Germany needs a strong research sector

<h1>Germany needs a strong research sector</h1>29.02.2012 - (idw) Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation<br><br>Expert Commission again calls for tax-based research support<br />
<br />
To succeed in today's global competition, Germany needs to expand and build its knowledge-intensive industries and services. And the key basis for innovation and growth consists of research and development (R&amp;D). These are among the central conclusions reached by the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation (EFI) in its 2012 report, which it presented to Chancellor Merkel on Wednesday. In light of the increasing competition, including competition from emerging economies, the Federal Government's objective of having investments in R&amp;D reach 3 percent of GDP by 2015 is &quot;not particularly ambitious&quot;, so the Commission.
The Expert Commission emphasises that industries and services sectors with high levels of knowledge intensity play a decisive role in exports and employment. For that reason, so the Commission, the Federal Government needs to give special attention to the country's framework for research and development. In 2010, R&amp;D expenditures in Germany amounted to a 2.8 percent share of the country's gross domestic product. The three-percent goal sought by the Federal Government by 2015 will be inadequate in the long run, so the Commission. Other countries, including Finland, Sweden, Japan and Korea, have long since surpassed the three-percent mark.<br />
<br />
Once again this year, as in all past annual EFI reports, the Expert Commission called for introduction of tax-based support for R&amp;D. Although its coalition agreement includes a relevant explicit intention, the Federal Government has failed to enact such support to date. The Commission calls attention to the important impacts such a measure would have on small and medium-sized companies, and it notes that Germany runs a risk of losing ground in the competition to attract international companies that can be innovation drivers. Many other countries have boosted their support in this area, so the Commission. &quot;The tax-based R&amp;D support we have been calling for urgently needs to be enacted,&quot; stated Dietmar Harhoff, Chairman of the Expert Commission, in presenting the annual report.<br />
<br />
Other topics that the Expert Commission considers in its annual report include the challenge of China, research at higher education institutions and the country's shortage of skilled personnel. In these regards, the Commission members urge that: <br />
<br />
-	Political and scientific coordination in connection with Germany's commitments in China be intensified;<br />
-	The Federal Government and the Länder systematically support research in the higher education sector, working above and beyond their commitments within the Initiative for Excellence;<br />
-	The reserves of personnel available to the German labour market  including millions of non-working women  be mobilised.

        
        
        
        

        
        
        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
        $("fb_share").attr("share_url") = encodeURIComponent(window.location);
        });
        
        
        
       
        <br style="clear: both;"/>

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.e-fi.de