ProTraFo

Project Description 

Research transfer is not an end in itself. It must not be carried out from a purely internal perspective of the research and transfer institutions, but should be oriented to the needs and framework conditions of the target group in order to achieve the most comprehensive transfer effects possible.
The ProTraFo project therefore aims to investigate mechanisms for demand-oriented knowledge transfer and to derive suitable models, measures and recommendations for action on this basis. Against the backdrop of the respective economic significance, two focal points were selected: firstly, the focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - 99.5% of all companies in Germany belong to the SME group and around 58% of all employees subject to social insurance contributions work in them (ifm Bonn 2020); secondly, the focus on the service sector - over 70% of gross value added in Germany has already been generated in the service sector for some time (Federal Statistical Office 2021).
In addition to this fundamental objective, further questions are addressed:

• What are the concrete support and transfer needs of service-providing SMEs in post-COVID times?
• Which transfer instruments are particularly suitable for reaching service-providing SMEs? What role do new digital formats play?
• How can the transfer of research results from service research be systematically improved?
• What recommendations for action can be formulated for the science system - especially in the fields of business administration and engineering?