1.	General data
1.1.	Title in German and English
German title
English title

1.2.	Applicant university/universities 
Managing University	
<university>	

Further applicant universities	
<university>	
<university>	

Please indicate the university that will administer the funds of the Cluster of Excellence. Where applicable, please list all other applicant universities.

1.3.	Spokesperson(s)
Authorised spokesperson of the Managing University	
<spokesperson>	

Further spokesperson(s)	Institution	
<spokesperson>	<institution>	
<spokesperson>	<institution>	

Please indicate the Managing University’s authorised spokesperson of the Cluster of Excellence. Up to two additional spokespersons may be listed in the draft proposal. For spokespersons not affiliated with the Managing University, their respective institutions should also be named. 

1.4.	Participating institutions
Participating institutions	Location	
<participating institution>	<location>	
<participating institution>	<location>	
<participating institution>	<location>	

Please list all participating entities with which intensive cooperation is planned and which are to receive funds from the Cluster of Excellence’s budget (e.g. non-university research institutions, other universities, institutions in the public domain).

1.5.	Principal investigators
No.	Principal investigators	Location/Institution	Field of expertise	Position	
1	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
2	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
3	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
4	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
5	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
6	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
7	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
8	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
9	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
10	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
11	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
12	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
13	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
14	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
15	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
16	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
17	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
18	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
19	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
20	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
21	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
22	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
23	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
24	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	
25	<principal investigator>	<location, institution>	<expertise>	<position>	

N principal investigators are women; equivalent to a share of n percent.

Please list in alphabetical order up to 25 researchers, including the spokesperson(s), who are significantly involved in the Cluster of Excellence and in the preparation of the proposal. Also indicate the principal investigator’s respective location and institution, their field of expertise and their position (e.g. W3, W2 or W1 professorship, independent junior research group leader, core facility leader, etc.). 

1.6.	Cooperation partners
No.	Institutional cooperation partners	Location	
1	<institution>	<location>	

No.	Individuals as cooperation partners	Location	
1	<name>	<location>	

Where applicable, please list all institutional cooperation partners expected to participate in the planned Cluster of Excellence by contributing their own funds, as well as individuals who will make significant contributions as cooperation partners.

2.	Summary of the proposal
Please provide plain-language summaries of the research and structural objectives of the proposed Cluster of Excellence in both English and German (max. 3,000 characters each, no special characters).

3.	Research concept
Please provide an account (of approximately twelve pages) describing the content and aims of the planned research programme. Outline previous contributions to the relevant fields of research. What impacts are anticipated with respect to the future development of the field or the stimulation of new research areas? What added value is expected through the intended collaboration? State which researchers are involved in each part of the research programme and what form the cooperation will take. Indicate the resources that are envisaged as well as any new posts.

4.	Structures and strategies in the Cluster of Excellence
4.1.	Support of early career researchers
Outline the situation relating to early career researchers at the applicant university/universities and within the participating departments. What aims have the participating departments set themselves in this area? Please list strategies and specific measures to be implemented in supporting early career researchers according to their different stages of qualification, including the institutional integration of these strategies (e.g. through graduate schools).

4.2.	Support of equity and diversity
Please outline the situation relating to equity and diversity at the applicant university/universities and within the participating departments. What objectives have the participating departments set themselves (qualitative objectives and additionally – only for male and female researchers – quantified targets)? Please specify what measures are planned within the Cluster of Excellence to achieve these objectives, also in reference to the DFG‘s Research-Oriented Equity and Diversity Standards. In doing so, please consider both gender and other dimensions of diversity.

4.3.	Strategies for research data and research software management and provisions for research infrastructures and instrumentation
Please describe the overall plans and policies for the management of research data, samples, research software and/or other material (including storage/archiving/reuse) and explain the strategies for dissemination of the research output. Describe the provisions for research facilities and instrumentation as appropriate. How is the planned infrastructure of the cluster embedded in existing research facilities (such as instrumentation facilities and research data infrastructures)?

4.4.	Management, governance, quality assurance
Please describe the internal organisation and management structure of the Cluster of Excellence. Please also explain what strategies are envisaged for quality assurance.

