Synergy Dialogue: Exploiting synergies between funding programmes

What good is the best idea if it cannot be put into practice? This question is often asked in research circles. Namely, when convincing results have been achieved, but there is a lack of follow-up funding to bring them to the market in the form of an innovative product or service. Here it helps to integrate transfer as an integral part of project funding or to combine funds from different funding programmes.

Funding programmes that are mutually reinforcing

This is where synergy comes in – as a strategic approach to research and innovation. For example, researchers can implement their project ideas with funding from the EU's Horizon Europe research framework programme – and additionally use regional structural funds for knowledge or technology transfer. The declared political goal of bringing innovations to market more quickly is all the more important in times of tight budget – funding should be used as efficiently as possible in practice.

Synergies can have a leverage effect: On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), DLR Projektträger has been running the Synergy Dialogue since 2014 – a unique exchange format in Europe that aims to anchor synergies more firmly in funding policy. All federal and state ministries involved in research, innovation and structural policy meet here to exchange information, coordinate funding programmes and funds, and learn about synergies.

Using synergies to tackle major challenges

Two examples show that the issue is now high on the political agenda. First, the European Commission published its new guidelines for financial synergy instruments in July 2022. Second, the Czech Republic has made synergies a focus of its EU Council Presidency in the second half of 2022. At the conference "Synergies in Research and Innovation Funding in Europe" in Prague, DLR Projektträger was invited to present the Synergy Dialogue. Around 160 participants from numerous European countries discussed the important contribution that synergies can make – for example in the "Green Deal", the digital transition or the "Recovery Plan for Europe", to tackle the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this requires national governance structures that enable exchange, joint learning and further development of frameworks and tools – vertically between European, national and regional levels, and horizontally between initiatives, partnerships and projects.

The Synergy Dialogue, the only one of its kind to date, met with a consistently positive response from the participants and can serve as a model for similar instruments in other EU countries. DLR Projektträger developed this exchange format together with the BMBF and advised the ministry on strategy and content. Our services for the Synergy Dialogue include the technical preparation and follow-up of the exchange between the two participating federal ministries, the BMBF and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (German: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK), as well as the organisation, implementation and technical design of the working meetings with all participating ministries. This also includes the dissemination of information, the exchange of experience and networking between the Federal Government and the BMBF, the exchange of experience and networking between the Federal Government and the Länder. We are currently developing the Synergy Dialogue together with the BMBF in order to use strategic synergies in the implementation of European initiatives – for example, in the "EU missions".

Widening participation and spreading excellence

Synergies also play an important role in the "Widening participation and spreading excellence" programme in the European Research Area. This programme within Horizon Europe aims to help countries that are lagging behind in research and innovation. Here is an example: To create new centres of excellence in innovation-weak Member States such as the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania or Slovakia, these centres will work with team partners from innovation-strong Member States such as Germany. In addition to funding from Horizon Europe, supplementary funding from national, regional, EU or private sources is essential. DLR Projektträger advises both the BMBF on the strategy and content of the EU-wide design and further development of the programme and German research institutions interested in the measure. This is done through the National Contact Point Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (NCP Widening).

Contact

Synergies:
Frank.Osterhoff@dlr.de
Pamela.Weber@dlr.de

Widening:
Andreas.Schweitzer@dlr.de