With their joint statement, the European Science and Innovation Councils want to emphasise the importance of bringing together complementary strategies to jointly attract STEM talent from outside Europe.
Strengths in financing, location attractiveness and the circular economy continue to be offset by weaknesses in digitalisation, gender equality and start-ups.
The Austrian Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT) presented its STI Monitor 2024, which analyses Austria’s performance in science, innovation and technology (STI) in comparison to the innovation leaders (2024: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium).
“Austria’s STI system has developed very well in recent years – also in a European comparison – so that we now occupy a leading position at the level of the Innovation Leaders in some areas. The STI Monitor clearly shows this. In order for us to consolidate our successes and become an innovation leader overall by 2030, we need to continue to take decisive, systemically effective action and play a strong role for Austria in Europe,” said Council Chairman Thomas Henzinger. The STI Monitor makes Austria’s strengths and weaknesses comprehensible and transparent and thus helps not only STI policy makers but also other stakeholders and actors to make systemically effective decisions.
Austria’s STI system has developed well in recent years, with the result that we now occupy a leading position among the innovation leaders in some areas.
Thomas Henzinger, Chair
Overall, the results for 2024 paint a similar picture to the previous year, in which Austria performs well compared to the EU average, but has not yet managed to catch up with the innovation leaders—a goal the federal government’s set in their STI Strategy 2030.
The area of research and development financing continues to perform above average, particularly in business funding. As public research funding has been further intensified, Austria is now among the top 3 countries for the first time. However, it is primarily subsidised through tax incentives, i.e. indirectly. In order to support innovative and therefore high-risk research projects, direct funding should be further strengthened.
Business funding also makes a significant contribution to Austria’s attractiveness as a business location, which continues to be rated above average compared to the Innovation Leaders. The strict regulation of intellectual property and the availability of electricity from clean sources also make a positive contribution. On the other hand, aspects such as corporate taxation, the quality of publications, the number of tertiary degrees in scientific and technological disciplines and the quality of national regulation have a dampening effect.
In addition to Austria’s international integration, the circular economy is also more pronounced in Austria than in the innovation-leading countries. This is primarily due to investments in circular economy facilities, the value added by companies and the share of circular economy exports. Other strengths include the amount of e-waste collected and the high proportion of recycled batteries. Challenges lie in the utilisation of future waste, i.e. currently existing products that will become waste in the future, and the need to further expand basic research in this area.
On the one hand, the start-up sector is showing increasing momentum in terms of raising funds via venture capital, but on the other hand, fundamental improvements are needed to at least catch up with the EU average overall. The fast-growing companies and the overall rating of the unicorns in particular lag significantly behind the comparison groups. The recently presented spin-off framework for universities could provide positive momentum for the start-up ecosystem if implemented quickly.
Austria has improved slightly in terms of its level of digitalisation, but is still not among the innovation leaders. This development is due in particular to infrastructural deficits such as low broadband penetration and the comparatively low availability of glass fibre connections. However, the below-average ICT innovation performance and the shortage of skilled labour exacerbated by the lack of ICT graduates also have a negative impact on performance, with corresponding effects on the skills required for the development and use of AI systems.
Gender equality remains a challenge for Austrian STI policy, not least in view of the increasing demand for qualified specialists. The greatest weaknesses are the proportion of female researchers in companies and the number of female ICT graduates, as well as the performance gap between girls and boys in the international PISA test in maths. This deficit in turn has an impact on the start-up sector, where only 17% of all founders are female.
Forschung, Technologie und Innovation sind die Schlüssel für Österreichs und Europas Wohlstand, Souveränität und Zukunft.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Deputy Chair
A strong, efficient Austrian STI system is essential for overcoming the current and future challenges posed by the polycrisis of climate, geopolitical and economic upheaval. “Science, technology and innovation are the keys to Austria’s and Europe’s prosperity, sovereignty and future. If we know how we are developing in those areas that are relevant to managing the triple transition—that is, the green, digital and social transformation—we will be in a position to act decisively and with foresight. The Council contributes to this with the STI Monitor,” summarises Deputy Chair Sylvia Schwaag Serger.
With the STI Monitor, FORWIT uses 244 indicators to analyse Austria’s performance in science, technology and innovation (STI) in comparison to the innovation leaders of the European Innovation Scoreboard, the EU average and the sector-specific top 3. Visualisations of the development of indicators over time and their long-term contributions to change as well as trends, input/output performance and the degree to which the goals of the STI Strategy 2030 have been achieved provide stakeholders and political decision-makers with a basis for strategically and systemically effective decisions and actions and make interdependencies visible.
In its STI Strategy 2030, the Austrian federal government has set itself the goal of becoming an innovation leader by 2030. Innovation leaders are EU countries that achieve at least 125% of the EU average. The current innovation leaders are Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and Belgium. At around 119%, Austria currently ranks in the group of strong innovators, i.e. those countries that achieve between 100% and 125%.
The appointment of Thomas König as the new Managing Director of FORWIT as of 1 May 2024 will set an important course for the organisation of the Council’s work.
