Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas

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Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources

           Abstract of the
      2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
2
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
Contents

Contents

Foreword – Matthias Machnig                                                                4

1         Growth for Thuringia                                                             6

2         Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany                                      8
2.1       Thuringia: making a comeback since 1991                                          8
2.2       Thuringia today: challenges and potential for the future                        10

3         Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends                            14
3.1       2020: future growth from megatrends                                             14
3.2       Potential areas of growth for Thuringia                                         15

4         Recommendations and impetus                                                     23
4.1       Focusing economic promotion on the areas of growth                              23
4.2       Transforming the instruments for promoting economic development and
          establishing economic policy expertise                                          24
4.3       Promoting company growth                                                        25
4.4       Promoting company cooperation                                                   27
4.5       Boosting business start-ups and entrepreneurial cultures                        28
4.6       Actively opening up potential international markets and creating
          sustainable structures – primarily for SMEs                                     30
4.7       Strengthening funding for technology                                            31
4.8       Developing science and research                                                 34
4.9       Systematising and accelerating the commercialisation of research results        35
4.10      Guaranteeing effective infrastructure                                           36
4.11      Securing and strengthening investment expenditure                               38
4.12      Prioritising industry and industrial services                                   39
4.13      Developing the Thuringia Aufbaubank (development bank)
          into the Landesstrukturbank (regional structural bank)                          40
4.14      Securing the supply of skilled workers                                          41
4.15      Modernising administrative structures                                           43
4.16      Improving cluster management and strengthening regional networks                44

Be bold for the future                                                                    46

Imprint                                                                                   48

                                                                                           3
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
Foreword

Dear Readers,

Thuringia is one of the most attractive invest-
ment locations in Germany. A few years ago,
anyone who ventured to say this in public
would probably have been greeted by disbe-
lieving amazement and derisive comments.
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, yes, probably
also Hesse or Hamburg, maybe Saxony — but          and simplistic view of the new federal states
Thuringia?                                         of Germany as the ’east’ is no longer in
                                                   keeping with the times; the same goes for the
Times have changed. The assertion that Thur-
                                                   idea of their ’reconstruction’. Now we need to
ingia is one of the most attractive investment
                                                   consolidate our achievements and every fed-
locations in Germany does not by any means
                                                   eral state has to find their own way of doing
come from Thuringia. It is the result of an ana-
                                                   so. We are therefore moving from the decades
lysis by the renowned American trade journal
                                                   of reconstruction in the east into Thuringia’s
‘Site Selection’.
                                                   phase of development.
The ranking by international experts demon-
                                                   The time has come to honestly take stock of
strates that a lot has been done since Thuringia
                                                   the situation. How has Thuringia developed,
moved to the centre of a united Germany in
                                                   what are its strengths, but also its weak-
1990. This success is primarily due to the
                                                   nesses, and what are the central challenges
people of Thuringia, the companies and the
                                                   that Thuringia is going to have to face in the
employees whose courage and determination,
                                                   coming years? We must get to the bottom of
hard work and intelligent investments have
                                                   these questions to set the right course for the
resulted in the state staging an unparalleled
                                                   future. The Thuringia State Ministry for Econ-
economic comeback. However, our achieve-
                                                   omics, Labour and Technology has therefore
ments should not give us cause for compla-
                                                   commissioned the renowned Roland Berger
cency. Whoever stands still falls behind; if we
                                                   Strategy Consultants to carefully examine
content ourselves with updating the past, we
                                                   Thuringia as a business location and produce
will end up on the losing side. The past 20
                                                   recommendations for Thuringia’s economic
years have been greatly influenced by the
                                                   and location policies.
‘Aufbau Ost’ reconstruction programme in the
former East German states. But this phase is       The analysis is not just limited to survey-
now on the home straight. The sweeping             ing Thuringia as a location and identifying

4
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
Foreword

the strengths and weaknesses, risks and           Roland Berger has produced a comprehensive
opportunities. The Roland-Berger study goes       report, the summary of which you have in
further, placing the economic development         front of you. The complete work in German,
of Thuringia in a global context. On the face     ‘Trendatlas Thüringen 2020’, is on sale in
of it, this may seem presumptuous, but it is      bookshops nationwide. We chose this title
absolutely vital: merely considering Thuringia    because the characteristic of the trend atlas
without looking at the bigger picture would       is to primarily take into account those dynamic
be to neglect a vital element. Global             industries which particularly profit from the
developments take place globally – and even       global megatrends. Of course, at the same
Thuringia needs to bear these in mind. The        time, we have to ensure that other industries
climate is also changing in our free state,       which are not named explicitly, yet are still
medical progress happily does not stop at our     the primary pillars of the Thuringia economy,
state borders and the finite nature of fossil     do not disappear from our field of vision and
fuels also affects companies and private          receive adequate support in our economic
households in Erfurt and Jena, Gera and           policies.
Weimar. Climate change, energy efficiency
                                                  On the following pages, you will find the
and medical progress: just three of the global
                                                  abridged version of the recommendations for
megatrends that are also of great importance
                                                  the economic and location policies with which
to Thuringia and offer potential for growth and
                                                  Thuringia can continue to defend its top pos-
employment.
                                                  ition as one of the most attractive investment
That is why global megatrends must be             locations in Germany throughout this decade.
reflected with the potential for Thuringia’s      We are delighted to invite you to join the dia-
economy. This makes it clear that we are well     logue concerning our economic policies. We
prepared in many areas. Our optics compa-         are calling for everyone to work together with
nies enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide      the players at local and regional level and
and medical technology firms contribute to        business, the sciences and the state govern-
Thuringia’s booming health sector. We are an      ment on the ‘Thüringen 2020’ concept.
important location for the solar power industry
and universities in Jena, Ilmenau, Erfurt and     Yours sincerely,
Weimar prepare our young people for the
challenges of the globalised labour market. In
other areas, Thuringia still needs to catch up:
from the very low investments in research and     Matthias Machnig
development to the struggle for the smartest      Thuringia Minister for Economy,
minds which began long ago under the head-        Labour and Technology
ing ‘skills shortage’.

                                                                                                5
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
1 Growth for Thuringia

1 Growth for Thuringia

Consolidating strengths and sustainably              tunities, demographic changes, economic
strengthening investments, innovation and            restructuring working to endorse an efficiency
internationalisation                                 revolution (energy/resources).

