Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

strategic objectives
, namely:
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• serving as outsourced development departments 
to support SMEs in their innovation and digitalisa-
tion efforts by removing barriers and obstacles 
preventing SMEs from accessing RDI as well as 
promoting an innovative mindset amongst them;
• strengthening the competitiveness of Austrian in-
dustry, especially SMEs, by acting as a bridge and 
carrying out joint RDI projects;
• improving Austria’s innovative position (output) by 
expanding technology and knowledge transfer 
with SMEs and actively helping start-ups to imple-
ment new ideas.

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Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020
1.5.2 The Geological Survey of Austria and 
the Central Institute for Meteorology and 
Geodynamics
The Geological Survey of Austria (GBA) and the Cen-
tral Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics 
(ZAMG) serve as the government’s meteorological 
and seismological services respectively. They use re-
search-based methods to systematically collect and 
interpret basic geological, geophysical, meteorologi-
cal and climatological data, which they make avail-
able to other users, as well as providing innovative 
products and services with practical relevance. Both 
agencies are currently subordinate offices of the 
Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research 
(BMBWF) and are governed by the Research Organi-
sation Act.
104
The federal government is planning to 
merge the two services into a single agency under 
public law as part of its programme for 2020–2024. 
The aim is for this new institution to serve as the 
national centre of expertise for government provision 
in the areas of natural hazard and climate change 
management, the supply of raw materials, the pro-
tection of groundwater and the potential for har-
nessing alternative energy sources and to support 
politicians, administrators, industry leaders and soci-
ety at large in their efforts to protect people against 
risks and secure their livelihoods. The reform process 
was initiated during the previous government
105
and 
is still under way at the time of going to press. The 
two institutions are presented below together with 
the background to and objectives of the reform.