branchenneutral

Branchenneutral describes policies, decisions, or criteria that do not favor or disadvantage any particular industry or sector. The goal is to ensure equal treatment and comparability across industries, especially when evaluating impact, allocating subsidies, or designing regulations. The concept is often invoked in policy analysis, public procurement, and funding mechanisms to avoid implicit sector bias.

In practice, branchenneutral criteria rely on universal metrics or cross-sector standards. For example, a grant program intended to boost innovation might apply the same eligibility requirements to all applicants, regardless of whether they operate in manufacturing, services, or agriculture. In procurement, tender criteria may prioritize quality, durability, and life-cycle costs rather than preferential treatment for a specific industry. In data analysis, researchers may develop indices that aggregate indicators from multiple sectors to compare performance on a level playing field.

Benefits include fair competition, improved transparency, and easier cross-sector benchmarking. Challenges arise because different industries have distinct risk profiles, capital requirements, and market dynamics. Achieving true neutrality can require complex weighting, careful metric design, and ongoing monitoring. In some cases, sector-specific policy tools may be more effective to address particular market failures or policy goals, making branchenneutral approaches a choice among policy options.

The term is common in German-speaking policy and economic literature, and has parallels in English as industry-neutral or cross-sector neutral.