Prognos has launched an investigation as part of a social partnership project for the ECEG and industriAll European Trade Union. The study is the first of its kind to examine the effects of innovation and digital transformation on the workplace in the chemical industry on a Europe-wide scale. One of the core findings of the newly published study is that the first wave of digital transformation (i.e. digitising analogue data and integrating cloud solutions) in the European chemical industry has been successfully accomplished. The implementation rate, however, depends on the size of the company. Especially micro and small enterprises (<50 employees) lag behind. The second wave of digital transformation is driven by the Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation and Augmented Reality (AR). They will take effect in the near future, i.e. within the next 5 years. Progress in the field of AI could lead to drastic implementation gaps between very large companies and SMEs. The technological changes also affect the working environment. Increasing opportunities for mobile working with more autonomy for employees on the one hand, and increased levels of multitasking on the other, are some of the predominant changes here. Special attention must be paid to psychological stress, which is expected to increase significantly as a result of the digital transformation, especially in larger companies. Overall, the study highlights that the digital transformation is not only a technological but also a cultural and social transformation and that it is not happening in a vacuum but in the context of global competition. Read the study (PDF, ourfutureworkplace.eu) Authors: Dr. Jan-Philipp Kramer (Lead), Janosch Nellen, Moritz Schrapers, Adriana Cruz Our work on this topic Take a look at our latest projects and activities. German industry’s resilience and sovereignty 2025 | Project German industry is heavily dependent on raw materials and intermediate products from abroad, especially from China. Prognos analysed supply chains and developed recommendations for action. Read more Evaluation of the ‘Innovative University’ funding initiative ongoing | Project How can innovations be implemented in practice? This is where the BMBF's ‘Innovative University’ funding initiative comes in. Prognos and Fraunhofer ISI are evaluating the programme. Read more Trend Report 2025: Smart City after the experimental phase – Are we ready for the next step? 2025 | Project Smart City and Smart Region – are they about innovative solutions or are they just expensive gimmicks? The Trendreport 2025 looks at the status quo and future prospects for Smart City in Germany. Read more Technologies to combat the shortage of skilled workers 2025 | Expertise Specialists waste a lot of time on tiresome routine tasks. 3D planning tools or digital twins can help. Our analysis for the Fraunhofer IGD shows which professional groups benefit directly from their digital technologies. Read more From research to practice: technologies that make a difference ongoing | Project The Fraunhofer IGD develops software solutions in the field of visual computing. Sounds complicated? We show where these technologies solve specific problems. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Palma 14. - 15. May 2025 | Event The event examines how clusters are accelerating the transition to sustainable economic models. It shows how Palma and the Balearic Islands can act as key players for innovation in the circular economy. Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer will present an input paper. Read more Interregional Innovation Investment: The I3 Support Facility ongoing | Project The I3 Support Facility boosts interregional projects in smart specialisation, with Prognos leading the Capacity Building Hub. Read more Forum on the Future of Cohesion Policy 20. March 2025 | Event At the invitation of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Dr. Jan-Philipp Kramer will participate in an expert forum with representatives from EU institutions, regions, and academia to discuss the future of cohesion policy. Read more Expert roundtable on the European Investment Bank (EIB) support to Cohesion Policy 24. March 2025 | Event Dr. Jan-Philipp Kramer will participate in the Expert Roundtable with selected representatives from EU institutions and networks to discuss priorities for cohesion policy post-2027 and the optimization of EIB support. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Eindhoven 26. March 2025 | Event Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer will present an input paper on the Brabant cluster landscape at the Clusters meet Regions event. The South Netherlands region is one of the leading innovation centres in Europe. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Heilbronn 9. April 2025 | Event The region around Heilbronn is a leading location in the fields of automotive, mechanical engineering, artificial intelligence and hydrogen innovation. Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer will present an input paper on the Heilbronn cluster landscape at the event. Read more A more centralised and sectoral post-27 cohesion policy? 