                                                     Economic policies are never a question of
Innovation is the key to securing the eco-
                                                     dealing with current problems – economic
nomic future. Modern economic policies are
                                                     policies are always about structuring the
therefore also always innovation policies,
                                                     future. The more dynamic the changes, the
because a sustainable economic policy is
                                                     greater the need to develop smart solutions.
more than just the lack of an economic crisis.
A self-supporting upturn and stable growth           Ideas that reach out beyond the short-term
can only be achieved when we succeed in              political events have to be developed, and a
recognising the great challenges of the fu-          further horizon is needed. The idea is to
ture as opportunities: globalisation, location       deduce potential demand from the most
competition, the acceleration of technologi-         significant and reliable trends for the next
cal progress, dynamic employment oppor-              20 years and thereby grant a long-term

A sustainable economic policy engages current strengths with short-term potential and long-term trends.

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Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
1 Growth for Thuringia

sustainable direction to the economic              economic dialogue, global developments are
development in Thuringia and its economic          taken into account by local actors.
policies.
                                                   Experience, expertise and objectivity are
Such an analysis requires the integration of       needed for this kind of analysis. That is why
both current strengths and short-term poten-       the Thuringian Ministry for Economy, Labour
tial and long-term trends as well as the           and Technology (TMWAT) has sought expert
resulting markets.                                 knowledge and expert experience. The
                                                   Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (RBSC)
For this, the ‘bottom-up’ approach of the
                                                   have looked at the bigger picture for the
concepts, strengths and strategies that are
                                                   TMWAT, investigating 30 global megatrends
familiar in Thuringia has to be supplemen-
                                                   and 259 trend areas, and relating these to
ted with a previously neglected ‘top-down’
                                                   the free state. In doing so, they fell back on
perspective. The aim is to look at the potential
                                                   the expertise of other experts from research
changes and derive from them opportunities
                                                   establishments and industry associations –
for the regional economy. In a sustained
                                                   some 4,500 Thuringia-based companies
                                                   took part via a survey.

                                                   Finally, 11 areas of growth were identified
                                                   for Thuringia’s economy. The result is a port-
                                                   folio strategy which consolidates existing
                                                   strengths while developing new ones,
                                                   concentrates on a few promising areas of
                                                   growth and strengthens investments and
                                                   support in the medium term.

                                                   These recommendations should serve as
                                                   signposts for the future economic direction
                                                   and development of the free state. Specific
                                                   recommendations for Thuringia’s economic
                                                   policies have been developed taking into
                                                   account Thuringia’s recent history, the
                                                   current challenges and potential of the fed-
                                                   eral state, future global megatrends and
                                                   potential areas of growth.

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Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

2.1 Thuringia: making a comeback since 1991

The economic development of the last 20 years    speed of growth among the eastern German
has been a success story – thanks to many        states to date approached the lower federal
company founders and employees, as well          average. The development of productivity
as federal and state policies that have also     also slackened. In the two decades after
played their part.                               the fall of the Berlin Wall, industry and
                                                 production-related services were the drivers
Since reunification, the Free State of Thurin-
                                                 of growth in the free state. In the second
gia has made a massive effort to success-
                                                 decade, 75% of total growth in the Thuringian
fully restructure its economy from a state-
                                                 economy was already accounted for by these
directed economy to the market economy
                                                 two areas.
and has laid stable foundations for further
development in the 21st century. Never-          Industry and production-related services
theless, substantial regional differences,       are the basis of Thuringia’s leading position
continuing structural problems and a lack of     in comparison with the other eastern German
modernisation require new responses.             federal states. The free state is the captain
                                                 of business growth. Yet the gross value added
As Thuringia also started with a relatively
                                                 per earner in Thuringia today is around
low level of economic development, the
                                                 12,000 euros below the national average.
ascent was initially very fast. The stunning
comeback in the first ten years following the    But only by moving at a faster rate than the
fall of the Berlin Wall was, however, followed   region in front can we close the ranks. The
by a slower second post-reunification de-        rate of growth in the Thuringian economy
cade. Between 2000 and 2008, the highest         and in the industry, in particular, has to be
                                                 accelerated again.

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Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

                       1st decade                                      2nd decade

34

22

20                                                                      Thuringia

18                                                                      Germany

16                                                                      growth GVA

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

          1994        1996          1998       2000         2002         2004         2006         2008

Annual growth rate of gross value added as a comparison between
Thuringia and Germany (D) [%] (source: Destatis).

                                                                                                    9
Wealth + Innovation + Natural resources Abstract of the 2020 Thuringia Trend Atlas
2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

2.2 Thuringia today: challenges and potential for the future

En route to becoming one of the leading           processes lead to competitive products.
and most dynamic locations in Germany,            Innovations are also an essential key for
there are structural problems that must be        productive and competitive workplaces.
overcome. In addition to migration, the low
                                                  Thuringia is significantly below the German
level of research intensity and the lack of
                                                  average, both for the number of patents filed
taxpaying ability, the small size of firms is a
                                                  and the research and development expend-
predominant factor. Only 0.3% of all Thuringia-
                                                  iture (R & D) per earner as a measurement of
based companies employ more than 250
                                                  innovation capacity. The lack of expenditure
people. Only a fraction of the few larger
                                                  is in large part to be ascribed to the low level
companies are listed on the stock exchange
                                                  of research and development, due to the lack
and only a few headquarters are based in
                                                  of large research-led companies.
the state. The lack of large companies means
that the free state lacks the natural core        As well as innovation, it is primarily invest-
of investment, innovation and also export         ment that increases technical progress in the
strength. The results are low market power        company. Without investment, innovation
and innovation dynamics. An innovation-           is unthinkable. Innovation is the natural
oriented economic policy must take account        prerequisite for the emergence of growth,
of these structural problems.                     and we therefore have to invest more in it.
                                                  R & D expenditure as a share GDP is under
The five ‘I’s are the critical factors for a
                                                  two percent in the free state. A glance at the
sustainable and successful economy for
                                                  Lisbon Strategy goals reveals how inadequate
tomorrow:
                                                  the endeavours in Thuringia have been up to
> Innovation.                                     now: the three percent marker was the aim
                                                  by 2010, in order to become one of the most
> Investment.
                                                  dynamic economic regions in the world. A
> Infrastructure.                                 prerequisite for investment is for investors to
                                                  be established here.
> Internationalisation.
                                                  Investors need to be attracted; an attractive
> Integration of talented individuals
                                                  environment with high-performance and
  and workers.
                                                  modern infrastructure contributes to this.
Growth is generated first and foremost where      Besides the economy-oriented infrastructure,
innovative developments and production            such as sufficient industrial and commercial

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2. Thuringia`s return to the centre of Germany

Here, investments are in demand: research and development are the driver of technological progress.

premises, the entire transport infrastructure        for instance, by completing ongoing transport
and connection to (high) capacity data               projects.
networks form part of a location’s attractive-
                                                     Apart from opening up new markets in
ness.
                                                     Germany, the path to increasing economic
Initial, important steps have already been           growth also depends predominantly on
taken in this area with the large industrial         participating in the above-average growth
space and broadband initiative. This extends         opportunities on the international market.
the range of attractive industrial and com-          As a result of the correlation between share
mercial premises and increases the level of          of exports and growth in sales, energetic
connection of the rural area to broadband.           endeavours should be made to close the
However, there is a further need for action –        globalisation gap. Targeted and supported

                                                                                                      11
2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

development of foreign markets with the               particular, the emigration of well-educated
greatest growth prospects can generate                young people – is leading to the deterioration
additional growth in Thuringia. Measures              of the workforce potential. Over the last ten
such as the introduction of ‘technology               years, a decrease of 11% has been recorded.
scouts’ are appropriate methods.                      In a few professional fields today, there is
                                                      already a visible lack of highly qualified skilled
Another necessary requirement for the in-
                                                      workers, and this is only going to get worse.
crease in growth is, above all, the availability
                                                      Talented young people must be attracted to
of sufficient skilled workers resulting from
                                                      Thuringia and encouraged to stay here.
the integration of wide-ranging talents and
skills in the labour market. In 2010, the             The future belongs to the region that identi-
population of Thuringia fell by 46 residents          fies the lead markets – in other words, those
every day. The demographic change – and, in           areas in which the greatest bursts of growth

Innovation is an important key for modern, sustainable jobs.

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2 Thuringia’s return to the centre of Germany

are to be expected in the coming years.            > Engineering.
First, we should stress that the strengths
                                                   In addition, there are four cross-sectional
in Thuringia today are also the strengths of
                                                   technologies:
tomorrow. Innovation is an important key for
modern, sustainable jobs.                          > Plastics and ceramics.

Previous analyses leave no doubt that              > Micro- and nanotechnology.
industry and production-related services will
                                                   > Measurement and control technology.
also continue to form the backbone of the
Thuringia economy – especially due to the          > Optics/Optoelectronics.
spillover effects. The areas that profit from
                                                   These fields of technology drive growth and
this are those that are more geared to local
                                                   jobs in all industries – significant synergies
and regional distribution such as agriculture
                                                   are also expected between these individual
and forestry, the building industry, trade, and
                                                   fields, thus amplifying the impact.
the hotel and restaurant industry as well as
household-related services.                        When listing the economic strengths of
                                                   Thuringia, one industry above all cannot go
Using the criteria strength (share of industrial
                                                   unmentioned: the food industry. It is of huge
employees in employment), dynamism
                                                   economic importance, drives employment
(gross value added [GVA] and employment
                                                   and supports innovation, thus making it
of growth) and sustainability (R & D activities
                                                   vitally important to the free state. In Thuringia,
and network structures), eight areas have
                                                   it is the second sector in terms of industry
been identified in industry and production-
                                                   turnover and third in terms of employment.
related services which could, and in all
                                                   To sustainably strengthen the food industry,
likelihood will, drive growth in the region.
                                                   a cluster must be formed in this sector. A
The focus is on four application-oriented
                                                   cluster summit later this year will act as a
technologies:
                                                   catalyst in this process.
> The automotive industry.

> Life sciences.

> Environmentally friendly energies and
  energy storage.

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3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

3 Opportunities for Thuringia:
  using global megatrends

3.1 2020: future growth from megatrends

A signpost for the future sustainable direc-         technological development and a variety
tion of Thuringia’s economic policies natur-         of interviews with experts have helped us
ally remains incomplete if we only analyse           predict how Thuringia can profit from the
existing strengths.                                  worldwide developments that are apparent
                                                     today.
The central question is: what are the de-
cisive global areas of growth for tomorrow           Through a complex process of analysis and
and the day after tomorrow, and what can             deduction, we were able to determine that
be done to ensure that the free state, com-          there are altogether 11 promising areas of
panies and the people of Thuringia take ad-          growth with great potential for Thuringia’s
vantage of the dynamism of these markets?            economy. Eight of them are old friends in
                                                     Thuringia and are already listed above. In
It is necessary to determine an exact road
                                                     addition to these four application-oriented
map for the economic-policy route to the
                                                     and four cross-sectional technologies, three
year 2020. This is possible. The next decade
                                                     budding areas – known as ‘trend-induced
is not entirely unknown terrain. Today, there
                                                     areas of growth’ – could be identified from
are already clues for credible predictions.
                                                     the highly relevant megatrends. These are:
RBSC compiled a ‘trend compendium’ based
on economics for the World Economic Forum            > Green technology (excluding energy gener-
in Davos that described which megatrends               ation and energy storage).
will shape future economic development. This
                                                     > Service robotics.
compendium was also used to establish this
roadmap. Complementary studies on global             > Creative industries / Edutainment.
as well as regional aspects of economic and

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3. Opportunities for Thuringia: Using global megatrends

Which megatrends are shaping our future? According to predictions,
the photovoltaic industry is one of the areas of growth.

3.2 Potential areas of growth for Thuringia

It appears that Thuringia can adapt to the           In close collaboration with Thuringia experts,
areas of growth driven by trends. There are          recommendations have been formulated that
eight sectors which are solidly established          will help to change the positioning of compa-
and from which economic momentum can                 nies in such a way that enables greater market
be developed. It will be the task of future          success.
economic policies to increase the pace, on
the basis of the five ‘I’s and with the right        The prediction shows that the targeted devel-
new additions. To ensure that the potential          opment of the 11 areas of growth in Thurin-
growth in the 11 sectors named is actually           gia by 2020 can bring about an increase in
realised, the right course needs to be set.          gross added value of up to 67–77% in the

                                                                                                    15
3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

eight application-oriented and cross-sectio-         in the added value of 2.9–3.3 and 1.0–1.1
nal technologies, up to 89–100% in the trend-        billion euros respectively and the creation of
induced areas of growth and a rise in employ-        almost 36,000–44,000 and 11,000–13,000
ment of up to 39–48% and up to 57–66%                new jobs respectively.
respectively. This means an outright increase
                                                     Since green technology, a central key
                                                     technology of the future, plays an important
                                                     role in all areas and is closely interwoven
                                                     with them, in the future it will no longer be
                                                     possible to strictly separate the individual
                                                     sectors and simply add them up. Below is an
                                                     overview of the concepts for 2020 that are
                                                     specific to areas of growth – in the sense of
                                                     ‘future concepts’ – and the most important
                                                     recommendations:

                                                     Automotive
                                                     Automotive suppliers will concentrate on
                                                     high-quality systems and be strongly inte-
                                                     grated along the value chain. They will have
                                                     to tackle the development of skills in the
                                                     field of sustainable mobility together. The
                                                     industry will develop its primary role as an
                                                     employer in Thuringia by 2020.

                                                     Priority measures:

                                                     > Strengthening research and development
                                                       expertise and increasing systems expertise
                                                       through intensive use of the Thuringia Cen-
                                                       tre for Innovation and Mobility (ThIMo).

                                                     > Setting up a support unit for collaborative
Well positioned in the areas of growth: Thuringia      research projects.
can look to the future with optimism.

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3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

Gross value added and number of persons employed in application and cross-sectional technologies, as well as the trend-induc
growth areas for 2020 (Source: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants)

                                   GVA change 2008–20       Percentage change   Persons employed   Percentage change
                                   (in millions of euros)   compared to 2008    change 2008–20     compared to 2008

    Application technologies

    Automotive                     +720–810                 +80–90%             +10,500–12,400      +51–60%

    Biotechnology                  +140–150                 +140–150%            +1,600–1,800      +100–113%

    Medical technology             +270–300                 +123–136%            +3,800–4,300       +83–93%

    Energy and energy storage      +470–530                 +104–118%            +7,100–8,100       +73–84%

    Engineering                    +220–300                  +20–27%             +1,500–3,000        +6–13%

    Cross-sectional technologies

    Plastics and ceramics          +520–610                  +55–64%             +6,100–7,700       +30–38%

    Micro- and nanotechnology       +90–100                  +69–77%             +1,000–2,400       +34–55%

    Measuring and control          +180–210                  +72–84%             +2,100–1,300       +48–45%

    Optics                         +270–290                 +135–145%            +1,900–2,600       +46–63%

    TOTAL                          +2,880–3,300             +67–77%             +35,600–43,600     +39–48%

    Trend-induced growth areas

    Green technology               +820–930                 + 82–93%             +9,400–11,000      +52–61%

    Service robotics                 +8–9                   +73–82%               +100–120          +48–52%

    Edutainment                    +120–130                 +200–217%            +1,500–1,600      +167–178%

    TOTAL                          +950–1,070               +89–100%            +11,000–12,700      +57–66%

  Gross value added and number of persons employed in application and cross-sectional technologies,
  as well as the trend-induced growth areas for 2020 (source: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants).

                                                                                                                       17
3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

Life sciences – biotechnology                        Environmentally friendly energies
and medical technology                               and energy storage
In 2020, the biotechnology sector will be            The photovoltaic industry in Thuringia will
present worldwide in markets for bio-                withstand the international competition
instruments, sepsis diagnostics and thera-           through pioneering technology and econ-
peutics. To become niche leaders in tech-            omies of scale. A new research institution
nology, targeted existing strengths must be          for process optimisation will help to reduce
built on and tied in with the sector again.          the costs.
Thuringia can particularly profit from strong
growth in ‘red’ biotechnology.                       Priority measures:

                                                     > Development of a centre of excellence for
Priority measures:
                                                       solar production technology.
> Even closer cooperation between scientists
  and industry.
                                                     Engineering
Improved access to venture                           In 2020, engineering will lead the field with
and equity capital                                   energy-efficient machines and account for
                                                     high-quality stages in the value chain. The
In 2020, medical technology in Thuringia will
                                                     theme of energy efficiency must therefore
be among the best in the world for opto-
                                                     be promoted in R & D and simple production
technological products and prosthetics. Sci-
                                                     steps must be outsourced in the long term.
ence and industry will have to conduct joint
                                                     Engineering will grow further to a high level
research and convert ideas from practice
                                                     by 2020 and create additional jobs.
into products. By 2020, medical technology
will grow strongly and really drive growth,
                                                     Priority measures:
predominantly through exports.
                                                     > Foundation of an interdisciplinary applica-
Priority measures:                                     tion centre for manufacturing technology.

> Foundation of an ‘Application and Develop-         > Promotion of close integration of engineer-
  ment’ network for joint, practical research and      ing with other sectors and with the cross-
  development by scientists and the industry.          sectional technologies in Thuringia.

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3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

Plastics and ceramics                             Priority measures:

In order to remain competitive, the plastics      > Production of common system capabilities
industry will concentrate on promising              within the network and the improvement of
sectors like automotive engineering or              founding conditions.
‘green’ building services engineering. Cer-
                                                  > Rise in the number of members in the
amics have attractive special applications.
                                                    Mikro-Nanotechnologie Thüringen e. V.
Plastics and ceramics will strongly increase
                                                    (MNT) network.
in both added value and employment by
2020.

Priority measures:

> Regular screening of innovative possible
  applications and trends for materials and
  joint related collaborative projects.

> Close interconnection with the respective
  application sectors.

Micro- and nanotechnology
Close interlocking of excellent research and
application will lead to strong growth in the
micro- and nanotechnology industry.

The excellent research will be quickly
converted into marketable products. Micro-
and nanotechnology themselves will grow
strongly according to conservative estima-
tes and will have great upward potential.

                                                  Future from the laboratory: research as a foundation
                                                  for the technologies of tomorrow.

                                                                                                   19
3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

Measurement and control technology                   dynamism must be transmitted even more
                                                     intensely into new products and establish-
Measurement and control technology manu-
                                                     ments with new jobs. By 2020, the optics
facturers will together implement innova-
                                                     industry will have more than doubled its
tive measurement and control technology
                                                     added value and be one of the cross-sectional
solutions, e.g. for reducing the consumption
                                                     technologies with the greatest potential for
of energy and resources in buildings and ma-
                                                     applications.
chines. To do so, measurement and control
technology companies will have to dispel
                                                     Priority measures:
reservations about cooperation within their
network structures and find joint projects.          > Accelerated growth through the revival of
By 2020, the measurement and control                   the start-up impetus in a ‘second start-up
technology industry will be growing through            wave’.
diverse applications and cross-sectional
                                                     > Support of the broad and rapid conversion
technologies.
                                                       of research results into products and applica-
                                                       tions.
Priority measures:

> Complete maximisation of the potential for
                                                     Green technology
  innovation within the industry, including
  through cooperation and collaborative              A shared ‘green’ industry identity connects
  projects in the Elektronische Mess- und Ge-        companies from various sectors which, even
  rätetechnik Thüringen eG (ELMUG) network.          at an international level, compete together
                                                     for green projects and also implement them.
> Joint research projects with areas of appli-
                                                     Focal points are the fields of green building
  cation.
                                                     services engineering and sustainable water
                                                     management.
Optics/Optoelectronics
                                                     In green building services engineering, the
In 2020, the Thuringia-based components              companies will build and renovate buildings
suppliers will have become integrated sys-           in and around Thuringia together. By provid-
tems manufacturers with problem-solving              ing a ‘one-stop shop’ range, an efficiency
expertise that occupy future markets like            platform will create demand for building
green photonics. For this, the research              restoration.

20
3 Opportunities for Thuringia: using global megatrends

Priority measures:                                 of cooperation partners will be central for
                                                   the development of pioneering products.
> Foundation of an efficiency platform which
                                                   Over the next few years, robotics will remain
  brings together and communicates the
                                                   small, yet it has a high future potential.
  offers of Thuringia-based companies.

With innovative niche technologies, the water      Priority measures:
management sector in Thuringia will supply
                                                   > Foundation of a robotics centre.
international markets according to their
needs. In cooperation with cross-sectional         > Procurement of subsidies from the German
technologies, the companies will be develop-         federal government and the EU through a
ing innovative, sustainable products. Today,         central contact point.
water management is already an important
sector and will be able to further grow
through the ‘green’ development of foreign
                                                   Creative industries / Edutainment
markets.
                                                   Besides the prominent significance of
                                                   production-related services for a sustainable
Priority measures:
                                                   burst of growth in the Thuringian economy,
> Creation of a state map of Thuringia-based       the combination of the sub-segments of the
  expertise in the field of green technology       creative industries, software/games indus-
  by the Thuringia Energie- und GreenTech-         try and film and broadcasting industries in
  Agentur (ThEGA).                                 the edutainment field of growth promise an
                                                   exciting starting-point for potentially sensa-
> Formation of working groups for specific
                                                   tional growth.
  needs of diverse foreign markets.
                                                   ‘Edutainment’ brings together ‘education’
                                                   and ‘entertainment’ to provide knowledge
Service robotics
                                                   transfer in an amusing and playful way. It is a
In connection with other technologies from         booming market. On the one hand, the need
Thuringia and the rest of the world, pion-         for (further) education will have significantly
eering products will be launched by the            increased. On the other, increasing numbers
service robotics industry. The foundation          of target groups will need products with dif-
of a robotics centre and the identification        ferent content, from which will arise various

                                                                                                  21
3. Opportunities for Thuringia: Using global megatrends

When products grow from ideas: in industries such as microelectronics,
Thuringia demonstrates great potential.

niches for children and schools, education-           Priority measures:
conscious adults, companies, etc. The
                                                      > Cooperation between various media
trend for multimedia applications on mobile
                                                        producers.
devices for learning and knowledge software
will also kick-start growth.                          > Foundation of a central media
                                                        marketing agency.

22
4 Recommendations and impetus

4 Recommendations and impetus

4.1 Focusing economic promotion on the areas of growth

In the coming years, particularly after the end    To realise this growth, it is also necessary:
of the current programming period for the
                                                   > To guarantee the co-financing of all instru-
European Structural Funds, the funds avail-
                                                     ments that promote the economy which
able for measures of economic promotion will
                                                     are partially funded by the German federal
decline.
                                                     government and the European Structural
The state is therefore faced with the challenge      Funds until 2013.
of initiating a burst of growth while grants
                                                   > Progressively to set up revolving funds.
from the EU are declining and state subsidies
specially tailored to eastern Germany are set      > To check funding instruments, create more
to be phased out. It will therefore be necessary     transparency and put the focus on areas of
to concentrate resources on the areas that           growth.
promise the most growth.
                                                   > To organise annual cluster summits.
In the opinion of RBSC, these are the fol-
lowing 11 areas of technology:

> Automotive.

> Life sciences.

> Environmentally friendly energies and
  energy storage.

> Engineering.

> Plastics and ceramics.

> Micro- and nanotechnology.

> Measurement and control technology.

> Optics/Optoelectronics.

> Green technology.

> Service robotics.

> Creative industries / Edutainment.               Automotive: in the future, the industry will further
                                                   develop its primary role as an employer in Thuringia.

