At the end of November 2023, Professor Michael Bruno Klein, Managing Director of the AiF, Jan-Frederik Kremer, Managing Director of AiF Forschung Technik und Kommunikation (FTK) GmbH, Christoph Winterhalter, Chairman of the DIN Executive Board, Sibylle Gabler, Member of the DIN Executive Board, Michael Teigeler, Managing Director of the DKE, and Florian Spiteller, Member of the DKE Executive Board, signed a declaration of intent, thereby announcing their closer cooperation for the benefit of the research community. The common goal is to sustainably increase the innovative strength of Germany as an industrial location.
The three organizations plan to cooperate in particular in the future areas of circular economy, hydrogen technologies, artificial intelligence/IoT, resource efficiency, transformation of the energy system, foresight (strategic foresight) and other innovation topics. The intention is to make the research results usable for industry and society via standardization alongside the processes established in the research associations.

Specifically, according to the joint declaration, the added value of standardization as a transfer instrument for research results is to be made more visible and a training programme for transfer managers and multipliers from the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is to be developed. Low-threshold information and networking formats are already being implemented via the AiF InnovatorsNet, such as the 'DIN Spotlight' series. AiF InnovatorsNet is a community of innovators for innovators that connects companies, start-ups, research facilities, institutions and individuals in both digital and analog form. It helps its members to tap into networks, further develop their business model and drive growth and innovation. Together with DIN and DKE, the topics of 'standardization' are firmly anchored in a co-community in AiF-InnovatorsNet. All three partners are also in favour of strengthening the Industrial Collective Research (IGF) funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and integrating standardization into IGF projects and the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs. In addition, they are striving to increase the influence of SME interests as part of the national 'Hydrogen Standardization Roadmap'.

"Standards support global trade and serve the safety, interoperability and functionality of products and systems," emphasizes Michael Teigeler. In the DKE, which is supported by the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE), around 10,000 technical experts develop norms and standards that ensure the safety of electrotechnical, electronic and information technology products and systems, among other things. As a national standards organization and nationwide competence center for electrotechnical standardization, the DKE represents the interests of German industry in European and global standards organizations.

Founded in 1917, the independent DIN today makes an important contribution to shaping the digital and green transformation. Around 36,500 experts from industry and research, consumers and the public sector contribute their specialist knowledge to the standardization process, which DIN manages as a privately organized project manager.

AiF is an industry-supported network for the promotion of research, transfer and innovation in the SME sector. Its aim is to initiate research for SMEs and to qualify young scientists and specialists in innovative fields. As an umbrella organization of around 100 non-profit research associations with 50,000 participating companies and 1,200 participating research institutions, AiF has a unique infrastructure for linking business and science across sectors.