The Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation (bidt) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities is funding two new research projects at Bavarian universities from 2026. The projects will focus on cooperation between start-ups and public administration and the use of AI-supported dialogue training to strengthen democratic exchange. In addition, bidt is launching a project on the strategic use of interventions in anti-media crisis discourses. All projects will begin their work in the first quarter of 2026.
The projects combine scientific expertise across disciplines and locations. The funded projects are based at Bavarian universities and have prevailed in a competitive process due to their excellent quality, topicality and relevance.
The selected projects demonstrate how essential interdisciplinary research is for responsible digital development. The new projects explore practical approaches that support politics, administration and society in actively and constructively shaping digital change.
Prof. Dr. Alexander Pretschner To the profile
The funded projects at a glance:
Startups4State – Building bridges between digital start-ups and the state for a modern, digital state administration
The Startups4State project taps into the previously largely untapped potential in cooperation between digital start-ups and public administration by analysing barriers and creating spaces for solutions. The project develops innovative, practical cooperation models that drive forward the digital transformation of public administration and open up a relevant market for digital start-ups.
To the Research Project
Management:
- Prof Dr Anna Maria Oberländer (Junior Professor of Information Systems and Digital Transformation, University of Bayreuth)
- Prof Dr Matthias Baum (Professor and holder of the Chair of Business Administration XVI – Entrepreneurship and Digital Business Models, University of Bayreuth)
- Prof Dr Christoph Krönke (Professor and holder of the Chair of Public Law, Commercial Administrative Law, Sustainability and Technology Law, University of Bayreuth)
DemocraGPT – Development of an AI-supported dialogue training to promote democratic exchange
The DemocraGPT project is developing an evidence-based, LLM-supported dialogue training that aims to strengthen the willingness and ability to engage in challenging political conversations. By combining communication and political science research with AI design as well as the empirical evaluation and public provision of the tool, the project aims to promote the willingness and ability to engage in democratic dialogue.
To the Research Project
Director:
- Prof Dr Carsten Reinemann (Professor of Political Communication, LMU)
- Prof. Dr. Alexander Wuttke (Professor of Digitalisation and Political Behaviour, LMU)
- Prof Dr Jürgen Pfeffer (Professor of Computational Social Science, TUM)
The third project at bidt complements the existing research profile in the field of public and media:
CRASH – between criticism and campaign: on the strategic use of media hostility in digital crisis discourses
The CRASH (Crisis And Strategic Hostility) project investigates how anti-media statements spread in digital public spheres during social crises and which actors are involved. The project also aims to contribute to the improvement of public communication in digital media by testing and developing AI-supported chatbot interventions and developing recommendations for effective intervention options.
To the Research Project
Director:
- Prof Dr Hannah Schmid-Petri (bidt Director and Professor of Science Communication, University of Passau)
- Dr Andreas Wenninger (Research Coordinator Communication, Society and Participation, bidt)
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