Innovation
Austria is a country of research and innovation with great innovative capacity, ranking among the leading countries in Europe with an estimated R&D intensity of 3.34 per cent for 2024.
Funding
A major task of the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism is to provide funding for areas that are specifically in need of such support. These funding programmes are devised and managed in close cooperation with other ministries, the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development as well as other funding entities. In addition, they are subject to periodic evaluation by independent experts to better focus the programmes on their relevant target groups.
Framework for RTI in Austria
A successful research and technology policy consists not only of funding measures. Rather, it requires a number of accompanying actions to inform potential beneficiaries and help them implement innovative ideas, while supporting policy-makers in efforts to improve the RTI framework.
Innovation and Technology Policy
The competitive strength of companies and thus their potential for employment are a central subject in both Austria and Europe as a whole. These factors greatly depend on the quality of activities in research, technological development and innovation. Consequently, it is important for the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism to further enhance investment in research, development and innovation and to establish the appropriate framework for strengthening Austrian businesses, in particular small- and medium-sized companies.
For this purpose, a coordinated portfolio of programmes, initiatives and networks has been made available.
Austrian Research and Technology Report 2026
The Austrian Research and Technology Report (FTB) is the annual status report on federally funded research, technology and innovation in Austria and is prepared on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research (BMFWF), the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMIMI), and the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism (BMWET) pursuant to Section 8 of the Research Organisation Act (FOG).
The current report provides an overview of the strategic framework for RTI policy (implementation of the RTI Strategy 2030 through RTI pacts; the Campaign for key technologies as part of the Industrial Strategy 2035; and other RTI-relevant initiatives). Austria's position in research, technology and innovation policy is presented on the basis of recent data.
Resilience and technological sovereignty have become central guiding principles of Austria’s RTI policy. The focus chapter, ‘Resilience and technological sovereignty in geopolitically challenging times’, describes the associated developments in the context of RTI policy.
Another key component is the monitoring of the central research institutions and research funding institutions pursuant to Section 8 of the Research Financing Act (FoFinaG).
As a supplement to the Austrian Research and Technology Report, the "FTB-Factsheet" offers a compact overview on six pages.