17. March 2025 | Event Will a more centralised and sectoral approach reshape the EU's regional development? Prognos and EURADA invite you to discuss this with experts on regional development and cohesion policy. Read more Support for the progress reports of the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) ongoing | Project Prognos will support the Federal Ministry of Economics in preparing the NECP progress reports until 2027. Read more Cohesion Policy beyond 2027 13. February 2025 | Event Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer will discuss the results of our study on the future governance of European cohesion policy with representatives from politics, science and practice. Prognos is a co-organiser. Read more Future governance of EU Cohesion Policy after 2027 2024 | Project With the involvement of relevant stakeholders, Prognos and partners developed conclusions for the further development of European structural funding after 2027. Read more AI race: Who can put Germany on the fast track? 2024 | Expertise In the field of AI, we are lagging behind internationally. But there are also opportunities. Together with the Handelsblatt, we show which players in the German AI landscape give cause for hope. Read more Evaluation of the Eurostars-2 funding programme 2024 | Project Eurostars supports cross-border research cooperation between SMEs in Europe. On behalf of the BMBF, Prognos analysed the effectiveness of the Eurostars 2 programme at national level. Read more Digitisation strategy for Brandenburg 2021 | Project The digital transformation has long been underway in Brandenburg's economy as well. Prognos is developing a strategic framework for action to successfully exploit the potential of digitisation. Read more Green Tech Atlas 2025 ongoing | Project On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Prognos compiled the Green Tech Atlas 2025. The atlas provides a comprehensive overview of the cross-sectional environmental tech-nology and resource efficiency industries. Read more The economic and social situation of the creative industries 2024 | Project On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Prognos and partner analysed the economic and social situation of self-employed solo artists in creative professions. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Charleroi 27. - 28. November 2024 | Event As part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer presents an input paper on the on the Walloon Region and its clusters. Read more Contribution of the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation to a Resilient Europe 2024 | Project With the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, the EU Commission is promoting research and innovation in Europe. Prognos evaluated parts of the funding programmes in terms of their contribution to a resilient Europe. Read more Contribution of the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation to an innovative Europe 2024 | Project With the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, the EU Commission is promoting research and innovation in Europe. Prognos evaluated parts of the funding programmes in terms of their contribution to an innovative Europe. Read more Evaluation of the ERDF programmes of several federal states ongoing | Project How effectively do the federal states utilise ERDF funding? Prognos supports various federal states with the evaluation of their ERDF programmes. Read more European Evaluation Biennial Conference 27. September 2024 | Event Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer and Justyna Kramarczyk talk with other participants about the results of their work on EU-wide ex-post evaluations of cohesion policy support for research and development. Read more Presentation of the study on the economic and social situation in the cultural and creative industries 15. October 2024 | Event The results of our study on the economic and social situation of solo self-employed and hybrid workers in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) will be presented at the event. Read more Monitoring and evaluation of the North Rhine-Westphalian innovation strategy (RIS3) ongoing | Project As part of ERDF funding 2021-2027, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has developed a regional innovation strategy (RIS3). Prognos is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the strategy. Read more Everything CO2unts 17. September 2024 | Event The BMUV is hosting the annual conference of the Sustainable Digitalisation Community. Prognos is on site as part of the accompanying research for the GreenTech innovation competition. Read more Evaluation of the "Smart Cities Model Projects" funding programme ongoing | Project Prognos evaluates the "Model Projects Smart Cities" (MPSC) funding programme as part of the Coordination and Transfer Office under the direction of the DLR Project Management Agency. Read more Germany Potential Index: Digitalisation to counter the skilled-worker shortage 2024 | Project The skilled-worker shortage is only due to get worse in the future. Our Potential Index shows: Increased digitalisation can help to cushion the negative consequences of the skilled-worker shortage in Germany. Read more European Cluster Panorama Report 2024 2024 | Project update Cluster organisations have a significant positive influence on the green and digital transformation. This is a key finding of the Cluster Panorama Report 2024, which Prognos compiled for the European Commission. Read more Foresight on Demand: Future-oriented expertise for the EU ongoing | Project As part of the Foresight on Demand consultancy contract, the European Commission is provided with future-orientated knowledge. Prognos supports the expert consortium. Read more Evaluation of the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) 2024 | Project The Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) strengthens the innovative power of small and medium-sized enterprises. This is shown by our evaluation for the BMWK. Read more