Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

Outlook for the coming years
Forward-looking and competitive science and research remains the top priority of the Austrian Academy 
of Sciences (OeAW) for the coming years. The continued development of the academy is in accordance 
with the established agenda of the federal government. In 2020, a new three-year performance agreement 
will be negotiated for the years 2021 to 2023. A corresponding development plan was already adopted by 
the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) at the end of 2019 and submitted to the Federal Ministry of 
Education, Science and Research (BMBWF). 
In the future, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) will focus in particular on topics of critical 
importance for science and society in Austria and Europe, not only with the goal of popularising these 
topics but also to take a holistic approach to research in the interests of conducting responsible science. 
The research institutes of the OeAW will also foster an emphasis on insight and an application-agnostic 
approach to their work. The Austrian Academy of Sciences will continue to pursue its strategy for excel-
lence, which demands the courage to take risks and an openness (within budgetary constraints) to new, 
internationally competitive research activities, such as in the field of Computational Sciences. The Austri-
an Center for Digital Humanities (ACDH) will be expanded in 2020 by a focus on cultural heritage, which 
will considerably strengthen the synergies between long-term research and the digital humanities.

---

114
Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020
As of 2020, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) will be implementing a comprehensive career 
model based on international standards that has been updated in the course of collective agreement ne-
gotiations. This offers top researchers attractive incentives with a tenure option and promises early stage 
researchers a transparent development path that can serve as an internationally competitive springboard 
for their further careers. The OeAW’s efforts at promoting early stage researchers will be continued, di-
rected toward researchers at all research institutions in Austria since OeAW grants are awarded indepen-
dent of location and institution, taking solely criteria of scientific quality and originality into account.
The consolidation of the Vienna locations of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) will be contin-
ued, and a new location concept should be in operation by 2025. The OeAW campus remains the core of 
this strategy, not only offering research jobs in the heart of Vienna but also an attractive venue for encoun-
ters with the public. 
To improve cost efficiency and minimise risks, the administrative streamlining will be continued within 
the entire Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) group, such as via digital workflows.