First Phase Facts and Figures
The first phase of the Excellence Initiative had two funding rounds. Proposals for the first round were approved in the course of 2006 and those for the second round in 2007. For the first programme phase (through 2012) the German federal and state governments awarded €1.9 billion for the three funding lines.
A call for proposals for the second programme phase was issued in March 2010; funding decisions are expected in June 2012.
Statistics from the second round of funding
Draft proposals
In response to the second call for proposals a total of 261 draft proposals were submitted by 67 universities from all German states. These were distributed between the three funding lines as follows:
- 118 for graduate schools
- 123 for clusters of excellence
- 20 for institutional strategies to promote top-level university research
Invitation to submit full proposals
On 12 January 2007 the Joint Commission invited 35 universities to submit full proposals. This decision was based on reviews conducted by 27 international expert panels. The proposals were distributed between the three funding lines as follows:
- 44 for graduate schools
- 40 for clusters of excellence
- 8 for institutional strategies to promote top-level university research
Decision
After a total of 92 proposals for the three funding lines were evaluated and discussed by international review panels and the Joint Commission of the German Council of Science and Humanities and the DFG, the Excellence Initiative Grants Committee awarded funding to
- 21 graduate schools,
- 20 clusters of excellence, and
- 6 institutional strategies.
For this second round, about €1 billion was granted to fund initiatives at 28 universities.
Statistics from the first round of funding
Draft proposals
In response to the first call for proposals a total of 319 draft proposals were submitted by 74 universities. These were distributed between the three funding lines as follows:
- 135 draft proposals for graduate schools
- 157 draft proposals for clusters of excellence
- 27 draft proposals for institutional strategies to promote top-level university research
Invitation to submit full proposals
On 20 January 2006 the Joint Commission invited 36 universities to submit full proposals. This decision was based on reviews conducted by 20 international expert panels. The proposals were distributed between the three funding lines as follows:
- 39 proposals for graduate schools
- 41 proposals for clusters of excellence
- 10 proposals for institutional strategies to promote top-level university research
Decision
After a total of 88 proposals for the three funding lines were evaluated and discussed by international review panels and the Joint Commission of the German Council of Science and Humanities and the DFG, the Excellence Initiative Grants Committee awarded funding to
- 18 graduate schools,
- 17 clusters of excellence, and
- 3 institutional strategies.
For this first round, about €175 million was awarded per year to fund initiatives at 22 universities.
