yet there is considerable room for improvement in some of the underlying conditions. “German Innovation Spotlight 2026,” a study by the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research and the German Design Council, offers a broad overview of the innovation capability of German companies and highlights areas for development.

Prof. Dr. Jakob Edler, executive director of Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI in Karlsruhe, took over as chair of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research on July 1, 2023. Edler takes over from Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Bauer, who sits on the management board at Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO in Stuttgart and who has headed the group since it was set up six years ago.

The Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research, which includes Fraunhofer IAO among other Fraunhofer Institutes, has collaborated with the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and TIM Consulting to publish a field study that discusses the status of the use of roadmapping as a strategic planning instrument in organizations.

On behalf of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, four institutes of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research, have identified the most important future topics of applied research. In a foresight process, technological and societal developments were analysed with regard to their innovation potential and their relevance for applied research. Some spotlight topics such as geoengineering were discussed particularly controversially.

On 1 July 2018, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen was welcomed as the first Guest Member of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research. The youngest Fraunhofer Group, which was founded in 2017, thus embarks on a path to further growth.

By 2030, innovation will take place outside of R&D departments. Innovation processes will be comprehensively digitalized. New products, services and business models will be brought to market as integrated solutions. Knowledge will be freely available and open to all – though the advantage will be with those who can put that knowledge to good use. Europe will have established itself as a global leader in data security and data sovereignty.

On January 1, 2018, the Fraunhofer Information Center for Planning and Building IRB in Stuttgart became the fifth member to join the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research. With the addition of IRB, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s most recently formed group can now add the exploitation and transfer of research results in the innovation process to its range of expertise.