In addition to its operational independence in terms of implementation, BICRO has considerable discretion for parts of programming, specifically the design of instruments. Over time it has experimented with and accumulated significant experience with various support instruments (Table 4 .4). As a result, its efforts have focused on the interface of public research and the business sector with a view to greater collaboration between these sectors and the commercialisation of public research. This focus is evident in the overall balance between types of instmments employed and their relative funding shares, i.e. the dominance of incubators and technology transfer, mainly from public research and higher education to the private sector, with a focus on promising technological areas such as the life sciences, nanotechnology and information and communication technology (ICT).