VDI/VDE INNOVATION + TECHNIK GMBH

Their core work

VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik is a German innovation and technology consultancy that manages research programmes, coordinates cross-sector technology roadmaps, and bridges the gap between public research funding and industrial implementation. They specialize in orchestrating European joint programming initiatives (ERA-NETs, JPIs) and building ecosystems that connect research communities with industry needs — particularly in electronics, smart systems, transport, and biotechnology. Their core value lies not in conducting research themselves, but in designing strategies, running coordination actions, and ensuring that dispersed European R&D efforts align into coherent roadmaps with clear industrial uptake paths.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), VDI/VDE-IT focused heavily on smart systems integration, key enabling technologies, and building public-public partnership frameworks (ERA-NET Cofund, JPI alignment). Transport strategy work also began early with multiple coordination projects on automated driving and road transport competitiveness. From 2019 onward, their portfolio shifted noticeably toward biodiversity governance, socio-ecological systems, and inter-/transdisciplinary research programming, while maintaining their transport and electronics threads. This signals a broadening from purely technology-driven coordination into environmental and societal research governance.

They are expanding from technology-sector coordination into environmental and societal research programming, making them increasingly relevant for interdisciplinary consortia that span technical and ecological domains.

How they like to work

VDI/VDE-IT operates as both a coordinator (7 of 26 projects) and a trusted support partner (19 as participant), typically taking the coordination lead on ecosystem-building and strategy projects while joining larger ERA-NET and partnership programmes as a management partner. With 285 unique consortium partners across 44 countries, they function as a major network hub rather than a loyal-partner organization — their value lies precisely in connecting diverse communities. Working with them means gaining access to their extensive European network and their experience managing complex multi-country coordination actions.

An exceptionally broad network spanning 285 unique partners across 44 countries, reflecting their role as coordinators of pan-European joint programming initiatives and ERA-NETs that by design involve ministries, funding agencies, and research performers from across and beyond Europe.

What sets them apart

VDI/VDE-IT sits at the intersection of Germany's two largest engineering associations (VDI and VDE) and European research policy, giving them unmatched credibility as neutral orchestrators of technology roadmaps and joint programming initiatives. Unlike universities or RTOs that bring domain research, they bring programme management expertise — the ability to design calls, align national funding agencies, and build functional ecosystems across 40+ countries. For consortium builders, they are the partner you choose when your project needs professional coordination infrastructure and deep connections to both policy-makers and industry associations.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ERA CoBioTech
  Largest single funding at EUR 3.56M — a major ERA-NET Cofund on biotechnologies demonstrating their capacity to manage large transnational funding programmes.
• MOBILITY4EU
  Coordinated with EUR 779K to develop the Action Plan for future European mobility — a high-visibility strategic document shaping EU transport policy.
• 5E
  Coordinated the federation of European electronics ecosystems, positioning them at the centre of EU industrial strategy for hardware and smart systems.