What the Document Is
The Bundesbericht Forschung und Innovation (BuFI) 2024 is the main volume of the German federal government's report on research and innovation policy, titled "Forschungs- und innovationspolitische Ziele und Maßnahmen". It is published by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), with its foreword signed by Federal Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger. The text is dated May 2024 and names Prognos AG, DLR Projektträger and Gestaltung neues handeln AG among the parties that prepared it.
Policy Framework and Central Aims
- The report presents the goals and measures of the federal government, framed by the Zukunftsstrategie Forschung und Innovation, which is organised around six missions.
- The strategy is described as a "lernende Strategie" that adapts to events, and progress is measured against 17 cross-cutting FuI indicators.
- The foreword stresses geopolitics, the war in Ukraine, the escalation of the Middle East conflict and rising systemic rivalries, and names key technologies such as green hydrogen, fusion energy and artificial intelligence.
Key Findings and Figures
- Germany invested 121.4 billion euros in research and development (FuE) in 2022, the highest amount ever recorded.
- The provisional FuE quota, the share of FuE spending in GDP, is 3.13 %, and the government reaffirms its target of 3.5 %.
- The business sector spent 81.8 billion euros on FuE in 2022, and business innovation expenditure reached 190.7 billion euros.
- Personnel in FuE reached 785,000 full-time equivalents in 2022, a record level.
Structure and Scope
The volume has two main parts. Part I covers government goals in six chapters, from transfer and talent to climate, health, digital sovereignty, space and seas, and social resilience. Part II outlines the actors of the German research system and federal funding instruments, while Part III covers science, transfer and skills. Later parts address transformation fields, federal-state cooperation and European and international collaboration, including a regional section on Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia.
Methodology and Sources
- The report draws on figures and data from the statistical data volume (Datenband) and the online offering at bundesbericht-forschung-innovation.de.
- It states that it considers the current expert report of the Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (EFI) 2024, and cites its recommendations in several chapters.
- Measures are described as subject to budget and financing reservations.
Why It Matters for Research and Innovation Policy
The report describes itself as factual orientation for politics, science and business, offering a picture of Germany as an innovation location. It is presented to those seeking an overview of federal research and innovation policy, in the form of a free, non-commercial technical publication of the BMBF.