Business Institute for Organization and Automation

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BIFOA Friends' Association
legal form non-profit registered association
founding November 21, 1963
founder Erwin Grochla
Seat Cologne
precursor BIFOA - Association for the Promotion of Business Administration at the University of Cologne
purpose Start-up funding
people Richard C. Geibel, Lorenz Graef, Carl-Erik Koehler, Wolfram Pietsch
Website www.bifoa.de

The Business Institute for Organization and Automation ( BIFOA ) was the first German university research institute for IT- supported business organization . It existed until 1995. Its support association lives on to this day with changed objectives.

history

The history of the institute began on November 21, 1963 when Erwin Grochla founded the Association for the Promotion of the “Business Institute for Organization and Automation (BIFOA)” at the University of Cologne in cooperation with German business. The association is based in Cologne.

The Institute

The "Business Institute for Organization and Automation" itself began its work as an " affiliated institute " at the University of Cologne under the direction of Grochla on April 1, 1964, making it the first of its kind in Germany and the forerunner of what is now under an institute for economic computer science can be understood. It aimed to promote research and development in the field of computer applications in business and administration. In 1970, Norbert Szyperski from the Institute for Planning joined the group as the second director . The institute worked very successfully in the field of research and development until the 1980s. The research activities included study groups, specialist conferences, symposia and workshops, with particular emphasis on close cooperation with practice. The early death of Erwin Grochla in 1986 dealt a severe blow to the institute, as he was the founder, persistent motor and soul of BIFOA. Grochla's death and a combination of other factors, such as the economic slump after reunification, led to a considerable deterioration in the institute's financial situation in the early 1990s. As a result, the executive committee of the BIFOA Förderverein was forced to close the institute on December 31, 1995.

The development association

Depending on the macroeconomic situation, the association consisted of a different number of companies and authorities. Due to the ongoing research success of the institute, this number grew steadily until the 1980s, so that the friends' association soon had over 130 members. The Friends' Association was headed by the Presidium, whose members at that time came primarily from the boards of large German companies. For example, from 1982 onwards, Paul Robert Wagner, member of the board of directors of the Gerling Group, headed the association as president.

After the situation of the institute became increasingly difficult at the beginning of the 1990s, the friends' association interrupted the institute's research activities after a unanimous decision by the general meeting on December 31, 1995. The development association itself continued its activities under the name Colo.Net and under the leadership of Professors Delfmann, Derigs, Frese, Werner Mellis and Seibt. It was not until December 13, 2004 that the general meeting of the association decided to realign the content and, in connection with this, rename the association to “BIFOA - Association for the Promotion of Business Administration at the University of Cologne e. V. “Under the leadership of the new President of the Friends' Association Richard C. Geibel and the support of the former BIFOA co-director in the Presidium, Norbert Szyperski, the research focus should now be more on corporate development as a permanent process to maintain or increase competitiveness. Another focus should be the strategic alignment of companies under the aspect of globalization. In the years that followed, the number of members, which had previously declined, was increased again significantly to over 70. In November 2010, the friends' association expanded its purpose to include the promotion of business administration at the University of Cologne as well as knowledge-based and technology-oriented spin-offs from universities and research institutions in the Rhineland and subsequently renamed itself “BIFOA Förderverein e. V. “at.

Since 2007, the newly aligned BIFOA support association has been supporting the development of newly founded companies and the establishment of the “Entrepreneurship Center Cologne (ECK)” under the motto “Knowledge creates economy”. The Federal Ministry of Economics funded this commitment as part of the EXist (funding program) III from mid-2007 to mid-2010.

Since November 2010 the non-profit association has been called BIFOA Förderverein e. V. and pursues the promotion of business administration at the University of Cologne as well as knowledge-based and technology-oriented spin-offs from universities and research institutions in the Rhineland as the purpose of the association.

financing

Since the institute, as a non-university affiliated institute, did not receive any financial support from the university, all costs, in particular personnel and space costs, had to be met by the institute or borne by its sponsoring association. It was financed from consulting, development and event proceeds. There were also donations, third-party funds, project funds and membership fees. In all of this, no profits could be made due to the non-profit nature, so that no reserves could be formed. Among other things, this was one of the reasons why the institute had to close after the economic slump in the early 1990s.

