Prize Money of up to €80,000 for Animal Welfare in Research

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) announces the Ursula M. Händel Animal Welfare Prize(interner Link) for the eleventh time. The aim of the prize is to honour researchers for their outstanding contributions to promoting animal welfare in science and research. It recognises scientific research that contributes to reducing the burden on animals used in experiments, reducing the number of animals used or else replacing them (3Rs concept: Refinement, Reduction, Replacement).

The prize is endowed with up to €80,000 and is intended to support projects that benefit animal welfare in research. In addition to funding research projects, the prize money can also be used for complementary measures, e.g. the training and professional development of researchers working with animals in science or for scientific events to promote animal welfare in research.

The prize is awarded at the recommendation of an independent jury. Evaluation criteria include the originality and quality of the research, its significance in terms of the 3Rs concept, its application potential and the usability of the outcomes for animal welfare in research, as well as the applicants' previous academic achievements and their potential, especially with regard to demonstrated commitment to animal welfare. The DFG reserves the right to split the prize among several prizewinners. There is no legal entitlement. The award ceremony will take place during a celebratory event in the summer of 2026.

Eligible applicants are researchers with a doctoral degree who are currently working at research institutions in Germany. Applications from research teams of up to four scientists are also welcome. The application must include the following documents:

• title and summary in German and English, to be uploaded to the elan system;
• a scientific report in English describing the applicants’ own research and its significance for animal welfare, including details on the intended use of the prize funds (max. 10 pages in PDF format);
• an academic curriculum vitae for each applicant, including up to ten publications, in accordance with the DFG’s template for CVs in English (DFG form 53.200(interner Link)).

Please submit your application to the DFG by 5 October 2025. Proposals are to be submitted solely via the elan portal(externer Link) in order to ensure proposal-related data is recorded and documents are securely transmitted. You will find the online form via Proposal Submission – Nominations – Ursula M. Händel Animal Welfare Prize. The elan portal will open for submission on 8 September 2025. 

If this is the first application to the DFG, please note that you must register in the elan portal before you can submit your application. Registration must be completed by 26 September 2025. You will normally receive confirmation of your registration by the next working day.

Equity and Diversity

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness. With regard to the subject-specific focus of this call, the DFG encourages female researchers in particular to submit proposals.

Good Research Practice

According to a resolution of the DFG General Assembly, DFG funding may only be awarded to research institutions that have implemented the guidelines laid down in the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice(externer Link) in their own regulations. The management of your institution is responsible for implementing the guidelines in a legally binding manner. In order to avoid delays in the disbursement of funding, please verify implementation within your institution in good time. For information regarding the implementation, please refer to the Research Integrity Portal(externer Link). If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the Research Integrity team(externer Link) at the DFG Head Office.

Further Information

For further information about the Ursula M. Händel Animal Welfare Prize, see: www.dfg.de/en/funded-projects/prizewinners/haendel-prize(interner Link)

DFG template for CVs in English: www.dfg.de/formulare/53_200_elan(interner Link)

For access to application submission via the elan portal, see: https://elan.dfg.de/en(externer Link)

Contact Persons at the DFG Head Office

Programme contact: Dr. Sonja Ihle, phone +49 228 885-2362, sonja.ihle@dfg.de(externer Link)

Administrative contact: Jennifer Stotzem, phone +49 228 885-2954, jennifer.stotzem@dfg.de(externer Link)

Privacy Policy

We, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), take the protection of your personal data and its confidential treatment extremely seriously. Therefore, please refer to the DFG’s Privacy Policy(interner Link). If you intend to transmit personal data of third parties, please make sure to do so only if the necessary legitimation under data protection law exist. Before transmitting data of third parties to the DFG, please forward the DFG’s Data Protection Notice to the individuals affected (data subjects). If there is a legitimate interest not to inform individuals beforehand (e.g. for reasons of secrecy or in case of a nomination or candidate proposal), these individuals should be informed no later than at the time of publication.