Press Release No. 25 | July 2, 2021

National Research Data Infrastructure: DFG Welcomes Second-Round Funding Decisions

GWK decides to fund ten further consortia in the context of the NFDI/research-driven process

GWK decides to fund ten further consortia in the context of the NFDI/research-driven process

On 2 July, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) decided to provide funding for ten further consortia in the context of the National Research Data Infrastructure programme (NFDI). Today’s GWK decision marks the end of the second funding round, in which 16 initiatives submitted proposals in the context of the NFDI. As in the first funding round, the GWK followed the recommendation of the NFDI Expert Committee appointed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). A total of 19 consortia from all four broad scientific disciplines are now being funded.

In setting up the NFDI, the DFG is responsible for the selection, review and evaluation of NFDI consortium proposals, while the GWK is responsible for financial decisions. To be eligible for funding, proposals must receive a positive recommendation by the NFDI Expert Committee, which is composed of academic researchers and experts from scientific infrastructure institutions.

“It is great to see the NFDI grow based on a research-driven process,” said DFG President Dr. Katja Becker following the decision. “This approach allows for the NFDI to be established in line with the needs and requirements of the respective research communities. The resulting coordinated network of consortia enables comprehensive research data management across all research disciplines. Among other aspects, this increases the reusability of data, also across different disciplines. The COVID-19 pandemic has been showing quite clearly, how important it is to process and share research data.”

The call for applications for the third and for now last round of calls was published on 12 May 2021. For the first time, it is now also possible to apply for basic services that guarantee the provision of basic infrastructure for potentially all consortia and secure long-term interoperability. Overall, the NFDI programme envisages funding for up to 30 consortia.

Further Information

Media contact:

  • DFG Press and Public Relations
    Tel. +49 228 885-2109

Programme contact at the DFG Head Office:

  • Dr. Anne Lipp
    Head of Scientific Library Services and Information Systems
    Tel. +49 228 885-2260

Further information about the NFDI call is available here: