The German Research Foundation (DFG)

The DFG receives the large majority of its funds from the states and the Federal Government, which are represented in all Grants Committees. At the same time, the voting system and procedural regulations guarantee science-driven decisions.

The core task of the DFG is to select the best research projects by scientists and academics at universities and research institutions on a competitive basis and to finance these projects. Projects are presented by scientists and academics or by universities in a proposal, which is then evaluated in a multi-layered decision making process by voluntary reviewers exclusively according to scientific criteria; on the basis of this expert review, it is assessed by chosen members of the Review Board, and the final decision is taken by the Grants Committee. DFG funding guarantees quality-based differentiation in the German research system.

The DFG fosters international collaboration, the mobility of researchers, and the internationalisation of German universities. With its liaison offices in Washington, New York, Moscow, New Delhi, São Paulo and Tokyo, as well as the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion in Beijing, the DFG has expanded its presence in other research regions around the world in recent years. It thus strengthens collaboration between researchers and their relationships to national funding organisations. The DFG office in Tokyo opened in April 2009 in order to consolidate and intensify the multifaceted German-Japanese scientific collaborations.