Background

The Bavarian Research Alliance (BayFOR), with its headquarters in Munich, was founded in 2006 as an initiative of the University of Bavaria e.V. and the Bavarian Universities of Applied Sciences e.V. and set up as a limited liability company.

Associates

The motivating idea behind the establishment of BayFOR came from the University of Bavaria e.V. It was their goal to strengthen the networking of the 11 Bavarian universities at a regional, national and international level and, simultaneously, to make the universities of applied sciences fit for European research funding. The Bavarian Universities of Applied Sciences e.V. joined this plan a few months later with its 20 universities of applied sciences. Both associations are jointly pursuing the goal of providing the higher education landscape in Bavaria with a central contact point for questions on regional, national and, especially, European research funds.

Supporters

As early as 2005, the Cabinet decided, with a new concept, to strengthen the position of the Bavarian Universities in Europe. The corner stone for the financing of BayFOR was laid on 17 October 2006, as the Cabinet decided to establish this new interface between science and business. In agreement with Dr. Thomas Goppel, at that time Bavarian State Minister of Science and the Arts, BayFOR was founded by the University of Bavaria e.V.

BayFOR’s advisory services are supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts, the Bavarian State Chancellery and the Associates Universität Bayern e. V. and Hochschule Bayern e. V.
Furthermore, BayFOR is a partner organisation in the Enterprise Europe Network, which is partially funded by the EU.
As a result, BayFOR’s advisory services can be provided free of charge to Bavarian stakeholders from universities or from SMEs looking for funding opportunities for their research and innovation project, but also to application consortia, if one of the above-mentioned stakeholders is involved. BayFOR also receives EU funds through their participation in EU-funded research and innovation consortia in which they play an active role, e.g. as a partner for project management and/or dissemination activities.

Associates Meeting

The Associates Meeting, attended by both Associates University of Bavaria e.V. and The Bavarian Universities of Applied Sciences e.V., takes place under the chairmanship of the University of Bavaria e.V. The Associates‘ tasks are described in the charter.

Bavarian Research and Innovation Agency

BayFOR is a partner in the Bavarian Research and Innovation Agency (BayFIA).
BayFIA is the Free State of Bavaria’s central point of contact for all matters related to research and innovation funding, technology transfer, patents and licences. Under its umbrella, four independent organisations funded by the Free State of Bavaria work together, each focusing on a different area: Bavarian Research Alliance GmbH, Bavarian Research Foundation, Bavarian Patent Alliance GmbH, Bayern Innovativ GmbH and Projekttraeger Bayern - ITZB.

The Bavarian Research and Innovation Agency first opened in Nuremberg on 28 June 2010, when it was known as “Haus der Forschung” (“House of Research”) and made up of four partner organisations. The Bayerische Patentallianz GmbH (Bavarian Patent Alliance) joined the Agency on 1 January 2016, adding to the collective range of services. In January 2016, the name of the Agency was changed to „Bavarian Research and Innovation Agency“.