DFG and WR call for proposals
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Wissenschaftsrat (WR, German Council of Science and Humanities) have called for proposals in the Clusters of Excellence and Universities of Excellence funding lines.
The programme, which was agreed upon by the heads of Germany’s federal and state governments in June 2016, is designed to continue the development of Germany’s universities with the initiative by supporting research.
The programme calls are the result of an inaugural meeting of the Committee of Experts for the excellence strategy, which convened in Bonn, Germany.
The committee consists of 39 researchers who were appointed by the Joint Science Conference (GWK). The Committee of Experts defined proposal and eligibility requirements, funding criteria and the programme’s schedule.
Successful universities in the first funding line that meet a minimum number of Clusters of Excellence are eligible to submit proposals in the Universities of Excellence funding line.
DFG President Professor Dr Peter Strohschneider said: “The two programme calls effectively implement the administrative agreement by the federal and state governments on the excellence strategy. The Committee of Experts discussed the programme in-depth, identifying and defining key points on eligibility and proposal requirements and unanimously agreeing upon review and decision making procedures.”
The first funding line encompasses a two-stage competitive process in which universities can submit draft proposals for Clusters of Excellence until 3 April 2017.
