Germany's federal structure makes it possible for the regional strengths, resources and infrastructures of the country's 16 Länder (states) to be developed and utilised in accordance with the applicable circumstances and conditions in each case. While all Länder have initiatives in place in areas such as information and communications technologies, medical technology and environmental technologies, the emphases of such initiatives differ from Land to Land.

Numerous Land-specific innovation programmes are especially important in cases of structural change in which traditional industrial centres develop into mondern high-tech and service centres.

Research sectors of the Länder include funding activities promoting key technologies and clusters. The target group of the technology funding programmes of the Länder is in particular innovative SMEs. Here, the transition from research funding to economic funding is often continuous.

An overview of research and innovation measures of the Länder is offered in German:
Forschungs- und Innovationsförderung der Bundesländer