Institute for Innovation and Technology

What Institute for Innovation and Technology does

The Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit), legally Institut für Innovation und Technik, is a Berlin-based, private research and consulting institute founded in 2008 and operating as a division within VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (VDI/VDE-IT), itself affiliated with the Association of German Engineers. The institute delivers a portfolio of professional services built around four core offerings — Begleitforschung (accompanying research), Evaluation, Foresight, and Studien (studies) — supplemented by Technology & Partner Scouting, Praxischeck Pro, and Business Model Coaching. Underlying technical capabilities include data-science and analytics methods (data fusion, approximative items), strategic foresight techniques (Futures Wheel, Delphi, Horizon Scanning, Scenario Technique, Trend Analysis, Counterfactual Analysis), and DeGEval-aligned evaluation standards, all delivered by an interdisciplinary team of more than 400 scientific staff spanning natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and economics.

The institute generates revenue through project-based contracts with public and private sector clients. Its primary customer base comprises German federal ministries — including BMWK, BMBF, BMAS, and BMUV — along with federal states, municipalities (notably through DStGB-cooperative programmes such as the Zukunftsradar Digitale Kommune), international bodies (European Commission, Austrian Federal Ministries), and enterprise clients (Volkswagen AG, Techniker Krankenkasse, VDI). Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct project engagements and government procurement processes, with marketing support via LinkedIn, YouTube, Bluesky, and free downloadable publications. Notable outcomes include the evaluation of the German Space and Innovation Programme (2,034 funded projects worth approximately €2.14 billion, 2011-2018) and the Excellence Initiative (134 research buildings and more than 3,000 major equipment funded since 2007). The institute also maintains a stakeholder database of 38,000+ entries and 126,000+ research projects, operates podcasts (QUANTENRADAR, FE.MALE FOUNDERS), and publishes recurring sentiment indices on AI and space technology.

Name

Institute for Innovation and Technology

Legal name

Institut für Innovation und Technik

Website

https://iit-berlin.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) is a Berlin-based research and consulting institute, operating within VDI/VDE-IT, that provides evaluations, foresight studies, accompanying research, and technology scouting services to German federal ministries, states, municipalities, and select enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Research Contracts: Conducts analyses, evaluations, studies, and accompanying research for public clients including federal ministries, states, and municipalities. Revenue derived from project-based government contracts and funding programmes.
2. Corporate Consulting: Provides studies and analyses for companies and organizations on innovation, technology, and related topics.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) provides scientifically based research and consulting services to public sector clients and companies. Its core offerings include accompanying research for publicly funded R&D projects, evaluation of innovation policy measures, strategic foresight studies for early identification of trends, and specialized studies using novel data access and data fusion techniques. Services are delivered by more than 400 scientific staff across multiple disciplines and supplemented by technology and partner scouting, business model coaching, and data science capabilities.

Product overview

The Institute for Innovation and Technology (iit) offers a portfolio of research and consulting services rather than a traditional software product. The core offerings include Begleitforschung (Accompanying Research), Evaluation, Foresight, and Studien (Studies) services, supplemented by Technology & Partner Scouting and Praxischeck Pro for specific use cases. Additional capabilities in Data Science and Business Model Coaching are available across all service lines. iit delivers these through a team of more than 400 scientific staff members, combining natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and economics expertise. The institute also produces publications including the Zukunftsradar Digitale Kommune index and operates technology podcasts (QUANTENRADAR and FE.MALE FOUNDERS).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Praxischeck Pro: Service for associations and chambers to help members with complex bureaucratic processes such as approvals, reporting obligations, and application procedures
• Technology & Partner Scouting
• Transform Local
• Zukunftsradar Digitale Kommune

Products and services

• Begleitforschung (Accompanying Research) Supports publicly funded R&D projects in achieving sustainable success by identifying and overcoming innovation barriers, leveraging synergies, addressing cross-cutting legal, ethical, and societal challenges, and securing results transfer to relevant economic sectors and political discourse. Intended for public R&D programme operators.
• Evaluation Evaluates innovation policy measures to create evidence for further optimization of innovation policy, assessing whether desired goals are achieved and identifying programmatic changes for higher efficiency. Methods aligned with DeGEval standards. Targeted at public sector clients and policy makers.
• Foresight Helps clients identify trends and developments at an early stage through strategic foresight methods including Futures Wheel, Delphi Method, Horizon Scanning, Scenario Technique, Trend Analysis, and Counterfactual Analysis, enabling recognition, evaluation, and prioritization of options for the future.
• Studien (Studies) Provides individual support with specialized and methodological expertise for complex analytical questions that do not fit standard formats, utilizing novel data access approaches and data fusion techniques for clients requiring tailored research.
• Technologie- & Partner-Scouting (Technology & Partner Scouting) Provides a comprehensive overview of the European R&D landscape, helping clients find technologies and partners to expand their innovation portfolio, with access to a database of over 38,000 stakeholders and 126,000 research projects and guidance on EU funding.
• Praxischeck Pro A service for associations and chambers to help their members with burdensome bureaucratic processes such as permits, reporting obligations, and application procedures, through moderated dialogues between companies and administration to identify practical obstacles and develop viable solutions.
• Weitere Analysen & Leistungen (Further Analyses & Services) Customized, data-based instruments and methodologies applied across topics and projects, including business model development, data-based assessments of technological progress, online events, dialogue processes, and marketing concepts.
• Geschäftsmodell-Coaching (Business Model Coaching) Individual consulting and workshops to support R&D projects in developing their exploitation strategies and business models. Targeted at R&D project teams.
• Daten (Data Projects) Data science capabilities providing sound decision-making foundations through data-based projects, surveys, analysis, and visualization for clients requiring evidence-based research support.
• Zukunftsradar Digitale Kommune Regular survey published jointly with the German Association of Towns and Municipalities (DStGB) providing answers on the current state of digitization in municipalities, identifying acute action needs and possible starting points for digital transformation. Targeted at municipalities and policy makers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Evaluated national space and innovation programme with 2,034 funded projects worth approximately 2.14 billion euros (2011-2018)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ockham IPSminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Collaborates with Dutch consulting institute Ockham IPS for transnational research coordination and monitoring of Erasmus+ in adult education for the National Agency at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB).
• Kerlen Evaluation (Edinburgh)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered for evaluation of the German Space and Innovation Programme, providing international expertise alongside KMU Forschung Austria.
• KMU Forschung AustriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational cooperation partner for Austrian space strategy evaluation and German space programme assessment.
• Technopolis Group DeutschlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for accompanying evaluation of the FH-Personal federal-state programme for professorial staff recruitment at universities of applied sciences.
• Foresight SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFramework contract partner for strategic foresight services to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), supporting digital society strategic anticipation.
• Schaltzeit GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFramework contract partner for strategic foresight services to BMAS on digital working society transformation.
• adelphi ResearchcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSubcontractor partner for Horizon Scanning systems implementation at the German Environment Agency (UBA) and Smart City infrastructure environmental effects analysis.
• German Cities and Municipalities Association (DStGB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegular cooperation partner publishing the 'Zukunftsradar Digitale Kommune' (Digital Municipality Future Radar) and providing Transform Local consulting services for municipality digitalization.
• Centre for Regional and Innovation Economics (CRIE) at University of BremenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for evaluation of the Bavarian Cluster Offensive's second funding period.
• German Centre for Higher Education and Science Research (DZHW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partnership for scientific monitoring of BMBF's initiative on transitions from vocational to higher education.
• WPZ ResearchminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExpert partnership for evaluation of the Austrian LBG OIS Center and Career Center.
• Kienbaum Consultants International GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnership for first quantitative data collection on industry acceptance measurement in Germany.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Prognos AG: Basel/Berlin-headquartered research and consulting institute providing evidence-based analyses for public-sector and corporate clients across economics, innovation, education, and energy. Closely comparable in business model, customer base (ministries, associations, corporates), and service portfolio (evaluations, studies, foresight) to iit.
• Technopolis Group: Brussels/Paris-headquartered consulting firm specializing in innovation policy evaluation, R&D impact assessment, and accompanying research for the European Commission and national ministries. Directly comparable service mix and client base to iit's evaluation and foresight practice; iit already partners with Technopolis-adjacent Ockham IPS.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Fraunhofer ISI): Karlsruhe-based research institute conducting policy-oriented research on innovation systems, technology assessment, and foresight for German federal ministries and the EU. Overlaps directly with iit's evaluation, foresight, and accompanying research offerings and competes for the same ministry tenders.
• WifOR Institute: Darmstadt-headquartered economic research institute quantifying economic, social, and health impacts of investments and policies for public and private clients. Comparable in providing data-driven impact evaluations and sectoral studies to iit's evidence-based analysis practice.
• IDEA Consult: Brussels-based consultancy providing innovation policy research, programme evaluations, and economic analyses primarily for the European Commission and member-state agencies. Closely comparable to iit's transnational evaluation work for public-sector clients in Europe.
• Empirica Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH: Bonn-headquartered research and consulting institute active in innovation policy, employment, health, and ICT studies for the European Commission, German ministries, and international organizations. Direct competitor for iit's policy evaluation and accompanying research mandates.
• adelphi Research: Berlin-based think tank and consultancy working on environment, climate, sustainability, and economic policy for German federal ministries and EU bodies. Directly comparable to iit's policy research, foresight, and accompanying research practice, and already operates as both peer and subcontractor partner to iit.
• DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research): Berlin-based economic research institute producing policy-relevant economic analyses, evaluations, and reports for German ministries and the EU. Comparable in providing evidence-based policy research with a similar DACH-centric public-sector customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Rambøll Management Consulting: Global engineering, design, and management consultancy with a substantial public-sector practice across Nordics, Germany, and Europe. Overlaps with iit on policy evaluation and infrastructure/digitalization consulting but operates at significantly larger scale and across a much broader portfolio.

Regional players

• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland: Finland-headquartered applied research organization providing innovation policy evaluations, technology assessments, and foresight for the Finnish government and EU institutions. Comparable service mix to iit but operating primarily in the Nordic region rather than directly competing in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/iit-berlin.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCUXg1fjE60PIR475ISJaDWA
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/institut-f%C3%BCr-innovation-und-technik-iit-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute for Innovation and Technology