The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is the central self-governing organisation responsible for promoting research in Germany. According to its statutes, the DFG serves all branches of science and the humanities. The DFG supports and coordinates research projects in all scientific disciplines, in particular in the area of basic research through to applied research. Particular attention is paid to promoting young researchers. Every German scientist and academic is eligible to apply for DFG funding. Proposals are submitted to peer reviewers, who are elected by researchers in Germany in their individual subject areas every four years. The DFG distinguishes between the following programmes for research funding: In the Individual Grants Programme, any researcher can apply for financial assistance for an individual research project. Priority Programmes allow researchers from various research institutions and laboratories to cooperate within the framework of a set topic or project for a defined period of time, each working at his/her respective research institution. A Research Unit is a longer-term collaboration between several researchers who generally work together on a research topic at a single location. In Central Research Facilities there is a particular concentration of personnel and equipment that is required to provide scientific and technical services. Collaborative Research Centres are long-term university research centres in which scientists and academics pursue ambitious joint interdisciplinary research undertakings. They are generally established for a period of 12 years. In addition to the classic Collaborative Research Centres, which are concentrated at one location and open to all subject areas, the DFG also offers several programme variations. Transregional Collaborative Research Centres allow various locations to cooperate on one topical focus. Cultural Studies Research Centres are designed to support the transition in the humanities to an integrated cultural studies paradigm. Transfer Units serve to transfer the findings of basic research produced by Collaborative Research Centres into the realm of practical application by promoting cooperation between research institutes and users. DFG Research Centres are an important strategic funding instrument. They concentrate scientific research competence in particularly innovative fields and create temporary, internationally visible research priorities at research universities. Research Training Groups are university training programmes established for a specific time period to support young researchers by actively involving them in research work. This focuses on a coherent, topically defined, research and study programme. Research Training Groups are designed to promote the early independence of doctoral students and intensify international exchange. They are open to international participants. In International Research Training Groups, a jointly structured doctoral programme is offered by German and foreign universities.
Other funding opportunities for qualified young researchers are offered by the Heisenberg Programme and the Emmy Noether Programme. Humanities Research Centres were created in the new federal states to improve the existing research infrastructure. These centres have been established for a specific time period and serve to promote interdisciplinary research. The DFG also funds and initiates measures to promote scientific libraries, equips computer centres with computing hardware, provides instrumentation for research purposes and conducts peer reviews on proposals submitted within the framework of the HochschulbaufΓΆrderungsgesetz, a legal act which provides for major equipment and the construction of institutions of higher education in Germany. On an international level, the DFG has assumed the role of Scientific Representative to international organisations, coordinates and funds the German contribution towards large-scale international research programmes, and supports international scientific relations. Another important role of the DFG is to provide policy advice to parliaments and public authorities on scientific issues. A large number of expert commissions and committees provide the scientific background for the passing of new legislation, primarily in the areas of environmental protection and health care. The legal status of the DFG is that of a private association. Its member organisations include research universities, the Academies of Sciences and Humanities, the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, the Leibniz Association, the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres, research organisations of general importance, and a number of scientific associations. In order to meet its responsibilities, the DFG receives funding from the German federal government and the federal states, as well as an annual contribution from the Donors' Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities in Germany.