Fraunhofer Society

The Fraunhofer Society (German: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) is a German research organization with 56 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, which works primarily on basic science). It employs over 12,500, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.2 billion. Some basic funding for the Fraunhofer Society is provided by the state (the German public, through federal government together with the German Länder, "owns" the Fraunhofer Society), but about two-thirds of the funding are earned through contract work, either for government sponsored projects or from industry.
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