European Commission

In 2006, the regional GDP in Baden-Württemberg was €286.1b (PPS2000) accounting for 14,5% of the German GDP (behind the much larger Northrhine-Westphalia (21.9%) and Bavaria (17.4%)). After the heaviest recession of the post-war period with a decline of the real gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.8% in 1993, Baden-Württemberg drew an annual-average increase of the real GDP about 1.7% (Germany 1.3%) between 1995 and 2004. With a GDP per employee of €59,100 (2003) it lies at the third place of all non-city federal states. In the economic sector of Baden-Württemberg 5.3 million people were occupied in 2004. In 2008, the rate of unemployment was with an average 4.1% lowest in Germany (federal average 7.8%). Baden-Württemberg is a region with a high degree of industrialisation and high craft density. In 2003, out of 1,000 inhabitants 115 were occupied in the manufacturing sector and 66 in the craft sector.

While in the nineties in the service industry an extremely dynamic development took place, stronger growth impulses went out afterwards again from the manufacturing sector. All together the economic capability (GDP) increased about 12% between 2000 and 2008, at the same time the employment rose by nearly 5% to 5.6 million employees. The productivity (GDP per working hour) increased by 8%. In the manufacturing sector  the economy increased exceptionally about 19.5%, in the service sector about 10.5%. The overall development was primarily based on the capability of the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing products "Made in Baden-Württemberg" benefited strongly from the global export and investment boom of the world economy. The manufacturing industry from Baden-Württemberg could thereby increase its output on 24%, compared with only 20% on the federal average. The export results were decisively for this. By these developments major shifts in the sectoral structure of the economy occured. The share of gross value added of the manufacturing sector increased from 38.7% in 2000 to 39.3% in 2008, the share of the service industry went back slightly about 0.1%-points to 60.0%. Because industry and services co-operate more and more narrowly, the strong increase of the economic performance of the manufacturing industry was significant for the employment development in the service industry.

With the research and development (R&D) expenditures reaching €15.7b in 2007 and a share of 4.38% of the national GDP, Baden-Württemberg (BW) clearly lies above the national and EU average. Compared to all federal states - and also in a European wide comparison -, BW reaches the highest R&D intensities. On the whole, more than 80% of the regional R&D activities account for the business sector. Further 10% account for the universities and 9% for the non-university research institutes. However, the dominance of high-technology industries is not a specific feature of the regional innovation system. The strengths of the regional economy are clearly the automotive industry, mechanical engineering and the pharmaceutical industry. The automotive industry generates nearly half of the total R&D expenditures in BW. In line with the huge R&D investments is the success of output. In 2009 with 15,532 patent applications at the German patent office (DPMA), more than 32% of all applicants from Germany came from BW. Compared to all federal states in Germany, with 144 patent applications per 100,000 inhabitants, BW holds the top position (national average: 59).

Regarding R&D personnel (full-time employed, FTE) distribution BW ranks in the first place with 116,234 in absolute terms or a share of 23% of national total in 2007. In terms of first-year students in the period 2008/09, BW ranks in the second place with 60,661 newly enrolled students and reaches a share of 15.3% of all newly enrolled students in Germany. Furthermore, BW has 295,400 engineers in 2007, which is equal to 14% of all engineers living in BW and out of 1,000 working population 42.8 are engineers, wherewith BW ranks in the upper third.

The research infrastructure in BW is very strong: the higher education landscape in BW comprises nine universities, 10 colleges of art and music, 23 state universities of applied sciences, six colleges of education, eight professional academies and numerous state-accredited private higher education institutions. The non-higher education sector comprises a large number of research institutions that are active in the areas of basic and application-oriented research (e.g. Max-Planck Institutes, institutes of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, institutes of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Science Association).   

The regional innovation system of Baden-Württemberg can be characterised by a well differentiated university and research infrastructure, a complex system of intermediary public and semi-public institutions (e.g. extensive system of transfer institutions) and a decentralised system of regional RTDI governance. In Baden-Württemberg, the Ministry for Science, Research and the Arts (Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst) is responsible for research policy and support, with an emphasis on higher education institutions and state non-university basic-research institutions; the Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for industry-oriented technology policy and support, with an emphasis on non-university, industry-oriented research institutions. Within the government of Baden-Württemberg all activities of the departments in charge of RTDI support are coordinated.    

The spectrum of tasks of the higher education institutes comprises - in addition to the traditional duality of teaching and research - also technology transfer, offers of training and qualification. The development of own profiles and national/international visible focus areas lies within the competencies of the universities. Thus, the degree of autonomy is quite high. In addition to the Ministry for Science, Research and the Arts, the establishment of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation (Landesstiftung Baden-Württemberg) deserves to be mentioned. The major objective of the foundation is the funding of science and research in Baden-Württemberg (non-profit organisation).    

Technology transfer is given a special support via a comprehensive, decentralised network of Steinbeis Foundation transfer centres, that are spread over a range of universities of applied sciences (Fachhochschulen) and universities. In addition, the state has technology-specific and sector-specific institutions - as well as networks co-ordinated by such institutions - such as BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Photonics BW e.V., Baden-Württemberg: Connected (bwcon) and Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg (MFG), a media and film company.

Baden-Württemberg's research and technology policy is characterised by longstanding close co-operation of people and institutions from the science, business-enterprise and political sectors. Within the state's government, research policy initiatives and projects are tailored to technology policy measures for innovation support, as well as to activities in the area of education and further training. The state government funds research in universities and in non-university research institutions, throughout a great diversity of fields, and with a focus on both breadth and depth. Important principles and priorities of research and technology policy in Baden-Württemberg include:

Priority for scientific excellence

The following measures support the aim of protecting and building Baden-Württemberg's international position as an outstanding location for research and technology:

• profile formation via local setting of priorities and interlocation competition;
• creation of performance incentives for top research;
• promotion of framework conditions conducive to research; and
• intensification of quality assurance measures for public research, taking account of international standards.

Enhancement of science-industry co-operation, through partnership

The following measures are carried out with the aim of strengthening innovation resources and openness in Baden-Württemberg's industry, especially its small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs):

• promotion of technology transfer and science-industry networking; and
• ensuring that industry-oriented non-university research institutions can provide the performance they need to provide in order to serve as innovation drivers for industry.

Targeted support for young researchers

Excellent researchers are the basis for excellent research. The following measures are being carried out to ensure that staffing needs at both research institutions and innovative companies can continue to be met in future:

• young researchers' opportunities for independent research are being enhanced; and
• a broad spectrum of programmes is being offered for promoting doctoral-degree projects, especially within the framework of structured doctoral research groups and graduate schools, as well as for promoting post-doctoral work and junior professorships.