The Contribution of Basic Research Projects Funded by the Austrian Science Fund to Economic and Societal Impacts

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is the main funder of basic research projects in Austria, selecting projects purely based on their scientific quality, rather than any impacts outside academia. Nevertheless, usually such impacts arise from basic research over time, even if unintended. This study combines various methodological approaches to illustrate the wide range of economic and societal impacts FWF-funded research projects contributed to. A survey among principal investigators combined with FWF's own database, bibliometric analysis of publications and patents, case studies as well as economic modelling and estimations lead to a detailed picture of the type and quantity of impacts outside academia.