Programme der Projektförderung

Short description and aims of the programme

Recognising the urgency of the aims of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Federal German government has decided to join a French initiative in support of international climate-related research. The current programme – which was designed by the Federal German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is implemented by the DAAD – provides an opportunity for international researchers to set up research groups at German host institutions of their choice in the fields of climate change, energy transition, and earth system research.

The programme is scheduled to be active until the end of 2022. The activity of the funded research groups will cover a period of four years, during which the research group leader is required to be resident in Germany. Depending on the Junior or Senior status of the research group, each group can have a total budget of up to 1 or 1.5 million euros respectively (including contribution of host institution). For the Call for applications please refer to the downloads section.

Funding will be provided for the establishment of research groups in the designated research areas under the leadership of the successful applicants. In a period of 4 years, Junior Research Groups can dispose of a total budget of up to 1 million euros, Senior Research Groups of up to 1.5 million (combined value of contributions from the DAAD and the German host institution). The funding provided will cover staff expenditure (including the position of the applicant him- or herself, post-docs, doctoral students and/or technicians), as well as expenditures for materials and consumables). Funding period: The funding period commences on 1st May 2018 (earliest start) and ends on 31 December 2022 at the latest.


Set-up of the programme
In Step 1 of the call, which has already been completed, individual applicants submitted their statement of interest using an online application form. On 24 November 2017, 62 of 287 applicants were selected by an independent selection committee which was composed of professors and scientists from relevant disciplines. The selection process took place in the presence of representatives of DAAD, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and of relevant management agencies. All applicants were informed about the results in the first week of December.

In Step 2 of the call, the 62 applicants selected in Step 1 will identify a German host institution of their choice and jointly prepare a full project proposal. Application deadline for Step 2: 15 February 2018


Application Procedure in Step 2 (Project Proposal)
Application Procedure in Step 2 (Project Proposal)
The selected researcher and his/her German host institution will jointly prepare a project proposal which describes the objectives, context, impact (including aspects of innovation and sustainability) of a research group which is to be set up at the host institution.

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Information for selected researchers
After you have been invited by DAAD to submit a project proposal, your first step will consist in identifying a suitable German host institution.
Together with the German host institution, you should prepare a full project proposal. The proposal must contain a detailed description of your project (the focus of the research; the scientific relevance of the project; project objectives; profile and particular suitability of the collaborating German host institution), and some additional documents like time schedule, your research background and motivation (including a brief description of your past performance). Please note, that the descriptive section of the project proposal should be not more than 15 pages.

Please make a first draft of the financial plan and discuss it with your German host institution.

The complete proposal can only be submitted online to the DAAD by the German host institution.

The German host institution, taking the function of a contract partner to DAAD, will employ the selected researcher as Research Group Leader for all funding period. Conditions of the employment will follow the regulations at the host institution and additional specifications.

In the download section below you can find an updated list of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Final results will be announced by the End of March 2018.

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Information for German Universities and Leibniz-affiliated institutions
Contributions can either consist of actual and assignable expenditures or be “in kind” (e.g. supply of infrastructures and other resources) in which case individual expenditures are not assignable. There is no fixed minimal amount for the value of actual expenditures or in-kind contributions, but there is an understanding that the relation of the contributions and the funding should be “appropriate” (type of funding: “Fehlbedarfsfinanzierung”).

The maximum budget of 1 or 1.5 million euros respectively, includes the contribution of the host institution and can therefore not be exceeded. In case of a successful application, the DAAD will make a contract (“Zuwendungsvertrag”) with the German host institution.

The complete proposal can only be submitted online to the DAAD by the German host institution:
https://portal.daad.de

Together with a selected researcher you should prepare a full project proposal including

If technical problems occur, send an e-mail to portal@daad.de.

In the download section below you can also find the Funding Regulations (“Förderrahmen”) and an exemplary financial plan (“Fehlbedarfsfinanzierung”), Form Approval of the university or institution administration (“Befürwortung der Hochschul- oder Institutionsleitung”) and How to complete the financial plan (Ausfüllhilfe für Finanzierungspläne).

Please note, the application deadline for Step 2 is 15 February 2018.

Final results will be announced by the End of March 2018.
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Information for German independent research institutions (e.g. Max Planck, Fraunhofer, Helmholtz etc.)
In the case of independent research institutions, the project will be co-funded (Type of funding: “Anteil-Finanzierung”). Unlike the French initiative which has a 50/50 funding policy (every euro of project funds must be matched by a euro provided by the French host institution), the German initiative does not necessarily expect independent German research institutions to contribute 50% of the project budget. Rather, the contribution made by an independent German host institution is expected to be adequate (“angemessen”). To calculate which amount will be considered as an adequate minimal contribution in a specific project proposal, the German institution is requested to use the Excel-Table (“Tabelle zur Berechnung des Eigenanteils für die außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen”) given in downloads.

Please note, the calculated percentage of own contribution of the research institution applies to all expenses within the project period.

The maximum budget of 1 or 1.5 million euros respectively, includes the contribution of the host institution and can therefore not be exceeded. In case of a successful application, the DAAD will make a contract (“Zuwendungsvertrag”) with the German host institution.

The complete proposal can only be submitted online to the DAAD by the German host institution:
https://portal.daad.de

Together with a selected researcher you should prepare a full project proposal including


If technical problems occur, send an e-mail to portal@daad.de.

In the download section below you can also find the Funding Regulations (“Förderrahmen”), an exemplary financial plan (“Anteilfinanzierung Beispiel 50%/50%”), Form Approval of the university or institution administration (“Befürwortung der Hochschul- oder Institutionsleitung”) and How to complete the financial plan (Ausfüllhilfe für Finanzierungspläne).

Please note, the application deadline for Step 2 is 15 February 2018.

Final results will be announced by the End of March 2018.
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Further information
The full call containing a detailed list of priority research areas covered by the programme is available on downloads.


Press release by DAAD on 5 September 2017 (in German):

„Neues Programm fördert Forschergruppen in der Klima-, Energie- und Erdsystemforschung“

Press release by DAAD on 12 December 2017 (in German):

„Deutsch-Französisches Förderprogramm für Klima-, Energie- und Erdsystemforschung findet große internationale Resonanz“

FONA Research for Sustainable Development (BMBF):

“Franco-German Fellowship Programme on Climate, Energy and Earth System Research under the French Initiative "Make our Planet great again"



Contact
DAAD-German Academic Exchange Service
Research and Internationalisation, University Networks/P13

Dr. Alexander Kupfer
Tel.: +49 228 882-606

Dr. Alexandra Okhrimenko
Tel.: +49 228 882-8951

MOPGA-GRI@daad.de

Downloads