Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Scientific Autonomyin Germany: The German Research Foundation

Dr. Karin ZachHead of Division of Physics,Mathematics & Geosciences

The German Research Foundation

central public funding organisation for academic

research in Germany

promote academic excellence on a competitive basis

serve science and the humanities in all fields

advise parliaments and public authorities on research

questions

support the advancement and education of young

researchers

encourage international research cooperation

foster links between science and industry

Who We Are

What We Do

Joint Committee- financial aspects of

research support- research policy and

programme planning on the basis of decisions made by the Senate

- annual budget• 39 senators• 16 votes: repr. Bund• 16 votes: repr. Länder• 2 votes: repr. Stifterverband

election

Senate- research strategy and

research policy- advises government offices- cooperation at home and

abroad• 42 scientists and academics, 3

of them as permanent guests

election

Executive Committee- manages the daily affairs

of the DFG• President, Vice Presidents• President of the Stifterverband

(Donors' Association) (advises)• Secretary General (advises)

cooperation

selection

decision about composition

assistance

Review Board- evaluates all grant reviews

and recommendations• 577 scientists and academics quality

assurance

cooperation

Peer Reviewers- review grant proposals

• approx. 9000 scientists and academics at home and abroad

all scientists and academics eligible to vote

election

General Assembly- establishes the directives / receives the annual report and annual account / discharges the

executive board of its responsibilities• institutions of higher education, which are research organisations of general importance• other research organisations of general importance • academies, learned societies

appoint-ment

Head Office- conducts the daily business

Executive Boardas defined by §26 BGB

President Secretary General

DFG - Jahresbudget (2006) Summe: 1.587.900.000 Euro

DFG

58,2%

Getragen durch den Bund

41,4%

Getragen durch die Länder

0,4%

Getragen durch

private Geldgeber

Letzte Aktualisierung am 19.06.2007

Bewilligungen* nach Wissenschaftsbereichen 2003 bis 2006 in Mio Euro

* Basis: Einzelförderung, Direkte Nachwuchsförderung und Koordinierte Programme Quelle: Bereich Informationsmanagement DFG

211,4(14,3%)

200,9(14,6%)

189,4(15,0%)166,7

(14,2%)

576,6(38,7%)

522,4(37,9%)

482,3(38,2%)

444,6(37,6%)

387,8(26,0%)

347,5(25,2%)321,0

(25,4%)304,5(25,9%)

313,1(21,0%)

307,7(22,3%)

268,8(21,3%)

261,9(22,2%)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2003 2004 2005 2006

Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften Lebenswissenschaften

Naturwissenschaften Ingenieurwissenschaften

Letzte Aktualisierung am 19.06.2007

Bewilligungen* nach Fachgebieten 2003 bis 2006 in Mio Euro

* Basis: Einzelförderung, Direkte Nachwuchsförderung und Koordinierte Programme

Quelle: Bereich InformationsmanagementDFG

Letzte Aktualisierung am 19.06.2007

101,7

36,4

145,7

104,1

81,5

36,0

129,0

101,0

75,6

33,7

123,1

88,6

69,9

35,1

114,7

84,9

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

1

2

3

4

Naturwissenschaften

Geowissenschaften(einschließlich Geographie)

Chemie

Physik

Mathematik

2003

2004

2005

2006

2003

2004

2005

2006

2003

2004

2005

2006

2003

2004

2005

2006

Fördervolumen je Programmgruppe 2006 in Mio Euro

Quelle: Bereich Informationsmanagement DFG

Letzte Aktualisierung am 19.06.2007

Gesamtvolumen: 1.587,9 Mio Euro

Infrastrukturförderung56,0

Einzelförderung im Normalverfahren

567,6

DirekteNachwuchsförderung

104,8

Preise15,7

KoordinierteProgramme

817,4

Internationalewissenschaftliche

Kontakte23,6

Ausschüsse undKommissionen

2,8

The DFG‘s Funding Instruments

Projects

PeopleIndividual Researcher

Coordinated ResearchMulti-centered Local

Individual Grants Programme

Research Training Group

Research Unit

(multi-centered)Research Unit Research Fellowship

Priority ProgrammeIndependent Postdoc Position

Collaborative Research Centre (Transregio)

