Apply For Funding

Innovation Fund
Application

Until end of 2024, the German Innovation Fund will fund projects for healthcare research in Germany with 200 million Euro per year. We support your application.

Application Process Read the FAQ Get In Touch

200 Mio. €

Annual Budget of the Innovation Fund

500 +

Funded Projects since 2016

75,000 €

Possible funding already for concept development

2024

Currently, the latest batch for a funding opportunity

Preparation
Pre-Concept Development Phase
During this phase, our clients typically have a concrete project idea, but its development is still in the early stages. At this point, it is important to verify the project’s eligibility for funding, find potential partners, create a concept outline, and tailor the funding application to meet the specific requirements. If your project is generally eligible for funding under the Innovation Fund, the result of this phase will be an optimized concept outline for submission in the first stage of the application process.

Our services include:

Validating and finalizing your project idea

Identifying suitable project partners, such as health insurance providers

Analyzing the implementation potential of your idea

Verifying the eligibility of your project for funding

Building the necessary expertise on the German healthcare system

Developing and optimizing your concept outline
Stage 1
Concept Development Phase
Based on the submitted concept outline, which outlines the key points of the planned project, the Innovation Committee decides which projects will be financially supported with up to €75,000 for concept development or the creation of a qualified application (the so-called ‘full application’). At the end of this stage, the concept is finalized and the full application is submitted.

Our services include:
- Support and project management for concept development
- Creation and optimization of your full application for the highest possible success rate in stage 2
- Providing necessary expertise within regulatory guidelines
Stage 2
Implementation Phase
Once the concept development phase (stage 1) is complete, the Innovation Committee decides which full applications will receive funding. Typically, a maximum of 20 projects (full applications) are funded in the implementation phase. It is not possible to directly enter this stage (stage 2) of the application process. If the implementation phase is successful, the process for inclusion in standard care can be applied for.

Our services include:
- Assistance with regulatory questions during the implementation phase (stage 2)
- Support in project management for your project
- Evaluation of scenarios for a positive or negative outcome of the implementation phase.

FAQ Innovation Fund

What is the Innovation Fund?

The Innovation Fund is a central funding instrument of health policy that supports innovative forms of care and health services research in Germany with funds from the statutory health insurance. It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and new ideas to improve patient care and strengthen exchange within the healthcare sector. Until 2024, 200 million euros are available annually to develop cross-sectoral forms of care and improve statutory health insurance provision. Since 2020, the Innovation Fund also supports the development and further development of medical guidelines. The implementation of the funding is the responsibility of the Innovation Committee at the Joint Federal Committee (G-BA).

What are "new forms of healthcare provision"?

Cross-sectoral healthcare models are models that go beyond the existing standard care and aim to overcome the separation of the various sectors of the healthcare system or to improve intra-sectoral interfaces. This means that they are interdisciplinary and link different areas of healthcare to enable holistic and patient-centered care.

What does mean health services research mean?

Health services research (Versorgungsforschung) refers to the scientific analysis of the provision of health-related products and services to individuals and the population. The promotion of healthcare research projects is limited to the context of statutory health insurance.

What is the ‘implementation potential’ for new forms of care?"

The implementation potential of a new healthcare model refers to its long-term integration into healthcare delivery. It depends on the degree of feasibility of the necessary measures for implementation into healthcare delivery and the transferability of the project’s framework conditions. The feasibility of the project is considered a crucial criterion for its implementation potential.

How does a grant work?

After the successful submission of the project outline, which explains the essential contents of the planned project, a decision is made on which projects will be financially supported for the concept development phase. The selected project outlines are given the opportunity to develop and concretize their concepts within six months and to prepare the full application.

Subsequently, the Innovation Committee decides on the basis of the full applications which projects will be admitted to the implementation phase and thus continue to receive financial support. In this phase, the implementation of usually no more than 20 of these projects is funded with the annual available funding amount.

How often are there new funding announcements?

Funding announcements with a volume of €200 million will be published annually until the end of 2024.

What is being funded?

Applications that clearly refer to the subject matter of the respective funding announcement and meet the relevant eligibility criteria and requirements.

Which projects are not supported?

Projects that do not meet the object of the funding
Research and development of product innovations or projects that have an obvious focus on gaining product-related insights or basic utility insights for the application of a product (e.g. medicine, medical device, or digital health application) or for methods for the application of such a product
Projects that companies in the commercial sector have a direct economic interest in the results of
Projects that are already in the implementation phase
Projects whose conceptual approach has already been the subject of other projects funded by the Innovation Committee
Projects that are already funded by public funds at the time of application

What funding amount can be applied for?

In the concept development phase of new healthcare forms, up to €75,000 can be requested. There are no fixed limits for the application of funding for the implementation phase of new healthcare forms, for applications for health services research, or for the development or further development of selected medical guidelines. However, the requested funds must be reasonably calculated and proportionate and necessary for the implementation.

Under what circumstances is my project eligible for funding in the area of new forms of care?

There should already be initial findings on the effectiveness of the underlying intervention or method, which should be described in the project outline. Typically, a health insurance fund should be involved in the implementation of the project, and it is also important to ensure independent evaluation during the implementation phase.