                                                                                                     23
4 Recommendations and impetus

4.2 Transforming the instruments for promoting economic
    development and establishing economic policy expertise

Whilst focusing on the potential for promo-           companies with specific expertise in each of
ting economic development, a new focus                the technology areas are located. This would
should be developed in the form of funding            help cooperation between companies within
instruments. With the decline in funds, the           and across all fields of technology.
importance of grants will wane and, in the
                                                     In the past few years, the state has used the
future, support will be provided more in the
                                                     ‘technology scout’ to create an instrument
form of advice and guidance. Guarantees and
                                                     that companies can use to more effectively
if necessary loans may also bolster and pro-
                                                     determine sales opportunities for innovative
tect industrial development without requiring
                                                     products at home and abroad.
direct subsidisation.
                                                     > Scouts could possibly be used across
> The state should develop practical eco-
                                                       companies who, together with SMEs, assess
  nomic policy expertise for this to support the
                                                       and develop business models for Thuringian
  reinforcement of the areas of growth, the re-
                                                       companies using innovative technologies,
  gional implementation of the growth policy
                                                       helping to make them successful.
  and its further development, both conceptually
  and specifically, for Thüringen.                   > As an extension to the consultation ser-
                                                       vices offered, approaches are conceivable in
> A key part of the further development should
                                                       which the state provides support to com-
  be a dialogue between academics and com-
                                                       panies in critical situations and assists in the
  panies, which would analyse the effects of
                                                       formulation of measures, e.g. the financing of
  the trends on the Thüringian economy and
                                                       growth phases for the introduction of new
  translate this into economic policy measures.
                                                       products or for companies with liquidity
> Regular reports on trends and areas of               problems. Companies should be able to go
  growth, with discussions regarding the pos-          to a contact point and get a quick overview
  sibility of putting them into practice to be         of what is on offer in Thuringia.
  held as part of a conference (e.g. the Weimar
                                                     > We also recommend the hosting of annual
  Economy Talks).
                                                       investor summits to provide information
> The state can furthermore adopt an orienta-          about the financial funding programmes and
  tion role and create ‘maps’ and ‘expertise           investment opportunities.
  atlases’ to clearly point out where in the state

24
4. Impetuses and recommendations

In the central technology areas of Thuringia, growth rates are expected to be around or even
above 50% by 2020 – automotive suppliers are playing an important role in this.

4.3 Promoting company growth

The Thuringian economy suffers from the                 tions. The Thüringer Aufbaubank (TAB) and
smallness of scale in its economic structure.           the Thüringer Industriebeteiligungs GmbH &
Small companies run into more difficulties              Co. KG (TIB) need to develop corresponding
when commercialising ambitious innovations              financial instruments for this.
and accessing international markets. When
                                                       > When supporting organic growth, more
it comes to network projects or centres of
                                                         consideration should be given to acces-
growth, larger companies are usually of cru-
                                                         sing new markets and the development of
cial importance.
                                                         new products, e.g. through research and
> Organic growth and growth from acquisitions            demonstration projects as well as promoting
  can be considered as development opportun-             sales abroad. The acquisition of other com-
  ities. From the point of view of the state, the        panies can be made easier with guarantees
  base and headquarters of the company must              or contribution of capital, e.g. through the
  remain in Thuringia in the case of acquisi-            investment company of the TAB.

                                                                                                   25
4 Recommendations and impetus

> Particularly for smaller companies (most          > Where possible, companies should gain the
  prevalent in Thuringia), the equity base            opportunity to develop new equity reserves.
  explains the existence of business risk
                                                    > Continuation of the start-up and growth
  and is much more than just a technical
                                                      financing interest rate reduction programme
  balance sheet quantity. It must therefore
                                                      (GuW – Gründungs- und Wachstumsfinanzie-
  be sustained. A healthy equity base is also
                                                      rung) through the TAB.
  in the interests of the state, because weak
  companies can easily become the subject           > An equity assistance programme should
  of acquisitions – a relocation of innovative        be developed together with the Thüringer
  business divisions out of Thuringia, how-           Aufbaubank, with the aim of enabling affect-
  ever, runs contrary to the growth strategy          ed companies to strengthen their financial
  outlined above.                                     structures through instruments such as
                                                      subordinated loans, offers for participations
Thus, the following measures are recom-
                                                      or mezzanine financings.
mended:
Proportion of large firms (250 or more employees) of all firms in 2008
(Source: Federal Employment Agency, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants)

Germany (D)                                                                                   6.41%
Old federal states (ABL)                                                                      6.70%
New federal states (NBL)                                                                      5.30%

Bremen (HB)                                                                                   9.62%
Hamburg (HH)                                                                                  9.22%
Saarland (SL)                                                                                 7.87%
North Rhine-Westphalia (NW)                                                                   7.51%
Berlin (BE)                                                                                   7.21%
Hesse (HE)                                                                                    7.17%
Baden-Württemberg (BW)                                                                        7.07%
Bavaria (BY)                                                                                  6.15%
Saxony-Anhalt (ST)                                                                            5.53%
Lower Saxony (NI)                                                                             5.48%
Rhineland-Palatinate (RP)                                                                     5.29%
Schleswig-Holstein (SH)                                                                       4.87%
Saxony (SN)                                                                                   4.81%
Thuringia (TH)                                                                                4.74%
Brandenburg (BB)                                                                              4.57%
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (MV)                                                               4.57%

Proportion of large firms (250 or more employees) of all firms in 2008
(Source: Federal Employment Agency, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants).

26
4. Impetuses and recommendations

Collaborations between research, industry and service providers increase
innovative power and improve market success.

4.4 Promoting company cooperation

The depiction of seminal technology areas in           results and lead to an environment of
Thuringia clearly shows one thing: cooper-             market-oriented research. A good example
ation between companies within and across              to mention here would be the integration
all fields of technology offers huge potential.        of clinical research, effects and operational
Thuringia has exhibited a unique combination           research, development and practical tests in
of closely related application fields and cross-       the area of medical technology.
sectional technologies, which suggests the
                                                     > Integrated proposals for industrial products
mutual development of products and ranges
                                                       and related services promise considerable
of services.
                                                       potential. Companies must cooperate for the
In the future, collaboration should be even            long term, establish interfaces and emerge
more strongly promoted, particularly in three          on the market as a virtual company with an
formats:                                               integrated service portfolio (e.g. engineering/
                                                       planning services and plant engineering).
> A closer connection of application-oriented
  companies and research institutes can              > Integrated systems provided by closely
  accelerate the commercialisation of research         cooperating companies (e.g. measure-

                                                                                                   27
4 Recommendations and impetus

 ment technology, control technology and            is still considerable potential to be tapped
 regulation technology with micro- and              in the cooperation between companies and
 nanotechnology) is another area in which           with research institutes.
 new markets could be accessed through
                                                    Strengthening the network of Thuringian
 close collaboration, even between small
                                                    companies (support for syndication agree-
 companies. Companies can work together
                                                    ments, stimulating the formation of existing
 in innovative niche markets in particular –
                                                    cooperation structures) would be productive,
 from research and development to commer-
                                                    both for boosting innovative power and for
 cialisation abroad.
                                                    improved market success. The efficiency of
The analysis of areas of technology has             the collaboration should be measured regu-
shown that in nearly all of these areas, there      larly using concrete results.

