SPRIND IS A PROMOTER, FACILITATOR, CATALYST AND SCOUT FOR BREAKTHROUGH INNOVATIONS
Evaluated: As an innovation agency, SPRIND has succeeded in establishing agile and flexible structures
In 2019, the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation was founded at the instigation of the German government to identify and support disruptive innovations with high market potential and social benefits. How SPRIND has fulfilled this important mandate was subject to an initial evaluation which has now been completed.
The evaluation, conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and Technopolis Deutschland GmbH, took place from August 2023 to December 2024 and included surveys of the Supervisory Board, external experts, innovators and employees.
The aim was to analyze and evaluate SPRIND's funding approach, its process efficiency, its governance and the effectiveness of its funding and financing instruments for supporting breakthrough innovations. The evaluation initially related to the start-up phase of SPRIND and its operation in the development and ramp-up phase after its foundation. In addition, SPRIND operated under framework conditions that changed during the evaluation period. In particular, the SPRIND Freedom Act, which was passed by the legislature at the end of 2023, meant an improvement for the financial and legal conditions for SPRIND, as it significantly expanded the scope for action and funding opportunities. The medium and long-term effects of the SPRIND Freedom Act will have to be considered at a later stage.
For the first five years of SPRIND, the evaluators acknowledge a positive picture of the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation, which closes an important gap in German innovation funding. This is exemplified by the approximately 2,100 submissions received from innovators and 90 validation contracts awarded by fall 2024. In addition, a total of nine Challenges and Funken were launched and 14 subsidiaries were founded, 13 of which are active.
UNIQUENESS IN THE INNOVATION SYSTEM SPRIND addresses a key unique selling point by specifically identifying, validating and promoting breakthrough innovations - an area that has hardly been covered to any significant extent by other players to date.
OPEN-TOPIC AND TECHNOLOGY-AGNOSTIC APPROACH SPRIND promotes a broad spectrum of innovations without restricting itself to specific technologies or sectors in order to leverage Germany's entire innovation potential.
CENTRAL MISSION SPRIND acts as an intermediary between scientific and technological development and market launch, with a focus on disruptive technologies that offer considerable market potential for economic value creation and solutions for society as a whole.
SUPPORT FOR START-UPS German start-ups, especially in the deeptech sector, benefit from SPRIND's role as a promoter, facilitator, catalyst and scout for projects with breakthrough innovation potential, as it leverages private capital and reduces risks for investors.
INNOVATION-FRIENDLY ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE SPRIND offers an agile, flexible and entrepreneurial structure that is specifically geared towards the requirements of deeptech start-ups and differs significantly from established federal institutions.
Further results of the evaluation can be found here:
