WFB WIRTSCHAFTSFORDERUNG BREMEN GMBH

Their core work

WFB is the economic development agency for the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany. Their core mission is supporting local businesses — particularly SMEs — by providing innovation management services, technology transfer guidance, and access to EU funding instruments like the SME Instrument. Within H2020, they focused on building and delivering Key Account Management (KAM) services that help SMEs strengthen their innovation capacity and navigate EU support programs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

WFB's H2020 participation shows a clear progression from general innovation management (IM SME in 2014) toward more structured, service-oriented SME support. The InnoBremen series (2015-2018) expanded their scope to include dedicated KAM services, SME Instrument coaching, and sector-specific innovation capacity building including energy. Their keyword profile grew from a single focus on "innovation management" to a richer set covering innovation services, KAM, and SME Instrument — reflecting a maturing regional support infrastructure.

WFB moved from broad innovation management toward specialized, service-based SME support with sector targeting (energy), suggesting future interest in thematic innovation coaching for regional businesses.

How they like to work

WFB has participated exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, across all three projects. Their network is notably narrow — only 2 unique consortium partners in 1 country — suggesting they work within a tight, recurring regional partnership rather than building broad European consortia. This is consistent with their role as a local economic development agency that plugs into existing EU support frameworks rather than assembling new research networks.

WFB's H2020 network is very small: just 2 unique partners, all within a single country. Their collaboration footprint is locally concentrated, reflecting their mission as a regional economic development body rather than a European research networker.

What sets them apart

WFB brings direct access to Bremen's SME ecosystem and practical experience delivering innovation management services on the ground. Unlike research institutes or consultancies, they are the official regional economic development agency — meaning they have institutional relationships with local businesses, public authorities, and enterprise networks. For consortium builders, WFB is valuable when a project needs a regional deployment partner who can mobilize SMEs and deliver hands-on innovation coaching.

Highlights from their portfolio

• InnoBremen
  Received the largest share of WFB's H2020 funding (EUR 35,000) and established the core innovation management service framework for Bremen's SMEs.
• InnoBremen2
  Continuation project that expanded into energy-sector SME support and added KAM services and SME Instrument coaching — showing sustained EU commitment to the Bremen model.