Chronology of Funding Programmes

Since 1951 the DFG has gradually introduced new programmes into its range of funding instruments. The following programmes have joined the Individual Grants Programme (Normalverfahren), given this name in 1952.

Year Description
Since 1951
  • Individual grants
  • Research fellowships
  • Funding for scientific libraries and information systems
1952 - 2007 Research sabbaticals
Since 1953 Priority Programmes
Since 1955 Grants for the fulfilment of international obligations
Since 1956 Mercator visiting professorships
Since 1957 Central research facilities
1959 - 2008 Funding for conference trips
1961 - 1975 Habilitation fellowships
Since 1959 Grants for conference and lecture trips to non-European countries and Central and Eastern Europe
Since 1961 Exchange of researchers with the Soviet Union
Since 1962 Research Units
Since 1964
  • Meteor research vessel
  • Max Kade fellowships
Since 1968 Collaborative Research Centres
1971 - 2006 Review of proposals received for the purchase of major instrumentation in accordance with the Act on Furthering Construction in Higher Education (Hochschulbauförderungsgesetz)
Since 1972 Funding of international scientific events in Germany
Since 1977 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize
Since 1978 Electronic publishing
Since 1978 Heisenberg Programme
1985 - 1998 Postdoctoral programme
Since 1986 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Programme
1988 - 2000 Gerhard Hess Programme
1988 - 2002 Clinical Research Units
Since 1990
  • Research Training Groups
  • Albert Maucher Prize
Since 1994 Central research facility: KoWi (European Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations)
Since 1994 Major instrumentation initiatives
1994 - 2001 Centres of Excellence (Innovationskollegs) in former East Germany
1995 - 2007 Humanities Research Centres
Since 1997
  • Eugen and Ilse Seibold Prize
  • Cataloguing and digitization at scientific libraries
Since 1998 German-Israeli project cooperation
Since 1999
  • Emmy Noether Programme
  • CRC/Transregios
  • International Research Training Groups
Since 2000 Communicator Award
2000 - 2009 Centres of Advanced Studies (Forschungskollegs)
Since 2001
  • Research Centres
  • Temporary positions for principal investigators
Since 2002
  • Transfer projects
  • Bernd Rendel Prize
Since 2003
  • Clinical trials
  • Scientific networks
2003 - 2010 Service centres for research information
Since 2004 Ursula M. Händel Animal Welfare Prize
2004 - 2007 EURYI Award
Since 2005
  • Excellence Initiative
  • Heisenberg professorships
  • von Kaven Awards
2005 - 2015 Central research facility: Institute for Research Information and Quality Assurance - IfQ
Since 2006
  • Copernicus Award
  • Return grants
Since 2006 Central research facility: Maria S. Merian research vessel
Since 2007

Infrastructure priority programmes
Review of proposals for major instrumentation in the following programmes:

  • „Scientific Equipment as Part of the DFG's Major Research InstrumentationProgramme as per Art. 91b GG”
  • „Research Buildings as per Art. 91b GG"
  • „State Major Instrumentation Programme"
Since 2008

Reinhart Koselleck projects

Since 2008 Humanities Centres for Advanced Studies

These additional programmes pursued various defined objectives in the context of the DFG's funding strategies, namely

  • to improve the dissemination of research findings (conferences, congresses),
  • to award individual, outstanding researchers (Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, Gerhard Hess Prize),
  • to provide sustainable support and advancement for young researchers (habilitation fellowships, postdoctoral programme),
  • to provide particular support for cooperation at a specific location or within its transregional network (e.g. Priority Programmes, Research Units, Collaborative Research Centres, Research Training Groups, Research Centres), and
  • to improve research infrastructure (e.g. major equipment, Central Research Facilities).

Further Information

An overview of all the DFG programmes is available in the Funding section