Information für die Wissenschaft Nr. 90 | 4. Dezember 2018

DFG-CAPES Collaborative Research Initiative

Joint call for the formation of Brazilian-German research projects in the fields of Law

Within the scope of their Cooperation Agreement, the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) are glad to announce a joint call for German-Brazilian research projects in the fields of law.

The proposals for German-Brazilian research projects have to be submitted to the DFG according to the following rules and requirements:

  • It is expected that German and Brazilian project partners prepare joint integrated project proposals with complementary contributions of both sides.
  • It is intended that the researchers of the funded bilateral projects of the different research fields of law collaborate with each other by means of workshops, meetings or other collaborative activities.
  • Description of the added value of the cooperation in comparison to a proposal without international cooperation.
  • Description of already jointly realised scientific cooperation and exchange between the German and Brazilian partners on which the submitted proposal is based (no prerequisite).
  • Researchers can apply for a funding period of three years with the possibility of renewal of one more year.
  • Proposals have to be written in English and must be submitted to both organisations in parallel in accordance with the proposal preparation requirements of each side, respectively. For German groups this means submission via the DFG elan system according to the guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01).
  • After the log-in, please use the respective link “Proposal for a Research Grant” in the Proposal Forms column. Please, select as the relevant call: CAPES-DFG LAW 2019.
  • The proposal of the Brazilian partner has to be submitted as an annex to the DFG proposal.
  • The proposals have to be submitted to DFG and CAPES by 28 February 2019.

The Brazilian researchers submit their proposals with an identical scientific core in parallel to CAPES. The proponents have to be eligible according to the guidelines of CAPES. The German cooperation partners have to be mentioned in the Brazilian proposal. Information according to the call on the Brazilian side including formal aspects and evaluation are available at CAPES.

These opportunities follow the general DFG funding lines and budgets. There are no additional funds available, and proposals must succeed on the strengths of their scientific quality in comparison with other proposals. Funding of the joint research projects is contingent upon positive assessment by all funding organisations. Joint German-Brazilian projects will be co-funded by CAPES; unilateral funding of only one part of the project is not possible. Funding for approved proposals will be provided approximately 13 months after the launch of the call.

Further Information

For more details on the DFG-CAPES Collaborative Research Initiative please refer to:

To submit a proposal to the DFG, please follow the “Guidelines for the Research Grants Programme“ (form 50.01) and the ”Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals” (form 54.01) under:

General information for German principal investigators on research grants 
may be found at:

Further general information on elan:

elan flyer:

elan FAQ:

Contact person at the DFG in Bonn, Germany:

  • Dr. Dietrich Halm, 
    phone +49 228 885-2347, 
    dietrich.halm@dfg.de

For the law area:

Contact person at the DFG Office Latin America in São Paulo, Brazil:

Information on the call for the Brazilian side are available at CAPES (in Portuguese):

Contact at CAPES: