Christian Doppler Research Association

Funds Austrian applied collaboration by linking companies, universities, and researchers through long-term innovation projects.

Christian Doppler Research Association (CDG) is Austria's CDG, a legally distinct association that the state recognises as a central research funding institution. It supports application-oriented basic research inside host institutions rather than running its own labs, and its public-side budget was €25.839 million in 2024.

Its funded fields span biotech, medtech, climate, energy, materials, hardware, manufacturing, and edge systems. Christian Doppler Laboratories can run for seven years with annual budgets up to €800,000, while Josef Ressel Centres run for five years with annual budgets up to €460,000. A third route, Transfer Science to Spin-off, was launched in 2024 to push basic-research results toward start-up formation. The model requires cash co-funding from companies, with universities or universities of applied sciences hosting the work.

The strongest fit is for researchers and firms that can commit to a shared programme and stay through a long review cycle. Applications are handled in English, reviewed in stages, and usually take about six months from submission to approval; one partner must be in Austria, but foreign companies and foreign universities can also join. Interim evaluations arrive in year two and year five, and the scheme keeps roughly 30% of resources under scientific control, which leaves room for work that is still curiosity-driven even when it has a clear industrial use.