The National Research Environment
Major research funding bodies
Austrian Science Fund FWF
The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's central funding organization for basic research. The purpose of the FWF is to support the ongoing development of Austrian science and basic research at a high international level. Therefore, the FWF makes a significant contribution to cultural development, and to the advancement of our knowledge-based society.
Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)
The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) is the national funding institution for applied industrial research in Austria. The FFG offers a comprehensive range of services for Austrian enterprises, research institutions and researchers – from the management of public funding programmes to consulting services in all phases of technology development and innovation, from support for integration into European research programmes and networks to the promotion of Austria's interests at the European and the international level.
Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft (aws)
Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft mbH (aws) is the Austrian federal promotional bank. It assists companies in their implementation of innovative projects by granting loans, awarding subsidies and issuing guarantees at favourable interest rates, particularly in cases in which it is not possible for these companies to obtain the necessary funds in a sufficient amount from other sources of financing. In addition, it provides support in the form of specific information, advisory and other services to prospective, established and expanding companies.
Research funding Ministries
Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (bmvit)
Information about funding programs and open tenderings are available mainly in German on the ministries websites. A service called Förderkompass is provided by the bmvit which aggregates information about current different research funding programs and institutions.
Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (bmbwf)
There is a wide range of research in Austria and current research programs and projects. Furthermore an initiative called Forschungsatlas provides all links and records in social media about research in Austria in real time. Information about funding programs and open tenderings are available mainly in German on the ministries websites.
Further funding bodies
Academy of Sciences (OeAW)
The OeAW as the largest non-university research institution cultivates discourse and the cooperation between science, the public, politics and the economy and practices applied and open basic research at its 29 institutes at the highest international level.As a public institution, the OAeW advances national and international scientific cooperation, offers researchers far-reaching advancement and career-development opportunities and supports up-and-coming scientists with fellowships as well as training and advanced training. The OAW sustainably supports the development of Austria as an innovative and future-proof knowledge-based society.
The Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft
Founded in 1960, the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft (LBG) is a research institution with a thematic focus on medicine, life sciences and the humanities, social sciences and cultural sciences, and is specifically targeting new research topics in Austria. Together with academic and implementing partners, the LBG is currently running 20 Ludwig Boltzmann Institutes (LBIs) and develops and tests new forms of collaboration between science and non-scientific actors such as companies, the public sector and civil society.
Named after the famous Austrian physicist, mathematician and philosopher Ludwig Boltzmann, the LBG still takes its lead from his wide range of academic interests, by pursuing interdisciplinary approaches. Socially relevant challenges, to which research can contribute, are to be recognized at an early stage and taken up. In 2016, the LBG Career Center, which is supporting 200 pre and postdocs, has been set up. In addition, the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center (LBG OIS Center), which is revealing the potential of open innovation to science, was launched.
The LBG is financed by a mix of public and private funding, the total budget for the year 2016 amounted to 31.3 million euros. About 31 percent of the funds come from the budget of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. The Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft employs a total of approximately 550 people. Since the comprehensive reorganisation of the LBG in 2002, LBIs can only be established on the basis of calls for proposals and must operate under the scrutiny of international expert review.
Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG)
The Christian Doppler Research Association promotes the cooperation between science and business. Specifically, this takes place in specially established research units with fixed terms, in which application-orientated basic research is pursued: Christian Doppler Laboratories at universities and non-university research institutions, Josef Ressel Centres at universities of applied sciences.Under the direction of highly qualified scientists, research groups work in close contact with the commercial partners on innovative responses to business-related research issues.
Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB)
The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) has a long tradition of promoting research: Through its Anniversary Fund, the OeNB supports outstanding scientific work above all in the field of economics and medicine, but also projects related to the social sciences and the humanities.In addition, the OeNB sponsors a number of grants and awards, such as the Klaus Liebscher Award or the Olga Radzyner Award, and offers a visiting research program for young scientists.
Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education & Research for Development (APPEAR)
APPEAR is a programme of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) with the aim to implement its strategy for support of higher education and research for development on an academic institutional level in the ADC’s southern priority countries and key regions and in three priority countries of the South Caucasus and Black Sea Region.The overall objective is to strengthen the institutional capacities in higher education, research and management in the addressed countries through Academic Partnerships with Austrian higher education institutions and master’s and PhD scholarships as a contribution to effective and sustainable reduction of poverty.
Commission of Development Research at the OeAD–GmbH (KEF)
The Commission for Development Research at the OeAD-GmbH (KEF) aims at bridging the gap between science and development by supporting a development-oriented approach in research and science. The main principle is the incorporation of the development policy approach in science and research.