During the second funding period set to end in 2015, the Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation grants a 5 percent increase in funding each year. This growth will provide the Helmholtz Association with the scope for action it requires both to expand strategic activities and instruments and to establish new ones. As a partner in the campaign for greater innovation, the association has agreed to contribute to growth and prosperity by dynamically optimising the system of scientific research in Germany, expanding ties, establishing new forms of strategic partnerships, strengthening international collaborations, facilitating added value through the transfer of knowledge to society and the economy and – finally and most importantly – by attracting and fostering excellent scientists at all stages of their careers so that they can optimally develop their talents.

 1. DYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE

Integrated into the national and international research landscape, the Helmholtz Association is constantly refining its structures in order to provide ideal conditions for its strategically oriented research. Through this process, it is making a significant contribution to the dynamic and sustainable development of German science. Global transformation processes present society with major challenges and require solutions from research. Growing energy needs, climate change and demographic developments are just a few examples. The mission of the Helmholtz centres is to help solve these important future challenges through excellent research, to work with a long-term focus, and to implement findings for the benefit of society and the economy.

The strategic development of new research fields
The Helmholtz Association will use part of the annual increase in funding to support a variety of portfolio topics that experts from the 18 Helmholtz centres – as part of a major review – have identified as particularly promising. With important research focuses such as the bioeconomy and the Helmholtz Water Network, the association is continuing the portfolio process it launched in 2010. This strategy development process encompasses the major research infrastructure and facilities for which the Helmholtz Association has assumed a prominent role as architect. In the “Helmholtz Roadmap for Research Infrastructure”, the association has identified the structures and large-scale devices that are necessary and strategically relevant to the implementation of its scientific portfolio in the coming years. They include large accelerator facilities, large-capacity computers and planned health care infrastructure.

Competition for Resources
To pursue research on these topics, the Helmholtz Association must create comprehensive programmes and make funding available. The funds are in part allocated on the basis of internal competition amongst the Helmholtz centres within the framework of programme-oriented funding. In this process, which creates transparency and planning security, the Helmholtz Association is taking its cue from the research policy requirements of its funding bodies. For the five-year duration of the programmes, funding is linked to the results of strategic programme reviews. The third round of evaluations to be performed since the founding of the Helmholtz Association in 2001 will begin in 2013/2014. In 2011 the Helmholtz Senate and the funding bodies agreed on guidelines for the further development of this process. These guidelines – which will be incorporated into the third round of evaluations – call for the streamlining of procedures and for consideration to be given to the links between centres and programmes, on the one hand, and external partners, on the other. A further aim is to strengthen the association’s contribution to modernizing the German research community. Within the scope of the president’s Initiative and Networking Fund (IVF), which has proven its worth over a period of many years, the Helmholtz Association has developed a variety of measures to achieve the Joint Initiative’s objectives. IVF funds are being used to initiate strategically important activities and to strengthen collaborations with universities. With projects such as the Helmholtz Alliances and the W2/ W3 positions for outstanding scientists, the IVF has contributed to building stronger ties with universities and establishing cross-Helmholtz quality standards for the advancement of young scientists and the promotion of equal opportunity. The basic principle is to allocate funds competitively. The increase in IVF funding from 65 million euros in 2011 to around 68 million euros in 2012 will allow the initiated activities to be continued and new instruments to be introduced.

The Leading-Edge Cluster Competition
Germany’s strong competitive position in the global arena is based not least on the excellent research done by German companies and their capacity for innovation. However, the major social and economic challenges of the present day can only be tackled if science and industry work together. This collaboration can take the form of theme-based regional alliances that pool and expand strengths. The potential of such “clusters” is being supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through its “Leading-Edge ClusterCompetition”. The competition is not confined to any one theme and is thus directed at all industries and research fields of future relevance. Three Helmholtz centres have emerged as winners in the third round of the BMBF’s Leading-Edge Cluster Competition. The three new clusters, which will address the topics “bioeconomy”, “electric mobility” and “immunotherapy”, will receive up to 40 million euros in funding from the BMBF in order to implement their strategies. Taking the winners of the third round into account, a total of 15 leading edge clusters are currently receiving a total of 600 million euros in funding and Helmholtz centres are involved in nine. This funding is matched by the participating companies, with the result that an additional 1.2 billion euros will be invested in Germany as a centre of innovation. The Helmholtz centres have been especially successful in international competitions. For example, during the year under review, the number of proposals selected by the European Research Council (ERC) has increased significantly. The centres involved in health research have performed particularly well. In order to further motivate young scientiststo apply for ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grants, the Helmholtz Association is offering bonuses of up to 250,000 euros. This additional funding is meant to be used by successful Helmholtz scientists to fund additional PhD candidates and other projects. Furthermore, Helmholtz scientists have won many prestigious international awards, including the Potamkin Prize of the American Academy of Neurology and two mega-grants from the Russian government.

