We identify trends

Photo credit: ixtract GmbH

Photo credit: ixtract GmbH

At Project Management Jülich (PtJ), we identify new topics for research and innovation policy by systematically monitoring research and development, as well as technologies and markets. Based on our monitoring activities, we develop national and European funding concepts in cooperation with our clients. In this way, our policy advice provides the impetus for solving key social challenges.

We are increasingly gearing our research and innovation policy strategies towards societal needs by focussing on key challenges, such as climate change, the energy transition, and improved health care. In order to identify the correct approaches for advancing research and development to meet these challenges, stakeholders need to have a comprehensive picture of current issues.

Therefore, we continuously monitor technological, economic and social developments relevant to our three business areas as well as closely related fields and interdisciplinary issues, and evaluate relevant technical databases, publications and patent databases. We also take advantage of national and international conferences to exchange views with experts in the relevant scientific disciplines and business sectors. Based on this, we identify approaches for furthering the development of research and innovation policy which we then discuss and evaluate in collaboration with experts from science and industry as well as civil organisations in the context of strategy dialogues. We use specially tailored tools including interviews, online consultations, and events which utilise creative approaches, such as World Café. The information gleaned from these tools must then be systematically structured and methodologically analysed in order to develop proposals for implementation. We use various qualitative and quantitative methods for this. Our portfolio includes methods, such as SWOT, bibliometric and patent analyses, as well as forecasting and scenario techniques. We pool our methodological expertise in the Analysis, Studies and Strategies Competence Centre (Compass).

We then use the resulting findings to help our clients create strategy papers, identify new funding priorities or further the development of funding concepts. In the process, we take the funding landscapes in Germany and Europe into account in order to take advantage of any potential synergies between the new strategies and existing activities.