Schalast Banking & Finance partners Prof. Dr. Andreas Walter and Simon Waldbröl have contributed to a breakthrough innovation funding evaluation by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research. Together with Technopolis Deutschland GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute evaluated the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations in Germany (Bundesagentur für Sprunginnovationen GmbH) (SPRIND) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim of the evaluation was to analyze and evaluate SPRIND's funding approach, its process efficiency, its governance and the effectiveness of its funding and financing instruments to support breakthrough innovations. Prof. Dr. Andreas Walter and Simon Waldbröl spearheaded the legal assessment in the final report on the evaluation.
About the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations GmbH (SPRIND)
SRIND was founded in Leipzig in 2019 and has set itself the goal of identifying, validating and promoting breakthrough innovations. In 2024, SPRIND had a total budget of around 220 million euros and employed around 80 people. By September 2024, they received a good 2,100 submissions for breakthrough innovation ideas from stakeholders from science, industry and society and awarded around 90 validation contracts to analyze the respective breakthrough innovation potential.
The promotion of breakthrough innovations has received increasing attention in national and international innovation policy in recent years. Breakthrough innovations differ from incremental innovations in their high degree of effectiveness and their ability to profoundly change technical, economic and social structures. They lead to completely new areas of application and business models, as historical examples such as penicillin, the internet, CRISPR/Cas or mRNA technology show.
About Fraunhofer ISI
The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research was founded in Karlsruhe in 1986 and is part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, one of the leading institutions for applied research in Europe. Around 400 employees from about 25 nations conduct research at the institute on social, political and economic topics. With the help of scientific methods and social science measurement instruments, the Fraunhofer ISI supports decision-makers from business, science and politics in making strategic decisions and creating a conducive environment for innovation.
About Technopolis
The German office of Technopolis was founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2009. The company is active in various fields such as innovation economics, environmental economics, political science and engineering and supports the development and implementation of funding strategies, programs and initiatives as well as the evaluation of political measures and institutions. In addition, they analyze specific innovation policy issues, such as digitalization, social innovation and citizen science.