MFG Baden-Württemberg, the Public Innovation Agency for IT and Media in the Southwest of Germany, is involved in some 100 projects, both as project leader and service provider on an ongoing basis. Here are a few examples.
CReATE
“CReATE – Creating a joint research agenda for promoting ICT-based innovations in Creative Industries” aims to promote the innovation potential of the creative industries and to provide strategic guidance to all regions. The creative industries are widely regarded as a future market with a strong economic impact in Europe. Especially on the regional level, this sector still offers a large potential for growth. CReATE therefore aims to link European players from research, business and the public sector and to develop a joint research agenda. Therefore, led by project coordinator MFG Baden-Württemberg, partners from four European regions have joined forces in a strong network: Baden-Württemberg (MFG Baden-Württemberg, Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum), Rhône-Alpes (Imaginove Cluster), Piemonte (CSP Innovazione, Politecnico di Torino, Regione Piemonte) and West Midlands (Advantage West Midlands).
More Information on CReATE will be published shortly.
| VoicEVoicE - Giving European People a VoicE in EU legislation - is designed as a citizen-driven trial project for the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and for the Valencia region in Spain. It will establish an internet platform with the objective to promote the dialogue between citizens from European regions and policy makers from the European parliament, the Assembly of Regions, other EU institutions as well as regional assemblies – by means of innovative ICT. In terms of contents, the project will focus on the policy field of consumer protection in the EU. Website www.give-your-voice.eu
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| FocusFoCus aims at fostering synergies between public policies in support of eBusiness for SMEs. The follow-up project of SYNEBIS will therefore facilitate the exchange of best practices in policy measures in the field of eBusiness. For this purpose innovative communication channels (e.g. wiki platform) and training methods (e.g. online training modules) will be provided. Targeted involvement of policy makers in project activities in turn will ensure that the political and legal framework corresponds to and supports these objectives. Website: www.focus-project.eu
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| Heidelberg Innovation ForumThe Heidelberg Innovation Forum is an event where researchers and entrepreneurs meet to share the brightest business ideas from current IT research. Its innovative format – 44 business ideas over the course of two days – renowned speakers and the exclusive atmosphere of its venues, the Villa Bosch and Palais Prinz Carl in Heidelberg, all add to its appeal. Co-initiator and main partner is the European Media Laboratory, a private IT research institution created by SAP founder Klaus Tschira. Website: http://www.heidelbergerinnovationsforum.de
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| Baden-Württemberg: ConnectedBaden-Württemberg: Connected (bwcon) is the leading business initiative for innovation and technology in Baden-Württemberg. With close to 4,000 employees in the participating 400 companies, the initiative is also one of the most successful business networks in Europe. It promotes innovation and sustainable growth in the areas of ICT, life sciences/health and the creative industries, and especially in the convergence of these fields. Its CyberOne award promotes innovative start-up companies in Southwest Germany every year. Website: www.bwcon.de
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| KREATEK“KREATEK – Creativity meets Technology in the Regions” aims at enhancing the innovative capability on a regional and local level in Baden-Württemberg by supporting innovative strategies and projects. KREATEK is mainly targeted at regional consortia representing business, research and public administration that are aiming to further strengthen specific competence areas within their region with IT and media. Within KREATEK, MFG cooperates with institutions and innovation agencies from all over Europe: Innovation Norway, Vinnova from Sweden, CSP in Torino, SATSI from Valencia and the Canton of Zurich's Economic Development Department. Website www.kreatek.de Download KREATEK in the international press
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| SYNEBISThe SYNEBIS project concentrates on reinforcing synergies between public policies in support of E-Business for SMEs. It gathers and benchmarks regional initiatives from Spain, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Canada and Germany. Results of the identified best practices will be collected on a wiki platform and deepened within regional workshops. At the end the they will be verified for transferability to other countries. Within this project – co-financed by European Commission - MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg acts as Lead Partner. Other partners are Generalitat Valenciana from Spain and European Projects & Management Agency from Czech Republic. The NRC - Institute for Information Technology (Canada) and the National B2B Centre (UK) additionally support SYNEBIS as collaborateurs. Website www.synebis.eu
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| LiSoGThe Linux Solutions Group (LiSoG) promotes the application of Linux-based solutions in companies throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The overall objective is to build trust and acceptance in Linux within the industry, while creating scenarios for Linux applications. The initiative is carried by around 30 IT providers, users and partners such as IBM, MySQL, Siemens Business Services and RedHat, jointly creating scenarios for real-life Linux application. Website: www.lisog.org
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| FAZITThe FAZIT research project identifies new markets for innovative information and communication technologies in Baden-Württemberg, via surveys, Delphi studies and technology roadmaps. Extensive knowledge transfer links research results and the industry. Scientific partners are the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (FhG-ISI). More information on the project Website: http://www.fazit-research.org
