The Prototype Fund (or “Software Sprint” as it is officially called) is a funding programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that is managed and evaluated by the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.

Individuals and small teams (of freelance coders, hackers, UX designers and more) can receive funding in order to test their ideas and develop open source applications in the areas of Civic Tech, Data Literacy, IT Security and Software Infrastructure.

Technopolis evaluated the funding instrument in 2023: The Prototype Fund has effectively promoted the development of FOSS projects for the common good, stimulated the creative potential within the FOSS community and successfully mobilised target groups that were not eligible for funding. The programme has also contributed to the personal and professional development and networking of the grant recipients. However, potential for expansion was also identified, particularly in ensuring the continued use of the FOSS solutions developed and strengthening networking activities between the grant recipients and their project-specific target groups, end users and multipliers.

We are pleased to note that our recommendations have been taken into account in the new edition of the Prototype Fund. Higher funding amounts and the funding of international teams, as well as the submission of English-language application documents have been made possible. Funding is now focused on areas (data security and software components) in which the sustainability of the projects was rated as particularly high by the evaluation. And last but not least, the possibility of a second funding phase (Second Stage) has been introduced, which takes up our recommendation and focuses on the practical testing of prototypes and networking with the community. The new Prototype Fund scheme will continue until at least 2029.