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The German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) was founded in 1954 . As a registered nonprofit association, the AiF promotes research and development (R&D) in all industrial sectors in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The association acts at Federal as well as European level.

The AiF is organised by industry and is particularly involved in increasing the competitive strength of SME by supporting the efficient usage and advancement of R&D programmes. This includes a variety of applied research fields, e.g. process control, building industry, medical technology, food science and agricultural science.

Facts and Figures

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101 non-commercial research consortia, 46 research facilities of its own and more than 700 closely connected institutes

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annual budget:
approx. 553.5 million euros (2010)

Organisational Details

AiF promotes R&D for small and medium-sized enterprises in several ways:

• Organisation of industrial collective research for the benefit of entire industrial sectors
• Executive management of programmes for governmental R& D-support measures
• Promotion of R&D through open innovation processes
• Networking within and between industrial sectors and politics

Research Budget

As a programme manager of public funds, AiF oversaw in 2010 an annual budget of 553 .5 million euros in public funds. Currently, it is a partner to the Federal Ministries of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and of Education and Research (BMBF) as well as the Ministry of Innovation, Science, Research and Technology (MIWFT) of North Rhine-Westphalia.