Thomas König studied political science and history in Vienna and Copenhagen. From 2010 to 2014, he was Scientific Advisor to the President of the European Research Council (ERC); after research stays at the Universities of Minnesota and Harvard, among others, he was most recently Head of Strategy and Scientific Services at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS). He has published numerous articles on innovation and science policy. His dissertation on transatlantic science diplomacy was published by Studienverlag in 2012 and his book on the creation of the ERC by Polity Press in 2017. König is an experienced science manager and is recognised as an expert on the Austrian and European innovation system.
Thomas Henzinger, Chair of the Council, commented on the appointment of Thomas König, “I am delighted that we have been able to recruit a proven expert in Thomas König for the important task of managing the new FORWIT.”
Thomas König prevailed over 69 competitors in the selection process. “The Supervisory Board had the exciting and at the same time difficult task of finding the most suitable candidate for the management of FORWIT from a number of highly interesting applications and competent personalities. There is broad agreement in the Supervisory Board that this has been achieved with the appointment of Thomas König,” said the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Martin Netzer. The Supervisory Board, on which the Climate Protection Ministry (BMK), the Labour and Economy Ministry (BMAW), the Finance Ministry (BMF) and the Federal Chancellery (BKA) are also represented, is responsible for appointing the Management Board.
Netzer also thanked the previous Managing Director of the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development, Ludovit Garzik, and the previous Managing Director of the Austrian Science Council, Nikolaus Possanner. “Both have managed the business of FORWIT responsibly during the transition period and ensured that the newly appointed Council and the new management can build on a functioning organisational structure.”
See also the BMBWF press release.
The new Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation decides on work topics for 2024, Schwaag Serger elected Deputy Chair.
Following the first ordinary session of the Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT), which was appointed in November, the members of the Council invited representatives of the Austrian STI system to their first New Year’s reception. In the presence of Federal Minister Leonore Gewessler and Federal Ministers Martin Polaschek and Martin Kocher, Council Chairman Thomas Henzinger gave an outlook on the topics that the Council will be focussing on this year.
Today, we have laid the foundation for our ambitious 2024 work programme.
Thomas Henzinger, Chairman
“‘In our first session of the Council today, we laid the foundation for our 2024 work programme. This year’s focus will be on developing possible future scenarios and examining the resilience and antifragility of the existing STI system. We will also draw up recommendations for the use of the Future Austria Fund and for the development of the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. And in view of the National Council elections this year, we will provide input for the next federal government’s programme.” In addition, Henzinger continued, the STI Monitor 2024 will be published in May, with which the Council will measure the performance of the Austrian STI system and create an evidence-based foundation for decision-makers and stakeholders.
Bold, innovative measures and the willingness to take risks are needed in order to successfully overcome the social, economic and geopolitical challenges.
Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Deputy Chairwoman
The council also unanimously elected Sylvia Schwaag Serger as Deputy Chairwoman. “I am delighted—especially in view of the triple transition, i.e. the green, digital and social transformation—to be able to make my contribution to strategically shaping Austria’s STI and science policy as Deputy Chairwoman. After all, bold, innovative measures and the willingness to take risks are needed to successfully overcome the social, economic and geopolitical challenges we face—and to effectively seize future opportunities.”
FORWIT, the successor organisation to the former Council for Research and Technology Development (RFTE) and the Austrian Science Council, pools the advisory expertise for the federal government in the areas of research, science, innovation and technology development. Under the chairmanship of Thomas Henzinger, the council comprises twelve nationally and internationally recognised experts whose task it is now to support the federal government in an advisory capacity to increase Austria’s innovative strength and strengthen its competitiveness as a business location.
The award honours young talent in the field of STI policy evaluation. Nominations are possible until 24 May 2024.
The Austrian Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT) and the Austrian Platform for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation (fteval) are organising the Evaluation Talent Award, 2024 which recognises outstanding achievements in the field of science, technology and innovation policy evaluation. The prize, endowed with €2,000 for further training measures, focuses on young talents in STI evaluation.
“With the Evaluation Talent Award, we want to emphasise the importance of evaluations for evidence-based policymaking and at the same time offer visibility to young evaluation talents,”
emphasises Council member Sonja Sheikh, Chairwoman of the fteval platform.
The award is aimed at Austrian evaluators and international young talents working in the STI sector in Austria. Nominations will be accepted until 24 May 2024.
“We are looking for talented individuals who have excelled in STI policy evaluation. The award should not only cover the evaluation studies, but also the commitment and ambition of the nominees
,” explains Alexandra Mazak-Huemer, FORWIT’s Deputy Managing Director.
All details on the formal and selection criteria as well as the nomination requirements can be found on the website of the fteval platform.
On 18 December 2023, the members of the newly established expert committee for advising the federal government held their constituent session.
The Council is made up of twelve nationally and internationally recognised experts and is chaired by Thomas Henzinger. The Council will provide the federal government with strategic and forward-looking advice and prepare it for future challenges, opportunities and risks based on evidence.
“In times of urgent digital and green transformation, but also against the backdrop of geopolitical upheaval, we must act decisively and purposefully.”
Thomas Henzinger, Chair
“In times of an urgent digital and green transformation, but also against the backdrop of geopolitical upheavals, we must act decisively and purposefully. As an independent body of experts, the Council will provide decision-makers and stakeholders in the STI system with basic principles and recommendations for a sustainable Austrian science and innovation system in the European community—from basic research to technology development,” says Thomas Henzinger.
About FORWIT
The Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT) is an independent organisation under public law whose main task is to provide the Austrian federal government with systematic, independent and well-founded advice on matters of research, technology and innovation policy. The legal basis is provided by the Federal Act on the Research, Science, Innovation and Technology Development Council (FWITRG). The members of the Council are Thomas Henzinger (Chair), Jörg Flecker, Dietrich Haubenberger, Georg Kopetz, Werner Lanthaler, Helga Nowotny, Johanna Pirker, Monika Ritsch-Marte, Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Sonja Sheikh, Barbara Stelzl-Marx and Theresia Vogel.
The Federal Government appoints 12 members to the new Council for Research, Science, Innovation and Technology Development, Thomas A. Henzinger Chairman
The Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation is an important part of the government programme. The legal framework for the Council was created in summer 2023, as recommended by the OECD. The 12 members of the Council have now been appointed, 6 of whom were appointed by the Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF), 4 by the Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and one by the Federal Minister of Labour and Economic Affairs (BMAW). The Chairman, Prof. Dipl.-Ing. DDr. H. c. Thomas A. Henzinger, was appointed by Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler.
I warmly congratulate them and am sure that these outstanding personalities will shape the forward-looking work of the Council.
Federal Minister Martin Polaschek, BMBWF
“Austria’s prosperity is closely linked to its innovative strength in research and science. To ensure that our country can continue to be a pioneer in this field in the future, we need a forward-looking and sustainable research and innovation policy. By merging the existing bodies into a single, centralised Council, we have created an important advisory body that will support the federal government in making well-founded decisions in these areas. The BMBWF has now nominated six excellent experts as councillors. I warmly congratulate them and am sure that these outstanding personalities will shape the forward-looking work of the Council and look forward to working with them in the future,” said Martin Polaschek, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research.
“Protecting our climate is the great challenge of our time—we also need research and innovation if we are to succeed. We are focussing on a transformative innovation policy, in other words, a policy that combines research with implementation and thus takes effect as quickly as possible. The Council is a valuable advisory body for the Federal Government and fulfils a linking function. It will communicate scientific findings and research results to policymakers and, conversely, convey political issues to the scientific community,” emphasises Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler.
The Council is an independent legal organisation under public law whose main task is to provide the Austrian federal government with systematic, independent and well-founded advice on matters of science, technology and innovation policy. Merging the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development and the Austrian Science Council into a single council will enable better coordination of measures and more effective utilisation of resources.
Significant changes in the areas of environment and climate, circular economy and financing; the improvement in effectiveness is due to the significantly greater deterioration in the comparison countries.
The strongest negative change is in the area of environment and climate, primarily driven by Austria’s deterioration in RD expenditure (both as a percentage of GDP and as a percentage of GBAORD). However, the fact that Austria continues to fall behind the group of the innovation leaders is not due to a decline in the funds spent, but rather to the fact that Finland has almost doubled its expenditure in the meantime.
The significant improvement in the circular economy is due to indicators that describe the economic impact, such as gross investment as a percentage of GDP. However, this positive development is a statistical artefact, as Eurostat has used a different data basis for the indicators on investment, value added and employment since the last update of the STI Monitor in January 2023, but has retained the indicator definitions.
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Indirect business funding, which increased significantly from 2019 to 2020, continued its trend in the January 2023 update.
There have also been improvements in the area of financing, with a further increase in overall business funding. Indirect business funding, which increased significantly from 2019 to 2020, continued its trend in the January 2023 update. The OECD has since updated its data on direct business funding, which means that the positive trend in business funding as a whole is now even stronger.
In the area of effectiveness, Austria’s unemployment rate has improved significantly relative to the Innovation Leaders, but this is due to the fact that the unemployment rate in the comparison countries has deteriorated much more strongly.
With the autumn update, new features have been added to the STI Monitor: In order to provide users with even more information to contextualise and interpret the data and correlations, the indicators of the STI-relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and the goals of the European Green Deal were linked to the corresponding areas of the STI Monitor.
The next major update of the STI Monitor will be published in May/June 2024.
The new Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT) is an important part of the government programme and will provide systematic, independent and well-founded advice on STI policy issues.
On 1 July 2023, the Council for Research and Technology Development (RFTE) and the Austrian Science Council were dissolved in accordance with the underlying FWIT Council Establishment Act (FREG) and transferred to the newly established Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation. FORWIT pools the consulting expertise for the federal government in the areas of research, science, innovation and technology development. The Council will comprise twelve nationally and internationally recognised experts whose mandate is to support the federal government in an advisory capacity in order to increase Austria’s innovative power and strengthen its competitiveness as a business location.
The law stipulates that the twelve members will be appointed in July.
The management and the team at the business office are currently working on the implementation. In the meantime, however, they can of course be contacted via the existing contact options.