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| ebigo.deebigo.de is an initiative that supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the application of IT solutions in view of opening up new business opportunities. An extensive expertise platform on the Internet and a service-provider database with over 11,000 entries support the effort. Website: www.ebigo.de
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| SPREADSPreaD (Strategic Project Management Tool-Kit for Creating Digital Literacy Initiatives) is a project funded by the eLEarning programme of the European Commission. It will provide regional and national institutions with a practical and innovative guide to developing and managing large-scale sustainable digital literacy initiatives for citizens. Building on the experience of a minimum of seven completed large-scale regional digital literacy initiatives the consortium will analyse and describe Key Success Factors and Lessons Learned and provide practical advice with regards to the management of such projects. |
| EPROCEPROC is a collaborative European initiative with partners in the Netherlands, Ireland and Wales. It is an eProcurement research project commissioned to encourage and support the adoption of new digital procurement processes and tools by SMEs wishing to trade electronically with regional Local Authorities. Project deliverables will include guideline documents both for SMEs and local authorities. EPROC is supported by European Regional Development Funding under the INTERREG IIIB North West Europe Community Initiative. Website: www.eproc.org
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| PRIMIUMThe PRIMIUM research network aims at a sustainable improvement of intra- and inter-company processes and the increase of competitiveness of the regional software industry as a whole through the development and use of enterprise software. Close to 20 universities, research institutions and companies from Baden-Württemberg are actively engaged in the three consortia of the network – among them the universities of Mannheim and Karlsruhe, as well as global players such as SAP and DaimlerChrysler. (More...) |
| DMMKThe DMMK Deutscher Multimedia Kongress (German Multimedia Congress) is the leading congress for the German digital economy. It has been identifying sector trends since 1997 and is organised by MFG together with the "Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft e.V.” (BVDW), the sector’s leading association with more than 1,000 members. It is designed as a networking event in Berlin’s political scene and is aimed at decision-makers from politics and business. Keynote speakers have been Angela Merkel (now chancellor of Germany), and Dominique Vidal, Yahoo!’s CEO for Europe. More information on the project Website: http://www.dmmk.de |
| TASKThe project TASK (program for the setup of software supply chains) provides companies in Baden-Württemberg with the opportunity to strengthen their inter-company collaboration by the joint establishment of so-called software supply chains. TASK is designed to network the players involved in software development, with the aim of increasing flexibility of the companies and to encourage knowledge sharing. TASK maintains three moderated working groups which involve software companies and their customers for the joint development of innovative software solutions in different areas of application. Website: www.doit-task.de
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| do it.regionalThe "do-it.regional” program initiates and supports highly promising IT and media projects in Baden-Württemberg’s rural areas. A total of €4 million go into related projects, such as the creation of a tele-academy for farmers from the Black Forest, or an online mentor program for girls. (More...) Website: www.doit-regional.de
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| Linux KommunaleIn cooperation with selected software providers, this initiative develops a completely Linux-based software solutions set for local authorities – a novelty for the public sector. Hewlett-Packard and Novell rank among the initiative’s 25 partners developing software or offering service and support. Website: www.linux-kommunale.de |
| INNOVATEThe INNOVATE initiative aims at enhancing awareness of innovation communication as a strategically important topic for companies, PR practitioners and journalists. Surveys, lectures and publications are some of the means the initiative applies to this end. Partners of the initiative are the Department of Communication Studies and Journalism at the University of Hohenheim and debitel, the German ICT company. International cooperations exist with VINNOVA, the Swedish innovation agency, and Stanford University. Website: www.innovationskommunikation.de |
| do it.software-award / do it.software research forumThe do-it.software-award recognises outstanding scientific achievements in the field of software research in Baden-Württemberg, and awards prizes totalling 41,000 euro. Award-winning projects so far have come from various fields including Open Source, simulation and visualisation, mobile applications and enterprise software. The doIT Software Research Conference is a networking event promoting know-how transfer between research and business, as well as a showcase for regional innovation in software. Website: www.doit-award.de
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| Karl-Steinbuch ScholarshipThe Karl-Steinbuch Scholarship is offered to highly qualified students from Baden-Württemberg, with innovative IT or media projects with a scientific or artistic focus. Some of the projects currently supported include the visualisation of a DNA chip analysis, and the development of software for designing an apartment complex. The scholarship is awarded twice a year. Website: www.karl-steinbuch-stipendium.de
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