Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V.

What Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V. does

ifh Göttingen (Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V.) is a non-profit applied economics research institute (eingetragener Verein, e.V.) founded in 1996 and affiliated with the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. It is one of five institutes in the Deutsches Handwerksinstitut (DHI) network and focuses on the German Mittelstand (SME) and Handwerk (skilled trades) sectors. Research is organized across five thematic areas: Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Labor Market & Regional Economics, Sustainability & Energy, Digitalization & Artificial Intelligence, and Resilience & Governance. Methodologies include panel data analysis (LIAB), web scraping, surveys, experimental economics, and geospatial analysis.

The institute's core 'products' are research outputs, not commercial offerings. These include the proprietary Handwerkspanel data infrastructure and Handwerksdatenportal (Crafts Data Portal), research reports (ifh Forschungsbericht), policy briefs (Unternehmertum im Fokus), and the annual Tätigkeitsbericht. Knowledge transfer is delivered through the rotating annual Forum Handwerk und Wirtschaftspolitik (formerly Volkswirte-Forum des Handwerks), a free newsletter, academic publications in journals such as Research Policy and Small Business Economics, and direct engagement with policy makers and chambers.

The institute operates a non-commercial, grant-funded model with no disclosed revenue. Funding flows from federal ministries (BMBF, BMWi, BMEL), the Umweltbundesamt, the EU (notably Interreg North-West Europe), industry associations (ZDH, the 53–56 Handcraft Chambers), and institutional support from the University of Göttingen. Customers / target beneficiaries are the German skilled trades sector, German SMEs, federal and state ministries, and the Handcraft Chamber organization. Leadership comprises Vorstandsvorsitzender Karl-Wilhelm Steinmann (chair) and Eckhard Stein, Director Prof. Kilian Bizer, and Managing Director Dr. Lukas Meub (since 01.01.2022).

Name

Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V.

Legal name

Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V.

Website

https://ifh.wiwi.uni-goettingen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ifh Göttingen is a non-profit applied economics research institute affiliated with the University of Göttingen, conducting empirical research on the German Mittelstand (SME) and Handwerk (skilled trades) sectors for federal ministries, the Handcraft Chamber network, and EU programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Research Services

NAICS

All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (541990), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic & Macroeconomic Research (BPAHALAD), Policy, Regulatory & Public Affairs Research (BPAHALAF)

Keywords

• Applied economic research
• SME sector analysis
• Skilled trades research
• Policy consulting
• Regional economics

Headquarters

HQ city

Göttingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Third-Party Research Funding: The institute operates as a publicly funded research institution. Revenue is generated through grants and contracts from government ministries (BMBF, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture), European funding programs (EU Interreg, European Innovation Promotion Program), and commissions from industry associations (German Handcraft Confederation, regional handcraft chambers).
2. Institutional Funding: Base funding from the University of Göttingen as an affiliated institute, providing foundational support for research activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The institute conducts applied economic research and policy analysis on small and medium-sized enterprises (Mittelstand) and the skilled trades (Handwerk) sector in Germany. It delivers commissioned studies, policy reports, and sector analyses to public sector clients, chambers, and trade associations, operating as a registered association (e.V.) affiliated with the University of Göttingen.

Product overview

The ifh Göttingen (Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk) operates as a research institute affiliated with the University of Göttingen, not a commercial product company. Its 'products' consist of research publications including the ifh Forschungsbericht (research reports replacing the former Göttinger Beiträge zur Handwerksforschung), Policy Briefs (Unternehmertum im Fokus series), and Tätigkeitsberichte (annual activity reports). The institute also offers a free Newsletter service for dissemination of research findings and organizes the annual Forum Handwerk und Wirtschaftspolitik and Volkswirte-Forum events for knowledge transfer between research and craft/SME practice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commissioned Economic Research on SMEs and Skilled Trades Applied economic studies, sector analyses, and policy reports on Germany's Mittelstand and Handwerk sector, delivered to public sector clients and business associations.
• Policy Briefings and Publications Research reports and policy briefings on small and medium-sized enterprise economics and skilled trades in Germany, targeted at policy and sector audiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• Studied apprenticeship market dynamics in German skilled trades
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) - E6 Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024European research project on circular economy titled 'Ecosystems for Extended-lifetime of End-of-Use Electrical and Electronic Equipment' (E6). The 3.5-year project involves 20 partner organizations from 6 countries working on local circular economy ecosystem structures. ifh Göttingen contributes research on sustainability and circular economy in the skilled trades sector.
• Deutsches Handwerksinstitut (DHI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDHI is the umbrella organization of five German handcraft research institutes. ifh Göttingen is one of these five institutes, working together on joint projects like 'Neue Normalität' (New Normal) and other thematic areas including regional development, digitalization, and sustainability.
• German Handcraft Chambers (Deutsche Handwerkskammern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe institute maintains close ties with all German Handcraft Chambers (56 chambers), evidenced by the annual Volkswirte-Forum rotating across different chambers and commissioned regional analyses.
• Universities of Göttingen, Hannover, and JenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration on the DUI.REG project (Measuring the DUI Mode of Innovation in Structurally Weak Regions) and joint organization of scientific conferences on innovation measurement in SMEs.
• Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral Confederation of German Handcraft trade associations. ifh Göttingen regularly presents research findings at ZDH committees (Beirat Unternehmensführung, Ausschuss Wirtschaftspolitik) and collaborates on joint DHI projects.
• KfW ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research on SME innovation, with KfW presenting at ifh Göttingen events and joint studies on interaktives Lernen (interactive learning) for innovation in non-R&D-intensive SMEs.
• Kompetenzzentrum Digitales HandwerkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for research on digitalization in skilled trades, including analysis of data from the 'Digi-Check' digital transformation assessment tool. Joint workshops in the 'ThinkLab Handwerk' format.
• Heinz-Piest-Institut für Handwerkstechnik (HPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five DHI institutes. Collaboration on joint projects including BMBF-funded 'Handwerk 4.0' and the DHI Gemeinschaftsprojekt on new regionality.
• Institut für Betriebsführung im Handwerk (itb)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five DHI institutes. Joint projects including 'Neue Regionalität und Handwerk' publication series and cooperation on circular economy research.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heinz-Piest-Institut für Handwerkstechnik (HPI): Sister institute within the Deutsches Handwerksinstitut (DHI) network of five German handcraft research institutes. Jointly conducts BMBF-funded research (e.g., 'Handwerk 4.0'), shares DHI consortium projects, and operates from a comparable university-affiliated applied-research model focused on the Handwerk sector.
• Institut für Mittelstandsforschung Bonn (IfM Bonn): Independent, university-affiliated research institute dedicated to SME (Mittelstand) economics — the closest topical peer to ifh Göttingen's Mittelstand/SME research portfolio. Competes for similar federal ministry funding and produces comparable policy-facing research outputs.
• Institut für Betriebsführung im Handwerk (itb): Another DHI sister institute, collaborating with ifh Göttingen on joint publications (e.g., 'Neue Regionalität und Handwerk') and circular-economy research. Operates the same applied-research-for-Handwerk model with a complementary focus on business management.

Broad incumbents

• Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB): Federal institute for vocational education and training research that awards the Hermann-Schmidt-Preis (won by ifh Göttingen in 2019). Operates at significantly larger scale but overlaps on Handwerk-relevant topics including apprenticeships, vocational training, and skilled-labor research.
• ifo Institut – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: Premier German economic research institute with strong SME and Mittelstand research programs. Provides indirect competition for policy advisory mandates and academic visibility, though its scope is far broader than ifh Göttingen's Handwerk specialization.
• ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung: Large Leibniz-associated economic research institute covering SME innovation, labor markets, and digitalization. Competes with ifh Göttingen for BMBF and EU funding and publishes in overlapping academic outlets.
• Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW Köln): Major employer-affiliated economic research institute producing policy-facing research on German Mittelstand, labor markets, and vocational training — topics directly overlapping with ifh Göttingen's research domains, though at much larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• Fraunhofer ISI – Institut für System- und Innovationsforschung: Fraunhofer institute focused on innovation research, including SME and non-R&D-intensive firm innovation — a direct topical overlap with ifh Göttingen's DUI.REG and innovation-measurement research agenda. Brings larger scale and broader industry coverage.

Others

• Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB): Research arm of the German Federal Employment Agency, conducting labor-market research including on skilled-labor shortages, vocational training, and wages in trades — overlapping with ifh Göttingen's 'Lohnstrukturen im Handwerk' and apprenticeship-market studies.
• KfW Research: In-house research unit of Germany's state development bank, collaborating with ifh Göttingen on SME innovation research and presenting at ifh events. An ecosystem partner producing overlapping Mittelstand and innovation analyses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifhgoettingen

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Volkswirtschaftliches Institut für Mittelstand und Handwerk an der Universität Göttingen e.V.