Austria’s Industrial Strategy 2035: Monitoring by the Austrian Productivity Board
Workshop hosted by the Office of the Austrian Productivity Board, OeNB, June 9th, 2026
In January 2026, the Austrian federal government presented its first cross-ministerial Industry Strategy 2035. The strategy is intended to provide a long-term economic policy response to a fundamentally changed global economic environment. China’s state-coordinated rise has highlighted the crucial role of industrial policy, technological prioritization, and strategic investment in securing long-term competitiveness. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, while growing geopolitical tensions have brought questions of economic sovereignty and resilience increasingly to the forefront.
Against this backdrop, several European countries, as well as the European Commission, have developed explicit industrial strategies or adapted existing ones. These approaches go beyond traditional horizontal framework policies and instead focus on the targeted development of industrial ecosystems, the integration of innovation and industrial policy, and the mobilization of both supply- and demand-side drivers of structural change. Economic assessments of such strategies have also become more nuanced. Policies aimed at structural transformation, resilience, and the development of dynamic comparative advantages are viewed far more positively today than they were only a few years ago.
Austria’s Industry Strategy 2035 is part of this broader international trend. It defines six strategic objectives—international competitiveness, economic sovereignty, innovation capacity, resilience, sustainable production, and skills development—and comprises 117 measures across the policy areas of innovation, regulatory simplification, education, skills, European affairs, environmental policy, and energy policy. A central component is the initiative to strengthen nine key technology areas, supported by approximately EUR 2.6 billion in funding through 2029 under the Austrian Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Pact.
In a brief analysis, the Office of the Austrian Productivity Board assessed the strategy primarily as a high-level framework document and outlined a structured approach for its implementation and further development. The aim is to shape the strategic guidelines through 2035 in a coherent, transparent, and adaptive way, thereby strengthening the effectiveness and long-term capacity of industrial policy.
A key element of the strategy is the introduction of an implementation monitoring framework to systematically assess the progress and impact of the planned measures. Without continuous, evidence-based feedback, a multi-year transformation strategy cannot be effectively managed and adapted over time. The Austrian Productivity Board has been entrusted with the scientific implementation of this monitoring framework and has developed a concrete methodological approach for this purpose.
The workshop marked the first presentation of the Austrian Productivity Board’s monitoring framework for the “Austrian Industry Strategy 2035” to the ministries involved and key stakeholders. Prior to the launch of the first monitoring cycle, the approach was discussed with academic experts, social partners, and government representatives. Discussions focused on strategic governance, monitoring methodologies, and the effective implementation of industrial policy measures.
All files available for download are in German.
Year of publication: 2026
Download: PPT BMWET: Industriestrategie Österreich 2035: Prioritätensetzung, Beteiligungsprozess und Maßnahmenentwicklung (PDF, 0.6 MB)
Download: PPT BMIMI: Industriestrategie Österreich 2035: Prioritätensetzung, Beteiligungsprozess und Maßnahmenentwicklung (PDF, 0.4 MB)
Download: PPT Industriestrategie zwischen strategischer Begründung und Umsetzungssteuerung (PDF, 0.3 MB)
Download: PPT Das Umsetzungsmonitoring des Produktivitätsrates (PDF, 0.9 MB)
Download: Konzeption eines einfachen Monitoringsystems zur Umsetzung wirtschaftspolitischer Maßnahmen der Industriestrategie (PDF, 1 MB)
Download: PPT Das Monitoring der Entwicklung des Standortes auf Grundlage des Wettbewerbsfähigkeitsradars der Industriestrategie (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Download: Abgrenzung des servoindustriellen Sektors zum Zweck des Monitorings der Industriestrategie (PDF, 0.2 MB)