Strategy

“We provide guidance to stakeholders from industry, politics and society, support them in determining how to position themselves, and assist in shaping the future of the innovation system.”

The mission of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is to pursue research in applied fields: We partner with companies to transform original ideas into innovations that benefit society and strengthen both the German and the European economy. To this end, the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research pursues its overriding goal to strengthen the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s future role in research, technology and innovation policy dialogue with industry, politics and society by pooling its expertise in innovation research.

In order to meet the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s innovation systems, it is not enough to simply stay on top of existing approaches to innovation research; we also need to explore new, cross-disciplinary avenues. With this in mind, the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research has set itself the following strategic objectives aimed at creating added value through joint group activities:

• Excellence through complementarities and synergies
  By creating a distinct scientific profile and encouraging collaboration aimed at dovetailing excellence in applied research with the transfer of knowledge and technology to industry, politics and society, the group promotes its member institutes’ competitiveness and stellar scientific achievements. At the same time, it strives to forge new paths in innovation research, play to regional strengths, and integrate complementary competencies within the group into user-centered solutions in a learning- and needs-based manner.
  
  
• Visibility through transparent competencies and services
  The group acts as a partner in the field of integrated strategic innovation research for industry, political, scientific and societal stakeholders, as well as at the interface between the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and its constituent bodies. The group thus serves as a central point of contact for its target groups and enhances the visibility and transparency of the services provided by the various institutes.
  
  
• Future orientation through cooperation and agenda setting
  To enable it to identify future-relevant changes and technological developments early on, and expand its services portfolio in the field of innovation research to reflect new demands, the group cooperates in networks inside and outside of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

The member institutes collaborating in the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research cover a broad spectrum of expertise and methodologies from the fields of socioeconomic and sociotechnical research. In the group, the partners pool their instruments, methods and measures on a case-by-case basis and coordinate their further development. Thus the complementarity of the member institutes benefits the group as a whole, while at the same time each institute retains its independent structures. The central office of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research assists in coordinating the joint activities.