To strengthen the innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the commercial sector of the skilled trades and thereby maintain their competitiveness
Dissemination of IGF results in industry
The Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection, as the granting authority, awards grants for research and development projects within the scope of the IGF in accordance with these funding guidelines and the General Administrative Regulations on Sections 23 and 44 of the Federal Budget Code (Bundeshaushaltsordnung)
Object of the funding
Basic research
Industrial research
Experimental development
Feasibility studies
New knowledge in the field of development and use of modern technologies
Economic advantages of SMEs
To promote knowledge transfer and networking to a particular extent
Increase and strengthen the competitiveness of SMEs
With the PLUS funding option, closely related research projects are supported and form an overall PLUS project
The legally independent, non-profit industrial research associations that are full members of the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations “Otto von Guericke” e. V. as of the cut-off date of December 31, 2023, and that are in principle open to all interested stakeholders, are directly eligible to apply for funding up to and including December 31, 2025
As of January 1, 2026, only those research associations authorized under the appendix to this funding guideline are eligible to apply for funding
The grant is awarded as a non-repayable subsidy (project funding) in the form of modified partial financing, in justified exceptional cases as full financing.
The grant shall not exceed the following limits:
275,000 euros for projects with a research institution
525,000 euros for projects with two participating research institutions
750,000 euros for projects with three participating research institutions
Period of validity
The funding guideline comes into force on January 1, 2023 and is limited in time until December 31, 2026