Project

At the beginning of the 21st century society, the economy and the environment are shaped by far-reaching transformation processes. These include demographic change, new needs for mobility, the trend towards a zero-carbon economy and extensive digitization. Germany as an important location for innovation is challenged to co-shape these processes. One of the key questions is which role research and innovation are going to play. Digitization is one of the current trends, which will pervade the whole innovation system and will generate a significant impact on the competitiveness of Europe and Germany. Micro- and nanoelectronics form the core technological basis for digitization. Leading companies and political initiatives, in particular in Asian countries, are accelerating this trend.

The Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland, FMD) takes up these challenges and aims to strengthen the position of the European semiconductor and electronics industry against global competition based on a completely new concept. The core of the FMD concept is the bundling of distributed technological excellence into a highly competitive new organization. In consequence, the FMD is challenged to implement a new model for organizing and practicing research, thereby generating key contributions to enhancing the competitiveness of Europe and Germany in microelectronics. Thereby, the FMD will also position itself as a key innovator in microelectronics in Europe.

In order to realize the potentials of the FMD in its full breadth, the FMD will be embedded into a systemic innovation concept. The institutes of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research are striving to support the achievement of this aim by their inception project FRAME.

Against this background the FRAME project has the following tasks:

• Further development of the research portfolio of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research.
• Elaboration of a scientifically sound system-oriented innovation concept for the FMD.
• Development of a model for the bundling of fragmented technology excellence, which is able to generate agile and flexible innovation competencies needed to respond to current and future grand challenges.
• Positioning of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft as a key contact for innovation policy.

FRAME has been developed jointly by the institutes of the Fraunhofer Group for Innovation Research and the FMD. It is structured into six thematically oriented modules (see figure). The modules “organization development” and “strategy” support the FMD in designing and implementing an efficient structure and a sustainable research and innovation strategy. The required knowledge base is elaborated in the modules “foresight and roadmap”, “competitive situation”, and “market and customers”. Finally, within the module “impact” a theoretically and empirically well-founded concept for the investigation of the impact and significance of large-scale R&D and innovation activities, such as the FMD, on the innovation system will be developed.

Key organizational structures and processes of the FMD were analyzed. Based on this, concepts for the further development of FMD’s organizational structure were elaborated.

The conceptualization and elaboration of the strategic research and innovation agenda of the FMD was supported by FRAME. In particular, a systematic analysis of activities and competencies of all 13 FMD member institutes was carried out. In addition, key markets for the microelectronics industry as well as the global competitive situation, and in consequence the market opportunities for the FMD were analyzed in a systematic way.

Important societal and technological future trends were identified and summarized in eight clusters which have a particular relevance for the area of microelectronics.

A multidimensional concept for analyzing and measuring the impact of the FMD was developed.

A systematic analysis of the microelectronics innovation system in Germany was carried out in order to support the FMD in its competitive positioning and in communicating its specific role in this innovation system.

No publications up to now.

10/2017 to 12/2020

• Fraunhofer Zentrale

• Fraunhofer INT
• Fraunhofer IAO
• Fraunhofer IMW
• Fraunhofer IRB
• Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland, FMD)