Erwin Grochla Fund

The experience from the 1990s led the association that still exists to the idea that its activities should be financially secured in the long term regardless of the amount of income from membership fees and other income. Therefore the general assembly decided to set up a support fund on the proposal of the presidium . This was established in 2003 in memory of the special achievements of the BIFOA founder as the “Erwin Grochla Fund”. The purpose of the fund is to promote particular scientific achievements. The fund, initially endowed with € 200,000, was increased by € 50,000 in 2005 and a further € 10,000 in 2006, so that since 2007 it has endowment capital of € 260,000. According to German foundation law, the fund's assets must not be consumed, but the fund's purpose must be promoted solely from the income from the capital.

Support for business incubators

The development association is currently financing the Entrepreneurship Center Cologne (ECK), a start-up center in the Cologne-Müngersdorf Technology Park, together with the start-up and innovation center (GIZ) . In the center, start-ups are provided with affordable office space and the necessary infrastructure. More than 20 start-up companies, new ventures, student initiatives and research groups currently benefit from the offerings of the center. The company's offerings range from audio guides for those interested in art and culture to a dating site comparison site to personalized health care based on genetic information.

Since 2012, the BIFOA Förderverein has also been supporting the newly founded incubator STARTPLATZ in Mediapark 5 in Cologne, which is intensively involved in promoting young start-up companies. Started on an area of ​​1000 m², it was expanded again by 700 m² in July 2013 and today offers an attractive meeting place for the Cologne start-up scene. At STARTPLATZ, the BIFOA Förderverein combines science - especially through close cooperation with the neighboring Fresenius University of Applied Sciences - and business .

literature

  • Heinrich, Lutz J .: History of Information Systems: Origin and Development of a Scientific Discipline, Springer 2011, ISBN 978-3-642-16858-1 , 2nd edition 2012, ISBN 978-3-642-28142-6
  • Laudon, Kenneth C. / Laudon, Jane P. / Schoder, Detlef: Wirtschaftsinformatik: An introduction, 2nd edition, Pearson Studium 2009, ISBN 3-8273-7348-4
  • Schmitz, Paul (Ed.): GI-BIFOA, International Symposium: Information Centers in Business and Administration, Cologne, 17./18. September 1973. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 9 Springer 1974, ISBN 3-540-06703-5
  • Lippold, Heiko / Schmitz, Paul (eds.): Security in network-based information systems. Proceedings of the BIFOA Congress SECUNET '90, 1990, ISBN 3-528-05105-1
  • Puhlmann, Manfred: Integrated materials management. Organize and introduce appropriately for medium-sized companies - A BIFOA study, ISBN 3-8163-0237-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Lutz J. Heinrich with the assistance of Rudolf G. Adelt: History of Business Informatics: Origin and Development of a Scientific Discipline, 2nd edition 2012, SpringerGabler, ISBN 978-3-642-28142-6 , p. 160 ff.
  2. ↑ a b Kenneth C. Laudon, Jane P. Laudon, Detlef Schoder: Wirtschaftsinformatik: An Introduction, p. 67 ff.
  3. ↑ BIFOA Newsletter No. 3 ( Memento of the original dated August 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bifoa.de
  4. ↑ BIFOA on the benefits of theory and practice Interview with Richard C. Geibel, Cologne-Bonn Business On, 2007
  5. ↑ www.censet.eu
  6. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bifoa.de
  7. ^ Diener, Katrin: "Engaged for young entrepreneurs", Kölner Stadtanzeiger from March 2, 2012.
  8. ↑ Kölner Wochenspiegel - "Business Angels" help
  9. ↑ The Entrepreneurship Center Cologne - Background
  10. ↑ The Entrepreneurship Center Cologne - Background