Guideline: Data management for successful sustainability reporting 2024 | Project We have produced guidelines for successful sustainability reporting in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for an industry association. The third guide deals with data management in accordance with the CSRD. Read more AI players in the federal state 2024 | Project Which companies are already using or developing artificial intelligence? Which companies would benefit from the use of AI? Prognos created an interactive dashboard for one federal state. Read more Study on Poverty and income inequality in the context of the digital transformation 2024 | Project The study for the European Commission examines the impact of digitalisation on the employment situation in the individual member states as well as on the EU economy as a whole. Read more Federal Report on Research and Innovation 2024 2024 | Project In the 2024 Federal Research and Innovation Report (BuFi), the Federal Government presents their current research and innovation policy goals and measures. Once again, Prognos assisted the BMBF in the preparation of the report. Read more Corporate foresight: Orientation for companies 2024 | Project How will societal, political, ecological and technological factors impact corporate strategies? Prognos analysed this question in a scenario-based environmental analysis for Sparkasse Bremen. Read more European cluster ecosystems united 2024 | Project update The European Cluster Conference is a key element of cluster collaboration. It focuses on political priorities, the exchange of best practices and practical contacts across a comprehensive EU-wide network. Read more Germany: Industry sectors put to the test 2024 | Expertise Mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, pharmaceuticals: In which sectors is Germany still a leader? On behalf of the Handelsblatt, we examined how successfully Germany is holding its own against its international competitors. Read more Federal Research and Innovation Report ongoing | Project The Federal Government regularly presents their current research and innovation policy goals and measures in the Federal Research and Innovation Report. Prognos assists the BMBF in the preparation of the report. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Graz 18. - 19. June 2024 | Event As part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer presents a paper on the cluster landscape in Styria, with a focus on the green and digital transformation in the region. Read more Development of a group-wide raw materials strategy 2024 | Project Our retail industry client commissioned us to develop a group-wide raw materials concept. We assisted the company from conception stage right through to the launch of the interactive web tool. Read more Training On The Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) & Governance Of Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) 15. - 19. April 2024 | Event Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer will be a speaker on the opening panel on "The role of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) in smart specialisation" and will give input on the positioning of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process in politics and on EDP-related communication in two further presentations. Read more European Cluster Conference 2024 7. - 8. May 2024 | Event The European Cluster Conference 2024 brings the key players in the European cluster economy together in one place. The Prognos team around Head of EU-Services Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer is providing input both as part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform and for the NRW.innovativ competence centre. Read more KreativLand Baden-Württemberg 2024 | Project Creatives in the countryside? As scientific partner in the model project KreativLand Baden-Württemberg, Prognos examined the status quo, the opportunities and the challenges facing creatives living and working outside of the urban centres and regions. Read more Clusters meet Regions: Milan 26. - 27. March 2024 | Event As part of our work for the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), Dr Jan-Philipp Kramer presents an input paper on the cluster landscape of Lombardy, outlining important considerations for the future development of the region. Read more Trend Report 2024: Germany on its path to digital administration - an update 2024 | Project Where does Germany stand on its path to digital administration? The Trendreport 2024 gives an update and recommendations for the digitalisation of the public administration system. Read more Electromobility standards 2024 | Project The electromobility of the future will interact with other intelligent systems. But for this to be possible digital technologies will have to be standardised. The study shows in which areas standardisation is particularly relevant and how standards are established. Read more Innovation Index Germany 2023 2024 | Project Once again, Prognos has compiled the Innovation Index Germany on behalf of the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications. The index quantifies the impact the expansion of Germany’s digital infrastructure has had on its innovation strength. Read more Adobe Stock - CleverStock About us Prognos – Providing Orientation. Prognos is one of the oldest economic research centres in Europe. Founded at the University of Basel, Prognos experts have been conducting research for a wide range of clients from the public and private sectors since 1959 – politically independent, scientifically sound. Learn more