4.5.	Science communication and knowledge transfer, where applicable: research-oriented teaching
Please explain what strategies are envisaged for science communication. How will the transfer of knowledge be organised? Where applicable, please outline any plans to incorporate research-oriented teaching.

5.	Environment of the Cluster of Excellence
5.1.	Strategic development planning at the university/universities
Please comment on the suitability of the location(s) and what role the Cluster of Excellence will play in the proposed structural development. Outline the priorities at the applicant university/universities, also with regard to the institutions’ overall strategic concept(s), including projects already funded through the Excellence Strategy and/or other draft proposals.

In case of a joint draft proposal submission, the cooperation between the applicant universities and the academic and structural benefits it offers should be described for each of the applicant universities.

5.2.	Resources provided by the institution(s)
Please describe the Cluster’s envisaged framework. Specify the staffing, financial, infrastructural and other resources provided by the institution(s).

5.3.	Cooperation with other institutions
Please describe the cooperations with the partners listed in section 1.6. Please do not submit Letters of Intent from cooperating institutions or other partners. 

6.	Anticipated budget
	2026	2027	2028	2029	2030	2031	2032	Total	
Funding for staff									
Direct project costs									
Instrumentation									
Total									

Please include an estimate of the expected funding requirements for the Cluster of Excellence, excluding the programme allowance for indirect project costs and the university allowance. In the table, please list the anticipated total amounts of funding per year and category in thousands of euros. The anticipated budget is preliminary and may be adjusted in the full proposal.
Funding for staff: To calculate funding for staff, please use DFG form 60.12: 
www.dfg.de/formulare/60_12

Direct project costs: This category comprises all other costs (e.g. funds for consumables, experiments, materials and supplies, travel, visiting researchers, training measures of the Cluster of Excellence, instrumentation costing less than 50,000 euros per item, etc.) 

Instrumentation: In this category, please summarise instrumentation costing more than 50,000 euros per item. 

Please provide a brief justification for the amounts requested in each category.

Appendix
Please include the following information in the draft proposal. The appendix to the draft proposal must not contain any information over and above that described here. The appendix does not count as part of the maximum permitted number of 28 pages for the draft proposal. For the publication lists to be provided in sections 1 and 2, please note: 

•	Works which are not in the public domain are not considered publications and cannot be cited. An exception is made for papers that have already been accepted for publication, in which case the manuscript and the editor’s confirmation of acceptance must be enclosed as a separate PDF file and uploaded via elan (see instructions in the guidelines). 
•	Publications should be listed with their full title, and, where possible, with their persistent identifiers (e.g. DOI/Digital Object Identifier), preferably by stating the number, otherwise by naming the URL. 
•	Authorship must be cited in unaltered form in accordance with how it appears on the published works
•	Details of quantitative metrics such as impact factors and h-indices are not required and will not be considered as part of the review. Therefore, please refrain from providing such data in the publication lists.

1.	The 25 most important publications, Category A 
Please provide a list of up to 25 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed contributions to conferences or anthology volumes, and book publications which, in your opinion, are the most important produced by the principal investigators in the Cluster of Excellence. Open access publications should be designated accordingly.

2.	The 25 most important publications, Category B 
Please provide a list of up to 25 other published scientific outcomes, e.g., articles on preprint servers, contributions to conferences or anthologies without peer review, recensions/reviews, data sets, clinical trial protocols, software packages, patents applied for and granted, blog contributions, infrastructures or transfers. You can also enter other forms of scientific output such as contributions to the (technical) infrastructure of a scientific community or contributions to science communication.

3.	The 25 most important additional qualification indicators
Please provide a list of up to 25 additional qualification indicators which, in your opinion, best document the achievements of the principal investigators. Cumulative entries of similar indicators (e.g. specific prizes, ERC grants) are accepted.

4.	Third-party funding
In a table, list up to 15 on-site funding measures dating from 2019 or later, financed by the DFG or other third-party sources, in the thematic area of the planned Cluster of Excellence which, in your view, are the most important.

5.	Information about the applicant university/universities
Please list general information about the applicant university/universities, on a comparative basis where appropriate. This should include the departments and subject areas at the university/universities and the total number of students and professorships. This section must not exceed three pages per applicant university.