The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the world’s leading applied research organisation. With its focus on developing key technologies that are vital for the future and enabling the commercial exploitation of this work by business and industry, Fraunhofer plays a central role in the innovation process. It is an innovator and catalyst for groundbreaking developments and a model of scientific excellence.
The Fraunhofer Innovation Platforms (FIPs) - formerly Fraunhofer Project Centers (FPCs) - are vehicles enabling Fraunhofer Institutes to collaborate with research organizations outside Germany on a specific topic for a limited period of time. In each case, the partner organization sets up the FIP under its own legal sovereignty and cooperates closely with a Fraunhofer Institute in Germany on the chosen topic. This form of collaboration aims at joint research, joint projects for customers, and participation in publicly funded projects.
At the heart of Fraunhofer's success is the so-called Fraunhofer model of performance-based basic funding (see Fraunhofer model file in Highlights).