The institutes are not legally independent units. The Fraunhofer model grants a very high degree of independence to the institutes in terms of project results, scientific impact and above all for their own funding. On the one hand, this results in a high degree of independence in terms of technical focus, distribution of resources, project acquisition, and in project management. On the other hand, this also generates a certain economic pressure and a compulsion to customer and market orientation. In this sense, the institutes and their employees act in an entrepreneurial manner and ideally combine research, innovation, and entrepreneurship.