We are pleased to share that RPACT has received a positive certification from the German Certification Office for the Research Allowance (Bescheinigungsstelle Forschungszulage, BSFZ) for research and development activities related to rpact.
This certification is particularly meaningful to us because it follows an independent assessment of the underlying research and development activities.
Independent recognition of our R&D activities
The BSFZ assesses whether activities submitted under the German Research Allowance Act (Forschungszulagengesetz, FZulG) qualify as research and development.
Its assessment considers, among other things, whether the work demonstrates novelty, involves scientific or technical uncertainty, and follows a systematic and planned approach.
For RPACT, the BSFZ has confirmed that an R&D activity associated with the continued development of rpact meets the relevant requirements under the FZulG.
We deliberately do not discuss details of the certified development work here. What matters to us is the broader recognition: advancing statistical software for clinical research is not simply a matter of implementing established methods. Some aspects require genuine research, methodological exploration, and the development of new approaches.
What the BSFZ seal represents
The BSFZ describes its seal as evidence of a company’s innovation competence. It is awarded to companies for which the BSFZ has confirmed qualifying research and development activities.
For us, the seal is therefore an external acknowledgement of something that has been central to RPACT from the beginning: combining statistical methodology, software engineering, validation, and open-source development to advance tools for clinical research.
You can find the BSFZ’s own explanation of the seal and the German research allowance here:
Continuing to invest in rpact
rpact is an open-source R package for the design, simulation, and analysis of clinical trials. Its development requires us to continuously address new statistical, computational, and validation challenges.
The positive BSFZ certification reinforces our commitment to this work. We will continue investing in the research and development behind rpact, with the goal of providing the clinical research community with reliable, transparent, and innovative statistical software.
The BSFZ operates under the technical and legal supervision of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt, BMFTR).
We are delighted that our R&D activities have received this independent recognition and look forward to bringing the resulting advances into future versions of rpact.