4.5 Boosting business start-ups and entrepreneurial cultures

When it comes to the quantity of business            mercialisation has been low up to now (e.g.
registrations per capita, Thuringia lies below       nanotechnology, and biotechnology to some
the country average.                                 extent) the foreseeable surge in the start-up
                                                     of highly innovative companies should be
The number of start-ups in Thuringia has gone
                                                     contained and channelled into local suc-
down over the last few years in particular. This
                                                     cessful company start-ups in Thuringia.
concerns start-ups in innovative and skill-
intensive industries, which can be a key driver     > Consultation and support services must be
behind the development of jobs.                       offered directly to the research institutes.

> In terms of the start-up potential in the areas   > The funding programmes for company
  of technology outlined above, the general           founders are rich in terms of the instruments
  conditions for company founders must be             available in Thuringia and present the
  optimally mapped out. In areas where com-           current instruments in a similar way to the

28
4 Recommendations and impetus

 other German states. As part of the Thürin-       options should be made available. This does
 ger Gründerinitiative (Thuringian start-up        not have to be financing provided in full by
 initiative [ThGi]), key activities have been      the state – all that is needed is a commit-
 combined together into a common project           ment of partial financing and a
 between the ministries for economics,             guarantee to make other financial provi-
 labour and technology and for education,          sions accessible to founders.
 science and culture – in particular, the
                                                   > Particularly in areas of technology where
 establishment of a consultation network,
                                                     the assessment of business plans involves
 the development of a start-up prize, the pro-
                                                     major technical requirements (e.g. nano-
 vision of equity capital and the networking
                                                     and biotechnology), it would be beneficial
 of founders in the Thüringer Netzwerk für
                                                     if the Thüringer Aufbaubank or the regional
 innovative Gründungen (Thuringia network
                                                     development company (LEG) could develop
 for innovative start-ups [ThürInG]).
                                                     the relevant skills and carry out the assess-
> In the Business Angels Network (THÜBAN),           ment of business plans. Where a lack of
  Thuringia has a consultation network that          expertise results, this will prevent decisions
  can offer founders valuable help in terms of       being made against a business idea in
  business management.                               cases of doubt, also preventing promising
                                                     start-ups from becoming operational.
> In the future, technical support should be
  provided to potential founders through           > Contact with existing successful companies
  technology cluster networks and this should        in the same field of technology as well
  incorporate the skills and services offered by     as the Business Angels Network could be
  the Thüringer Aufbaubank, the chambers of          beneficial when validating business ideas
  commerce, the Kreditanstalt für Wiederauf-         within the networks and the Thüringer
  bau, savings banks and private banks.              Gründerinitiative. This would mean that
                                                     market opportunities in the target market
> The possibilities of financing for start-ups
                                                     of the founders could be explored in a
  must also be improved. The ThürInG is only
                                                     practical manner.
  the first step.

> For founders who – due to technical require-
  ments, for example – need to make consid-
  erable investments, appropriate financing

                                                                                                29
4 Recommendations and impetus

4.6 Actively opening up potential international markets and
    creating sustainable structures – primarily for SMEs

Today, Thuringia already has considerable            the first step towards more export business.
success in the field of exports. Particularly in     Standardised procedures are feasible here
the automotive industry and the industries of        and can help to achieve rapid success. Infor-
optics, medical technology and measurement           mation packs should cover the main target
as well as control and regulation technology,        markets, whereby extremely comprehensive
sales in other countries play a key role and         information from existing services can be
make a significant contribution to growth and        used for reference.
employment. Yet the export rate in Thuringia
                                                    > Grants should primarily be of a mobilising
is still significantly lower than the average for
                                                      nature and not represent long-term support.
the whole of Germany.
                                                      It is a good idea to restrict the number of
Export companies expand quicker, create more          assisted trade fair visits per country and
employment and can expect the company‘s               company, e.g. to two, after which business
performance to be more positive. A stronger           must be stable enough to be able to fund
presence from Thuringian companies on world           future trade fair visits.
markets is therefore a promising starting-
                                                    > For marketing aid, the proposal should be
point.
                                                      critically reviewed for financial aid in favour
> The challenge for the state of Thuringia, in        of a platform where companies can search
  view of the limited resources, lies in paving       for suitable private service providers (e.g.
  the way for promotion on an international           translators, Web designers, etc.).
  level which facilitates exports, helps to over-
                                                    > New markets, different challenges: future
  come the small-scale nature of the companies
                                                      markets which are often currently cited as
  and assists the Thuringian economy in a
                                                      ‘exotic’ yet difficult, e.g. the fast-growing
  targeted manner – where support is effective
                                                      Asian regions beyond China and India or
  and can be employed in a resource-efficient
                                                      Turkey, must continue to be explored by
  manner. The topic of exports must be ‘ex-
                                                      Thuringian companies. These represent key
  plored’ for small companies, in particular.
                                                      growth areas for the future. A ‘Thuringia
> Supporting companies in ‘related’ markets           International’ unit should be set up in the
  – e.g. in the USA, western Europe but also          regional development company (LEG) for
  largely in central and eastern Europe – is          this to include the following activities:

30
4 Recommendations and impetus

> The link-up of a strategic, industry-specific     assessed, and the prospects for success in
  selection of target markets from a particular     the target countries must be evaluated when
  technology area with delegation trips and         selecting the right target markets.
  long-term support from the German institu-
                                                   > It would also be extremely helpful in terms
  tions in the region can effectively promote
                                                     of guiding the companies if the target mar-
  access to future markets further.
                                                     kets were regularly analysed across the key
> Political support can also be extended             areas of technology in Thuringia.
  through on-site representation. In view of the
                                                   > The active exploitation of international
  limited resources in Thuringia, close cooper-
                                                     markets and support for the development of
  ation with the German embassies, economic
                                                     sustainable and highly productive cooper-
  bureaux and chambers of foreign trade are
                                                     ation structures between companies mean
  crucial here, and cooperation with other
                                                     that it will be necessary to boost foreign
  states in Germany would seem sensible.
                                                     trade aid. Thuringia is poorly positioned in
> The opportunities for growth in specific           terms of resources in comparison with other
  industries or areas of technology must be          German states.

