STI Monitor 2024: Strengths and weaknesses of the STI system

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.

Stärken in Finanzierung, Standortattraktivität und Kreislaufwirtschaft

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.

Schwächen weiterhin bei Gründungen, Digitalisierung, Geschlechtergerechtigkeit

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.

Science, technology and innovation as the key to the triple transition

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.

About the STI Monitor

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%.

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