Research funding
Sources and structures of funding
How do academics, and finance their research at higher education institutions and non-university research institutions? In Germany, they can receive research funding from a variety of institutions, including state agencies, private foundations and industrial partners. Funding is organised on a federal basis. The federal government and federal states thus organise it independently – although they sometimes cooperate when doing so.
Who pays for the research?
Research funding is diversified – financial resources for research come for example from
Research allowances and other sources
There are many sources in Germany that assist research institutions with implementing their research projects.
These include:
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation): the DFG provides competitive funding that supports research in all scientific disciplines.
- the BMBF finances research in sectors including digitisation. healthcare and sustainability.
- Research allowances: companies can take advantage of tax relief relating to research and development projects.
The distribution of financial resources to higher education institutions, research institutes (glossary internal link) and similar is arranged by the
- DFG: it decides regarding the award of research funding based on scientific criteria and evaluations.
- Federal ministries: various ministries, in particular the BMBF, provide funds for specific Research Fellowship Programmes.
- European Union: the EU distributes funds for research projects (glossary internal link) in the context of its research and innovation programmes.
- Foundations and funding organisations: can award funds for specific research projects, sometimes in the form of scholarships.