Mission

Through our work, we shape Thuringia’s innovation ecosystem and serve as a driving force for a strong and vibrant Free State.

Vision

Thuringia: Where Innovation Takes Shape

Thuringia is a region defined by vision, innovation, and economic strength. A strong network of competitive companies, high-tech startups, forward-looking investors, and outstanding research institutions alongside universities educating highly qualified talent shapes the profile of the Free State.
This is a place that not only thinks about the future, but actively creates it. Here, cutting-edge technology and a hands-on mentality have long gone hand in hand.

With courage, a willingness to take risks, and a spirit of experimentation, Thuringia is set to become an even more successful innovation hub in the heart of Germany, leading the way with a resilient, internationally connected, competitive, and dynamic innovation community.

Mission

Innovation need momentum

Through an agile network spanning science, industry, government, education, and civil society, innovation is enabled across and for all of Thuringia.

We view innovation as a driving force behind technological, economic, and societal transformation.

Our way of working

Innovation is a colelctive effort

We connect Thuringia’s innovation ecosystem and realize our full impact through the diversity, expertise, and commitment of our partners across innovation centers, hubs, and rural innovation regions. We empower people who take initiative, embrace new ideas, and turn them into innovation.

We are a vibrant space for cooperation, collaboration, and co-creation, living this spirit not only at the foundation’s home in Erfurt, but far beyond.

This is what we stand for

The foundation is committed to democracy, sustainability, diversity, tolerance, openness to the world, and exchange. These values guide our actions and shape everything we do.

This commitment includes, in particular, our recognition of the Principles of Good Foundation Practice established by the members of the Association of German Foundations. We are part of “weltoffenes Thüringen” and actively support the initiative of the same name advocating for a cosmopolitan state. Since 2019, we have also been a signatory of the Diversity Charter, joining a nationwide network dedicated to valuing and advancing diversity.

Since June 2020, the foundation has been part of the Thuringia Sustainability Agreement (NAT). Together with the region’s largest network for sustainable business, we are committed to actively shaping Thuringia as a business location with a strong focus on sustainable development.

Our values

Innovation requires strong framework conditions. At its core, this means democracy and the academic freedom that underpins it. After all, innovative ideas and solutions can only emerge through collaboration, drawing on a diversity of perspectives and expertise.

Groundbreaking solutions require people with diverse talents, career paths, and life experiences. Diversity is a powerful driver of innovation and a critical competitive advantage.

The development of new ideas depends on an open innovation climate, a tolerant and creative environment, and the courage to pursue new paths.

Through diverse talent from Thuringia and around the world, ideas are transformed into real solutions that create value.

Through the exchange of diverse perspectives, grounded in trust and transparency, synergies are unlocked and innovation is advanced with purpose. This fosters resilient partnerships that extend beyond Thuringia.

Our resources are invested deliberately, sustainably, and with a long-term perspective. This forms a structural foundation for lasting value creation and sustainable transformation across the entire ecosystem.