Global Research Council (GRC)

The GRC is a voluntary, informal grouping of the heads of research councils from all over the world. It was set up in 2012 in Washington, D.C. as part of the "Global Summit on Merit Review", which was organised by the US organisation, the National Science Foundation (NSF). The former Director of the NSF, Dr. Subra Suresh, and Professor Dr.-Ing. Matthias Kleiner, who was President of the DFG at the time, were instrumental in the GRC's foundation.

It represents the majority of public research and research funding bodies which do not receive direct governmental funding and acts to strengthen international collaboration on research and between research funding organisations. Through regular preparatory conferences in different parts of the world and its annual meeting, it offers a forum in which current issues arising from the globalisation and internationalisation of science and the humanities and research and their funding can be discussed. The outcomes of these discussions are then used to formulate joint recommendations.

GRC-Governing Board

The DFG has long been active in the Global Research Council. For example, the adoption of the GRC bylaws at the 2013 annual meeting in Berlin with former DFG President Professor Dr. Peter Strohschneider marked an important milestone for the organisation. DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker is co-chairing the GRC Governing Board.

Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council

On the 2022 Annual Meeting on the

The regional conferences and annual meetings also provide a platform for sharing experiences and best practices that can help newly developing systems to establish new structures and processes.