Mission

Research Funding The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) funds research projects in all fields of science and the humanities. This includes support for individual projects and research collaboration, awards for outstanding research achievements, and funding for scientific infrastructure and scientific cooperation. Research Funding Section

Policy Advice According to its statutes, the DFG is responsible for advising parliaments and public authorities on questions relating to science and research. Consequently, the DFG has established various expert commissions and committees to advise not only its own decision-making bodies, but also political and public authorities. As a result of its efforts to extend its areas of expertise and expand its target groups, the role of the DFG in providing policy advice has become increasingly important over recent years.

Interdisciplinarity and Networking The DFG's statutes define the promotion of cooperation between researchers as one of the foundation's core responsibilities. Therefore, an important goal of the DFG's research support is to provide measures to promote the exchange of information between scientists and academics and collaboration between researchers from various disciplines. This is why the foundation focuses particularly on strengthening interdisciplinarity and networking in the scientific communities.

Internationality The defined responsibilities of the DFG include the cultivation of contacts between German and international scientific communities. In order to advance the essential internationalisation of science and research, the DFG has opened its funding programmes for international collaboration between researchers - an absolute prerequisite for Germany in its role as a pioneering and simultaneously cosmopolitan centre of science and research.

Promoting Young Researchers The DFG has identified the education and advancement of young scientists and academics as a priority task. Thus, the foundation has developed programmes for each qualification phase to promote interest among researchers in pursuing research careers.

Responsible Science The DFG is aware of its responsibilities as the central self-governing organisation of German science and research. The foundation's research support policy therefore attaches particular importance to providing advice for researchers, to selecting the best projects through fair and transparent competition and to ensuring good scientific practice.

Equal Opportunities Background information, facts and figures on gender equality in research promotion by the DFG.