DFG – funding research
The German Research Foundation, Europe’s largest research-funding organisation, supports roughly 30,000 projects a year.
With only 750 employees, the German Research Foundation (DFG) is dwarfed by Germany’s other research organisations. Yet, appearances can be deceptive. The DFG is not only the self-governing organisation for science and research in Germany; it also plays a major role in managing German research as Europe’s largest research funder. If, for example, an archaeologist wants to excavate a site abroad or a physicist wants to investigate a new theory but funding is unavailable from the respective institute, the DFG can fill the gap after giving the idea appropriate scrutiny. The DFG can not only fund the procurement of an expensive piece of equipment, but also support researchers’ travel to congresses or visits to colleagues. The DFG also brings researchers from different institutions and disciplines together in joint projects organised as collaborative research centres. In addition to its headquarters in Bonn, the DFG is now also represented worldwide with offices in China, Japan, India, Russia and North and Latin America.
