Production of the Future – the Calls
A highly innovative and competitive manufacturing industry is the engine of the Austrian economy. It contributes substantially to strengthening Austria's position as a business location and helps to secure jobs. Smart forward looking production technologies provide targeted support in this context. The economic performance of Austria strongly depends on its manufacturing industry. The ability to manufacture internationally competitive products and to increase productivity is key to the economic growth of Austria as a highly industrialised and knowledge based country. And innovations in the manufacturing sector will continue to be an indispensable basis for added value and employment in the future.
Over the past four years, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) and the FFG have provided funding of over 450 million euros to more than 800 R&D projects relevant to the manufacturing industry. This high level will be maintained in 2016 with a series of new funding measures, making production one of the major topics in the FFG funding portfolio.
The RTI initiative "Production of the Future" deals with key issues of the manufacturing industry as part of innovative RTD projects. The focus is on manufacturing competitive products and on enhancing productivity with the aim of fostering economic growth in Austria.
The BMVIT plays an active role in strengthening Austria's economic position. It has contributed to the success story of production research and supports Austrian companies in developing new markets and business fields.
The following Production of the Future calls are currently open:
The 15th Call under the Production of the Future programme was launched on 12 May 2015. It invites proposals for national cooperative RTD projects, flagship projects and R&D services. The aim of the call is to support the strategic orientation of research and development in the manufacturing sector. The range of topics is not restricted.
The 12th call under the Production of the Future programme invites proposals for transnational projects as part of the European Research Area Network M-ERA.NET ”From materials science and engineering to innovation for Europe”. The M-ERA.NET network provides coordinated funding of transnational research and development projects and is supported by 36 research organisations.
The current 2015 call for nominations for Endowed Professorships in the field of Production / Industry 4.0 is designed to further enhance cooperation between science and industry and the development of human resources. After the great success of the first call in 2014, which focused on cooperation between the BMVIT and the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation, the 2015 call launched by the BMVIT now addresses a range of topics in several programmes.
The first call inviting proposals for an Industry 4.0 Pilot Factory is carried out as a restricted call using a new funding instrument, R&D Infrastructure. Proposals may only be submitted by the Vienna University of Technology. The BMVIT sees the first pilot factory as a demonstration case and plans to launch subsequent competitive calls in this field.
Funding opportunities at a glance
- Production of the Future – funding programme for specific topics
- NANO with relevance to production – supplementary funding programme for specific topics
- Production of the Future – funding opportunities for open-topic projects
A broad portfolio of instruments and programmes is available to promote research into Production of the Future in Austria. The FFG aims to provide a wide range of clear and coherent funding options, which focus on specific technology policy areas or are open to all fields of science and technology in order to enable the effective implementation of national strategies.
Production of the Future – funding programme for specific topics
The funding focus of the Production of the Future programme is on national and transnational cooperative research and development projects characterised by a high degree of innovation and development risk. Planned research or critical investigation are applied to obtain new findings that contribute to the development of new expertise and new products. The Endowed Professorship programme, first launched in 2014 and continued in 2015, aims to develop research structures and capacities in order to provide Austrian companies with highly qualified scientists and engineers in the long term.
NANO with relevance to production – supplementary funding programme for specific topics
- The NANO-EHS (NANO Environment Health and Safety) funding programme explores the opportunities nanotechnology offers for Austria and promotes its application in new resource efficient products and in small and medium-sized enterprises.
- Nanotechnology funding was provided as part of the Austrian NANO Initiative until 2011 and was then integrated into the Production of the Future programme. Successful collaborative NANO projects also provide the basis for further research activities.
Production of the Future – funding opportunities for open-topic projects
- The General Programmes provide funding for individual projects of experimental development. The funding strategy is based on the bottom-up principle and is open to companies from all industrial sectors and in all areas of technology and research.
- The BRIDGE Knowledge Transfer programme closes the funding gap between basic research and experimental development and aims to pave the way for industrial application.
The RTI Initiative Production of the Future will make available a total amount of EUR 24.5 million for a range of funding measures in 2016.
Open calls
The 18th call under the Production of the Future programme invites proposals for Austrian flagship projects on the topic “Assistance Systems in the Context of Man-machine-cooperation”. The call supports the further strategically alignment of R&D in the manufactoring sector.
The 17th call under the Production of the Future programme is carried out as part of the European Research Area Network M-ERA.Net – ERA.Net for Materials Research and Innovation. The M-ERA.Net provides coordinated funding for transnational projects and is supported by 41 funding organisations from 28 European countries and 4 countries outside Europe (Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Russia).
The 16th Call under the Production of the Future programme invites proposals for transnational cooperative RTD projects together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The second bilateral call with CAS addresses the topic of “Advanced Materials”.
Closed calls
| 15th Call Production of the Future, on the strategic orientation of research and development in the manufacturing sector |
| 14th Call Production of the Future, was carried out as the 2nd call for nominations for Endowed Professorships |
| 13th Call Production of the Future, Industry 4.0 Pilot Factory by the Vienna University of Technology |
| 12th Call Production of the Future, as part of M-ERA.NET ”From materials science and engineering to innovation for Europe” |
| 11th Call Production of the Future, bilateral call Austria – Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China |
| 10th Call Production of the Future, bilateral call Austria – Shanghai University, China |
| 9th Call ERA.Net RUS PLUS on energy, mobility, ICT and production |
| 8th Call Production of the Future, transnational call 2014 |
| 7th Call Production of the Future, national call 2014 |
| 6th Call Production of the Future, 1st call for nominations for endowed professorships 2014 |
| 5th Call Production of the Future, transnational call 2013 |
| 4th Call Production of the Future, national call 2013 |
| 3rd Call Intelligent Production, transnational call 2012 |
| 2nd Call Intelligent Production, national call 2012 |
| 1st Call Intelligent Production, national call 2011 |
Specific funding instruments:
- Cooperative R&D Projects Industrial Research or Experimental Development
- Transnational Cooperative R&D Projects Industrial Research or Experimental Development
- Exploratory Project Pilot Study for R&D Project
- Flagship Projects Industrial Research or Experimental Development
- Endowed Professorships funded by the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) / financed by the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation
- R&D Infrastructure
Open funding instruments:
- Individual Projects Experimental Development (General Programme)
- BRIDGE Knowledge Transfer Bridge Programme of the FFG
The essentials in brief
| Program Owner / Sponsor |
|
| Topic | |
| Project type | |
| Financing | national
|
| Submission | Submission with a proposal process
|
| Target group | The RTI Initiative “Production of the Future” is aimed at companies, research and technology organisations, universities, universities of applied sciences and secondary technical colleges based in Austria. Participation of international partners is possible and encouraged. See the relevant guidelines for more detailed information and restrictions. |
| Selection by | International Eexperts |
| What is being funded | Funding is provided for cooperative projects and flagship projects of industrial research or experimental development, exploratory projects (pilot study for R&D project), endowed professorships, individual projects of experimental development and knowledge transfer under the FFG’s BRIDGE Programme. |
| Min. / max. funding | 0 / depending on instrument |
| Which costs are eligible for funding? | Personnel costs, research infrastructure, material costs, travel costs and third-party costs are eligible for funding in accordance with the Cost Guidelines. |
| Min. / max. running time | 0 - 48 months |
| Availability from | 20.05.2014 - constantly |
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