2. TIES IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY

Strategic Partners
Closer ties with university partners and industry are a central pillar of the Helmholtz Association’s strategy. These ties are crucial to ensuring the exchange of knowledge, the applicability of research and the efficient use of resources. As shown by the results of the Excellence Initiative II, universities have a special strategic importance for the association: Helmholtz centres are currently involved in nine institutional strategies, 16 excellence clusters and numerous graduate schools. Thus, even in the last phase of the Excellence Initiative, the centres have proven themselves to be important partners of the universities. However, the Helmholtz Association also maintains close ties with other research institutions, companies and international partners. Its collaborative philosophy ensures that scientific exchange takes place amongst equals while mobilising existing synergies between partners and helping to achieve the pact’s objectives and the strengthening of science. In alliances and projects with strategic partners, the Helmholtz centres are conducting research on the most pressing problems in science, industry and society. Helmholtz Virtual Institutes and Helmholtz Alliances are providing support for the collaborations that the Helmholtz Association has established with national and international universities and research institutes in order to take up and work on innovative topics. The Helmholtz Virtual Institutes initiate and expand collaborations between universities and Helmholtz centres in a variety of fields. Many of these virtual institutes form the core of larger collaborative networks. One example is the “Helmholtz Virtual Institute Molecular Basis of Glucose Regulation and Type 2 Diabetes”. A few institutes, such as the “Helmholtz Virtual Institute of Neurodegeneration and Ageing”, have contributed to programme innovations. Others, such as the “Helmholtz Virtual Institute Translating Hadron Therapy from Basic Research to Clinical Application”, are reaping direct benefits for applications (in this case for the radiotherapy of cancer). In the five calls for proposals to date, almost 100 million euros have been awarded to 99 virtual institutes involving 326 university partners from 61 different German universities. Of this total funding, around 56 million euros has gone or will go to the universities. The added value results from the opportunity to combine basic and applied research and increase the partners’ international visibility. In addition, young scientists can be systematically fostered and infrastructure can be used complementarily. The successful concept of the Helmholtz Alliances is based on taking up and innovatively developing new, future-oriented, strategically important themes. Together with universities and other external partners, alliances with a clearly recognisable critical mass are formed in an attempt to establish and expand internationally visible “beacons” in line with the programme portfolio of the Helmholtz Association's research fields. The association aims to continue proven alliances at an institutional level in order to ensure the sustainability of the research projects. Furthermore, Helmholtz Alliances are contributing to structural innovations by bringing together national and international partners from universities, other research institutions and companies. In the summer of 2012, four new alliances were selected and will be granted a total of 50 million euros in funding from the Initiative and Networking Fund. The topics range from diabetes research and remote sensing to robotics and liquid metal technologies.

3. INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION

Major challenges such as the future supply of energy, climate change and the fight against common diseases can only be met globally, over a long timeframe and through the coordinated and systematic use of resources. This is why the Helmholtz centres are working with leading research facilities worldwide, including institutes in Russia, China, the United States and Canada. In addition, the association’s globally unique research facilities and infrastructure – one of its distinguishing features – are providing a platform for international cooperation and research of the highest calibre. The association makes its research infrastructure available to the European scientific community, attracting more than 6,200 visiting scientists each year. With the International Strategy it adopted in 2010, the Helmholtz Association has strengthened its competitive position in the recruitment of highly qualified foreign staff. It has also ensured access to research resources at partner institutions and expanded opportunities for future collaboration through the strategic development of partner networks. This strategy is helping the association to meet the obligations arising from the Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation and to continue to expand its role in the international scientific community. The association’s research centres are pursuing successful, long-term collaborations with European research institutions as strategic partners and are strongly benefiting from the instruments of the EU’s Research Framework Programmes. They are actively involved in European collaborative projects and have been particularly successful in calls for proposals from the ERC. Within the scope of the 7th EU Research Framework Programme, the Helmholtz centres are successfully participating in 285 pro- jects and are performing a coordinating role in 41. Finally, as one of Europe’s largest research organisations, the Helmholtz Association is contributing to the dialogue on further developing EU research funding beyond 2014 and implementing the European Research Area (ERA).

4. SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

The Helmholtz Association is dedicated to high-level basic research with a strong focus on application. Research collaborations – particularly strategic partnerships with industry – are important channels for technology transfer. The association pursues numerous activities within the scope of business collaborations that focus on the transfer of knowledge to society and the transfer and commercialization of research findings. The Helmholtz Association’s technology transfer efforts are bearing fruit and have led, among other things, to several award-winning research spin-offs from Helmholtz centres. The course has been set for more dynamic developments in this field by the successful establishment of the Validation Fund and the introduction of “shared services” for the more efficient use of technology transfer capacities across the association. The Helmholtz Validation Fund is capitalised with up to 7.5 million euros per year and is intended to close the funding gap between research and application. At the same time, this instrument aims to provide an incentive for developing ideas and inventions in order to attract the interest of potential business partners and facilitate research spin-offs. For years, the Helmholtz Association has promoted spin-offs through the Helmholtz Enterprise funding instrument. Between 2006 and 2011, 73 spin-off projects were supported with sums of up to 200,000 euros – shared by the Initiative and Networking Fund and the respective centres. More than half of these companies have now been launched and are operating successfully on the market. Through research collaborations with industry – either joint research projects or contract research – Helmholtz centres generated revenue of nearly 160 million euros in 2011. Here the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and its application-based research fields have again proven highly successful. The contributions made by the centres to the creation of economic value have been greatly enhanced by the successful transfer of knowledge and technology, the regional labour market effects of research spin-offs, and the licensing of intellectual property rights, which are largely awarded to small and medium-sized companies in Germany.

5. ATTRACTING THE BEST PEOPLE

The Helmholtz Association places special emphasis on talent management at all levels and in every field of the organisation. Outstanding staff members are our most valuable asset and can be attracted and retained only if we ensure career development opportunities and equal opportunity. This is why the association is investing in the education and training of scientific and administrative/technical staff. Its efforts are already paying off: the association is becoming younger, more female and more international at the highest level, which is leading to additional outstanding award-winning research. The association relies on established and new instruments for the targeted recruitment, advancement and training of both top executives and personnel in research, administration and infrastructure fields. In addition to the constantly growing number of trainees, during the year under review the association provided support for more than 6,000 doctoral candidates and 150 Helmholtz Young Investigators' Groups. It also launched a new instrument to promote independent work among young researchers within the scope of the Initiative and Networking Fund. The Helmholtz Postdoc Programme is designed to provide outstanding young researchers who have just completed their doctorates with the opportunity to continue the independent study of a research topic that they themselves have defined and to establish themselves in this field. In this way, the Helmholtz Association is contributing to establishing a “cascade model” in line with the equality standards at the German Research Foundation (DFG). The association is serious about introducing flexible target quotas to ensure equal opportunity at all levels; its central bodies will devote themselves to this topic in the future. Efficient and effective management structures are essential for a modern research organisation. With the establishment of the Helmholtz Management Academy in 2007 and the development of customised educational portfolios for selected target groups, the association has set new standards for training programmes in research management in Germany. Particular attention is paid to training young female managers. Finally, the Helmholtz Association is investing heavily in efforts to introduce children and young people to research and is thus fulfilling its stated objective of improving the transfer of knowledge to society and promoting equal opportunity. To generate enthusiasm for science and technology among children and young people, the Helmholtz centres are participating in numerous activities throughout Germany as part of the “Year of Science” organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Programmes such as the School Labs and the project “Six to Ten Year Olds” (carried out by the “Little Scientists’ House” initiative) are aimed at the next-generation of researchers in an early and critical phase of their development. The Helmholtz Association is using a coherent and focused set of measures to fulfil the aims of the Joint Initiative. With its diverse expertise and research infrastructure, the association will continue to systematically pursue its objective of formulating answers to the pressing challenges of science, business and society today. This work will enable it to make an important contribution to strengthening Germany as a location for research and innovation.