The recording of technological capabilities through a comprehensive system of indicators is a central part of the annual report on the conditions of research, technology and innovation of the German Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation (Expert Commission Research and Innovation (EFI)). The ZEW is involved in the development, measurement, and analysis of such indicators in the field of firm dynamics.

This project aims at capturing the start-up activities in the German knowledge economy (research and knowledge-intensive industries) and the development of the stock of enterprises, including the closure of enterprises, by means of indicators and to compare them over time and wit other European countries. The indicators include birth and closure rates, firm churning, and the change in the stock of companies.

The information on company dynamics for Germany is extracted from the Mannheim Enterprise panel (MUP). Data on other European countries are taken from the business demographic statistics of Eurostat. The development of venture capital investments in Germany is tracked on the basis of the Zephyr M&A-database and the Majunke transaction database. The international comparison of venture capital investments is carried out with information from databases of Invest Europe (formerly European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA)) and information from national private equity associations.