Collaborative Research Centre

Emmy Noether Research Group Leader

DFG Research Centre Heisenberg Fellowship

Individual Grants Program - anyone, anytime, any topic

project based (advancement of state of the art expected)

may last up to 6 years (2-3 years per funding period)

funding for:

personnel

consumables

instrumentation

travel expenses

publication costs

eligibility criteria:

anyone holding a PhD and

working at a research institution in Germany

(nationality is NOT a criterion)

many new ideas start within the Individual Grants Program

before a more complex form of funding is sought for

Percentage of total DFG budgetgoing into the Individual Grants Program:34% (2004)

grant pro-

posal

Review Board

peer reviewpeer review decisiondecisionevaluationevaluation

Joint / Grants Committee

appro-val /

rejec-tion

drafts re-commen-

dation

Head Office

Peer Review

-ers

selection

quality assurance

re-views

re-commen-

dation

formalexamination

The DFG Procedure of Review – Evaluation - Decision

Emmy Noether Programme: junior research groups

(“portable assistant professorship”)

Meant to build up junior research groups

and to conduct research with a team

prerequisite: 2-4 years of postdoc

experience (at time of application),

experience abroad

funding for five years (in exceptional

cases for six years)

principal investigator’s position

additional funding for personnel,

consumables, travel expendituresLife

Sciences42 %

Humanities/Social Sciences 10 %Engineering 11

%

Natural

Sciences

38 %

2004n= 165

Research Training Groups

Enable qualified students to produce their doctoral theses within a

collaborative research and study programme. Research Training Groups

are open to all disciplines; an interdisciplinary focus is desired.

Scope: 5-10 university teachers, 8-12 DFG fellows, 8-12 non-DFG funded

doctoral students

Duration: Up to 9 years (2 x 4.5 years)

Percentage of total funding approved: 6.0% (2003)

Examples for Research Training Groups in Astroparticle Physics

GRK 1147 “Theoretical Astrophysics and Particle Physics”, Univ. Würzburg

GRK 602 “Future Developments in Particle Physics”, Hamburg

GRK 742 “High Energy Physics and Astroparticle Physics”, Univ. Karlsruhe

Collaborative Research Centres

Interdisciplinary centres of excellence

establish core research areas and promote capacity building

central thematic focus

based at one location

(alternatively:

Transregional Collaborative Research Centres

up to 3 locations)

Scope: 10 – 20 project sections

Duration: Up to 12 years (3 x 4 years)

Percentage of total funding approved: 30.0% (2003)

Examples for Collaborative Research Centres in Astroparticle Physics

SFB 676 “Particles, Strings and the Early Universe”, Univ. Hamburg

TRR 27 “Neutrinos and Beyond: Weakly interacting Particles in Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology”, Univ. TU Munich, Karlsruhe, Tuebingen

Germany’s Excellence Initiative

Idea: Strengthen Germany’s universitiesMake them more visible and attractive

internationally

better faculty, better students, better research

 

Process:Input: €1.9 billion for 5 years (plus an option for

5 more) – extra money!Two calls for proposals: July 2005 / April 2006

Germany’s Excellence Initiative

 Programme with three lines of funding: Clusters of Excellence

centres of excellence in research; ~ 30; ~ € 6.5 million p.a. Graduate Schools

highest-level research training; ~ 40; ~ € 1 million p.a. Institutional Strategies to Promote Top-level Research

increase international competitiveness; <10; ~ 10 million p.a.

 

Characteristics: Large scope for unconventional ideas Boost research base (e.g. new chairs) Integration of non-university potential expected

(Max Planck and other institutes, industry) 20% overheads added

Examples for Proposals funded in the Excellence Initiative containing Astroparticle Physics

Cluster of Excellence “Origin and Structure of the Universe, the Cluster of

Excellence in Fundamental Physics” Munich TU and LMU

Graduate School“Heidelberg Graduate School on Fundamental Physics” Univ. Heidelberg

Core Traits of the DFG

Thank you for your attention!

www.dfg.de

Dr. Karin Zach

Karin.Zach@dfg.de

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft