Research in the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development

Departmental research provides the scientific foundations for the work of the Federal Ministry (Source: German Meteorological Service)

The areas of responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development are closely related to the basic requirements of our citizens, namely housing and mobility.

To be able, as the state, to provide optimum services for the public in these areas, the Ministry conducts departmental research to exploit all the possibilities of high-quality knowledge-based external advice, in order to help answer the numerous and diverse questions.

Departmental research

The projects commissioned provide up-to-date and scientifically substantiated foundations for the Ministry's departmental policies and assist the Ministry in its everyday work in relation to

• the evolution of legislation and regulations;
• analyses, methods, procedures, forecasts, scenarios;
• the development of aids to decision-making;
• the identification and monitoring of innovative solutions to problems.

This so-called departmental research is divided into general and applied departmental research (for example pilot projects).

The Ministry's integrated overall research programme

The Ministry's integrated overall research programme comprises 14 individual programmes and 7 larger innovative stand-alone projects. In 2006, funding totalling around 51 million euros was available for these projects. The Ministry's departmental research covers all the spheres of mobility and transport plus the spheres of spatial and urban development, building, housing and the development of Eastern Germany. To ensure a sustainable energy supply, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development is also one of the main players in the "National Programme of Innovation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology".

The transfer of knowledge and networking are also important factors in departmental research. Both of these are promoted within the framework of "Mobility 21". This platform is a network of excellence for innovative transport solutions. The research information system (FIS) is available as a basis for in-depth knowledge, especially for experts.