Regional integration

The use of AI is widely discussed in society. AI influences how we work and learn. KARL, one of eight regional competence centers, has been set up in Karlsruhe to explore the effects of AI on working and learning with and about AI.

KARL’s aim is to make these effects tangible. To do so, real places for experiencing, experimenting and learning are being created and interconnected. At the same time, pilot projects of companies, which are scientifically accompanied, serve as inspiration for interested parties. The results will be presented in demonstration centers, offered in specific further education courses for professionals and managers and integrated into the relevant study programs of the participating universities.

Human beings are the main focus of KARL. The objective is to initiate a broad societal discourse. The Karlsruhe region offers the best conditions for this as it is home to the national Digital Hub for Applied AI and the leading IT Cluster in Europe. As part of KARL, nine research or transfer partners and eleven regional companies will receive almost eight million euros in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) by 2025.

A joint research project between the Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen, Fraunhofer ISI in Karlsruhe and the University of Applied Sciences in Kehl aims to conduct a scientific review of local administrative action in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines the moderating effect of administrative action on societal cohesion during the Corona pandemic.

In particular, it looks at the empirical variance of public administration crisis management and analyzes the social impact. The project aims to generate, discuss with stakeholders and disseminate evidence-based knowledge on local administrative action during the Corona pandemic as well as practice-relevant knowledge to improve efficiency and resilience in crisis situations.

An affectedness study shows how certain population groups were affected by the Corona pandemic. The impact study explores in which regions and for which groups of the population administrative action made negative social effects worse and where innovative administrative action was able to counteract and mitigate these. The mapping study includes an inventory of crisis management in all German districts and independent cities. Detailed in-depth case studies trace the innovation processes of selected municipalities. A transfer project disseminates the knowledge gained. It helps those in administration to promote social resilience in the future and protect social cohesion through favorable crisis management.

Baden-Württemberg’s State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism wants to continue developing the innovation strategy for this federal state in the coming years. The position paper compiled in the project “Zukunft der Wertschöpfung Baden-Württemberg “ (Future Value Creation in Baden-Württemberg) provides the basis for further developing this innovation strategy. 

In this position paper, Fraunhofer ISI developed five future visions for the state’s specific requirements in the areas of “Mobility & transport”, “Health & nutrition”, “Material & resources”, “Tools & robotics”, “Cyber & Services”. Four fields of action were derived from this in two steps, which are intended to serve as guidelines on how to move toward the above-mentioned future visions.

The paper derives impulses from the results for further developing the content and structure of the innovation ecosystem in Baden-Württemberg and indicates where to start institutionalizing the strategic foresight process for innovation actors from politics and business. An institutionalized foresight process is intended to review, adjust and realign the innovation ecosystem in a continuous process. 

The GENESIS research project of Fraunhofer ISI’s Leipzig location supports structural change in Saxony’s lignite mining districts. In close cooperation with the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development, a data-based twin of Lusatia and Central Germany is being created in the project, which is funded by the German government.

The digital tool is intended to support structural change in the lignite mining districts, provide evidence-based approaches for phasing out coal and create transparency about the developments in Lusatia and Central Germany. The interdisciplinary project team combine statistical data on the regions with information about economic, innovation-relevant and social activities. The aim is to identify new development paths, evaluate political measures and measure the effects of Saxony’s promotion of structural change. The project also serves to connect decision-makers, initiatives and projects to try out new development paths in the regions. An online platform will inform interested citizens about the state of regional transformation, funded projects, future issues, and ways to participate in Lusatia and Central Germany.

The project “Gestaltung neuer Entwicklungspfade im Strukturwandel in Sachsen” (GENESIS) (Design of New Development Paths in Structural Change in Saxony) is being funded as part of the German federal government’s STARK program.

Our value creation systems are global and highly complex. Dynamic changes provide great opportunities but harbor considerable risks. To make value creation models more resilient, it is crucial to recognize hidden developments in good time. This puts entrepreneurs, researchers and decision-makers in a position to respond proactively to an uncertain future. In the “Value creation radar” joint project, researchers at the institute’s Leipzig location develop methods and tools for data-supported and expert-led foresight. The semi-automated and AI-supported “radar” is designed to identify weak signals, trends and topics that are highly relevant for the future and that will influence developments in technologies, processes and concepts of value creation. Among other things, it draws on expert knowledge from production engineering, service and labor research.

The insights of the project are used as input for a multi-dimensional value creation model. In addition, the project team in Leipzig pools research knowledge in several network symposia and the open access handbook series “Perspektiven zur Zukunft der Wertschöpfung” (Perspectives on the Future of Value Creation). 

The Crowd Innovation Platform of Fraunhofer ISI in Leipzig brings together companies, research organization, public institutions and interested citizens. In ideas competitions, so-called Crowd Innovation Challenges, the initiators of a research project receive early market feedback on their technologies or product ideas and have the opportunity to connect with potential customers, investors or partners. The swarm intelligence of the “crowd” also helps to identify new applications for an innovation, validate business models or enable start-up financing for the next project step.

What began as a pilot has since evolved into a permanent contact point with more than 700 active users. Each new ideas competition not only helps to develop the platform further, but also to expand a vibrant community. The research team offers support in designing the challenges, for example for innovative project initiatives from the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. In addition, the researchers analyze the effect of the competitions on the projects and stakeholders involved. The aim is to provide a modern, participatory tool for knowledge and technology transfer and make it easier to commercialize promising technologies and product ideas from research.