Future Fund Austria should be continued

Application volume exceeds €200 million for the first time, fund expires in 2025, FORWIT issues statement in favour of continuation

The Austrian Council for Sciences, Technology, and Innovation (FORWIT) is using its recommendation for the utilisation of funds from the Future Fund Austria (FZÖ) for 2024 as an opportunity to initiate a discussion on the continuation of this important funding instrument.

It is necessary to secure the future of the fund.

Thomas Henzinger

The FZÖ has secured an annual funding budget of €140 million for the years 2022 to 2025. Whether and how the fund will be continued beyond this, however, is currently unclear. „It is necessary to secure the future of the fund,“ says Thomas Henzinger, Chairman of FORWIT. The Council offers to contribute its expertise to the further development of the FZÖ.

Empfehlung zur Verwendung der Mittel 2024

FORWIT has completed its assessment of the 2024 funding allocation and submitted its recommendation to the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development.

This year’s submissions focused, among other things, on the expansion of research infrastructures, lighthouse projects to achieve EU missions and increased participation in transnational research projects in EU partnerships. The support of highly qualified doctoral candidates and postdocs addresses excellent scientific training, and the promotion of equal opportunity collaborations aims at the sustainable development of gender equality. Other projects aim to stimulate innovative spin-off or start-up activities, promote prototypes or bring new technologies such as quantum communication to industrial realisation or commercial exploitation.

In total, the eligible funding organisations submitted 23 applications with a volume of €201 million—an increase of 11% compared to the previous year. Following a thorough evaluation of the applications, the Council recommends distributing funding totalling €17.5m to the aws, €15m to the CDG, €48.5m to the FFG, €42.5m to the FWF, €8m to the LBG and €8.5m to the ÖAW. Full details and reasons for the recommended use of funds can be found in the FORWIT recommendation.

Erhöhung der Fördermittel nach 2025 und Neujustierung des Fonds

The Council is in favour of continuing the Future Fund Austria after 2025 in any case. Funding of €200 million per year is to be made available for the period 2026 to 2030 in order to better utilise the potential of innovative research and technology development. “The fund is an important research policy instrument for Austria as a centre of research. However, its continuation should also be used to adjust this instrument in a new and sustainable way,” emphasises Thomas Henzinger. For an effective, targeted use of funds, programme lines that have proven their worth should be spun off from the FZÖ and the basic funding of the funding organisations concerned should be increased accordingly.

This is the only way to free up funds to react to current developments and invest in the next innovative research projects.

Sylvia Schwaag Serger

“It is to be welcomed if FZÖ-funded research projects develop into permanent programmes as a result of their success. However, they must then be withdrawn from the fund. This is the only way to free up resources to react to current developments and invest in the next innovative research projects,” explains Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Deputy Chairwoman. Conversely, Schwaag Serger adds that the appropriate framework conditions are also needed to ensure that programme lines that have not proven themselves or that have reached their objectives after a few years are no longer continued. This allows the fund to continue to focus on new funding programmes so that the STI system can be constantly renewed quickly and unbureaucratically.

“The fund increases the agility and flexibility of Austrian research funding and is therefore a complementary funding instrument to the multi-year STI pacts,” emphasises Henzinger. Wenn das verloren geht, würde es sich langfristig negativ auf die Innovationsfähigkeit – und damit auch auf Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und Wohlstand – des Standorts Österreich auswirken.