4.7 Strengthening funding for technology

The TMWAT adopts a focused approach in             (ThEGA) in 2010, an institute was set up that
the area of technology funding. The funds are      can assist participants in the area of green
applied to the technology areas identified as      technology with coordination and drive for-
the most important, and key areas of technology    ward key priority projects.
such as green technology are also specifically
                                                   RBSC sees improvement potential in the in-
funded.
                                                   tegration of SMEs in research projects and in
For example, with the foundation of the            the definition of strategic areas for collabora-
Thüringer Energie- und GreenTech- Agentur          tive projects with the participation of SMEs.

                                                                                                 31
4 Recommendations and impetus

> Setting up an industry board at management         be funded by the state, if possible through
  level under the aegis of the ministry of the       the contribution of national or EU funds.
  economy, which incorporates both relevant
                                                    > In all, an increase of state funds in the area
  state departments and TAB, TIB, LEG and
                                                      of technology funding that is clearly fo-
  representatives of the cluster.
                                                      cused on growth rather than broad funding
> The free state could establish a single point       budgets would be preferable.
  of contact for SMEs in particularly important
                                                    > In addition, the transparency of running
  research and application areas through co-
                                                      research projects (collaborative projects as
  ordinators, who could take part in research
                                                      well as individual operational measures)
  and development projects within the scope
                                                      should be improved across all departments
  of collaborative projects.
                                                      and the success of projects should be subject
> The coordinators could also support the             to regular assessment, also in terms of their
  definition of strategic projects, which could       value for the companies involved.

Success abroad means growth at home. The automotive industry in Thuringia already
has considerable success in exports today.

32
4 Recommendations and impetus

Export quota in Germany by federal states 2008 (Source: Destatis)

          Export quota in Germany by federal states 2008 1)                                                                        CAGR 2000 – 2008 2)

D    3)                                                                                                       32.0%                               3.8%
ABL                                                                                                           34.1%                               3.4%
NBL                                                                                                           22.5%                               9.5%

SN                                                                                                            24.4%                               7.4%
ST                                                                                                            23.5%                              12.9%
BB                                                                                                            22.4%                              11.3%
TH                                                                                                            22.0%                               9.0%
MV                                                                                                            16.7%                               9.7%

          1) Only goods (without services)
          2) Compound annual growth
          3) As a total of the federal states’ exports – no overall value for Germany, as not all exports
             are recorded in the statistics of the federal states

R&D costs
Export    2008
       quota     per employed
             in Germany        person
                        by federal      (euroResearch
                                   states 2008 (source:and development costs per employed person in 2008
                                                       Destatis).
(Source: Destatis, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants)s)

          R & D costs per employed person in 2008 (euros)

D                                                                                                                                                1,652

ABL                                                                                                                                              1,762

NBL                                                                                                                                                940

SN                                                                                                                                               1,342

TH                                                                                                                                                934

MV                                                                                                                                                 710

BB                                                                                                                                                 687

ST                                                                                                                                                 598

                                SMEs (
4 Recommendations and impetus

4.8 Developing science and research

In recent decades, top–level research institutes   The acquisition of funding must be systemat-
in the particularly research-intensive fields      ically supported by the state through:
of technology have taken up residence in
                                                   > Monitoring measures.
Thuringia – for example, for optics, micro- and
nanotechnology as well as biotechnology.           > Establishment of a coordination centre
                                                     which provides support by identifying suit-
Federal and EU aid were acquired on a large
                                                     able grants funds, accompanies applications
scale to make this possible, both from re-
                                                     strategically and collects particularly suc-
search funding (like the BMBF ‘Entrepreneur-
                                                     cessful applications, provides them to other
ial Regions’ programme) and from funding for
                                                     players and documents successes.
infrastructure.
                                                   > Strengthening of the research and education
Since there will be a severe cutback in such
                                                     activity of scientific, technical and medical
funding in the future, third-party funds will
                                                     fields in Thuringia such as:
have to be acquired with more zeal than to
                                                     > Setting up microsystems and nanotechnol-
date from the ‘normal’ sources of research
                                                       ogy in Ilmenau.
funding for Thuringia – for example, from the
                                                     > Sepsis research in Jena.
aid of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
                                                     > Research facilities in the area of optical
(DFG) or from the EU research framework
                                                       technologies (also in Jena).
programme.
                                                   > Guaranteeing of co-financing for subsidies
These efforts to acquire funding should
                                                     by the state.
concentrate on programmes that target the
commercialisation of research results in the       > Joint initiatives/overall strategies of the minis-
medium term such as collaborative projects,          try for economy, labour and technology and
centres of growth, centres for innovation ex-        the ministry for education, science and culture,
pertise or large demonstration projects from         including the development of a more focused
the EU research framework programme.                 profile and a clear direction for universities.

34
4 Recommendations and impetus

4.9 Systematising and accelerating the commercialisation
    of research results

The conversion of research results into eco-        framework programme and programmes
nomically usable developments is central for        from the commissioners) and evaluation
the economic progress in Thuringia and must         with regard to the areas of technology.
be optimised. Network structures and innov-
                                                   > Networking of companies and research in-
ation forums must be able to assume their
                                                     stitutes and moderation of joint research
function as links between research institutes
                                                     and development applications.
and the economy.
                                                   > Support in handling formal and administra-
A good example that can be mentioned here
                                                     tive hurdles.
is the application centre at the TU in Ilmenau.
Technically high-quality basic configurations,
regional proximity to the research institutes
and available rental area serve to reduce
costs and integrate founders with other founders
and with scientists. In addition, as part of an
innovation forum promoted by the German
ministry for education and research, an ex-
change takes place between representatives
of the research institutes (for example, the
MacroNano Centre for Innovation Competence)
and interested companies as well as the MNT
and ELMUG networks.

In its own way, this approach is exemplary
and should also be widely copied in other
areas. The elements are as follows:

> Advice for small to medium-sized com-
  panies on successfully obtaining research
  and development aid.

> Active monitoring of government funding
  programmes from the state, federal govern-       Greater integration means that small to medium-
  ment departments and the EU (research            sized companies also benefit from research projects.

                                                                                                    35
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