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R&D in the business enterprise sector, firms sub-sector

The R&D survey in the business enterprise sector, firms sub-sector, is carried out every two years and aims to collect accurate statistical data on the R&D activities of enterprises.

The definitions and standards on which this survey is based are the "Guidelines for collecting and reporting data on research and experimental development"  of the OECD, the so-called "Frascati Manual" (2015).

Definition of R&D: Research and experimental development (R&D) comprise creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge - including knowledge on humankind, culture and society - and to devise new applications on available knowledge.

The legal base of the survey is the Austrian R&D statistics regulation which in turn is based on respective EU legal acts for business statistics. These legal acts oblige Austria to report statistical data on R&D to the EU.

Data reported in the course of the survey are kept strictly confidential according to the confidentiality requirements laid down in the Austrian Federal Statistics Act and are used only for purposes foreseen in the Federal statistical Act 2000.

Due to the Federal Statistics Act 2000, BGBl. I Nr. 163/1999 and the national R&D statistics regulation quoted before (see legal basis, data protection), for enterprises participation in the survey is compulsory. The enterprises obliged to send in data are contacted by Statistics Austria by mail.

The reference period for the next survey will be calendar year 2023.

The survey will be started in October 2024.

Explanatory notes to single questions are available in the web questionnaire and are marked by the green symbol "i".

Alternatively, explanatory notes are available as pdf and can be downloaded (in German only). In parallel to the questionnaires also the "Explanatory notes on the questionnaire" are differentiated by type A and B (in German only).

For detailed information on how to enter and use the web questionnaire see the information sheet on web reporting (in German only).

Please contact Statistics Austria if there are remaining questions for clarification (see Contact).

The R&D survey is conducted via a web questionnaire.

Web questionnaire

Use the link to access the web questionnaire and enter the username ("Benutzername") and password ("Passwort") that you will find on the letter sent to you by mail.

When you log in for the first time, it is mandatory to change the password and enter a 12-character password of your choice (including upper and lower case letters). This password is only known to you and cannot be deciphered by Statistics Austria. After confirming the new password, please select "eQuest-Web" on the following page and then open the questionnaire by clicking on "Erhebung über Forschung und experimentelle Entwicklung 2021" (Survey on research and experimental development 2021).

Under "E-mail verification" you also have the option of entering an e-mail address so that you can quickly reset your password yourself if necessary. Enter an e-mail address of your choice and follow the instructions in the e-mail sent to you to complete the process.

Paper questionnaire

Alternatively, you can also send in a paper questionnaire.

The survey is conducted using two different types of questionnaires (type A and type B), which are available for you to download.

In the address field of the cover letter you received from Statistics Austria, you will find an identification number that starts with either "A", "B" or "T". If the number begins with "A" or "T", survey form A is relevant for you. For numbers beginning with "B", survey form B is relevant.

Please be sure to enter your enterprise's name and identification number in the address field of the questionnaire.

Send the completed questionnaire either by mail to

STATISTICS AUSTRIA 
Directorate Social Statistics, Research and Digitalisation unit 
Guglgasse 13, 1110 Vienna

or by e-mail to fue@statistik.gv.at or to the fax number +43 1 711 28-7445.

Business Service Portal (USP -"Unternehmensserviceportal")

It is also possible for your enterprise to submit the questionnaire via the Business Service Portal (USP) after registering accordingly. In this case, you do not need any survey-specific access data for the web questionnaire; access is via the authorisation rules applicable to the USP and is available under "Mein USP - Services - Alle Services - eQuest-Web".

R&D team Phone: +43 1 711 28-8964
Fax: +43 1 711 28-7445 fue@statistik.gv.at
Last updated on 2024-08-16.