DFG comments on the findings

infas Institute for Applied Social Science conducted an online survey of DFG applicants from November 2025 to January 2026 on behalf of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). A random sample of 10,000 applicants was invited to participate, with almost 40 percent of those contacted responding to the survey. A broad range of topics was covered, including the programme portfolio, motivations for submitting proposals and the conditions governing their submission, review and decision-making processes, project implementation and the DFG’s responsibilities. For the first time, the demographic information collected about applicants also included their parents’ educational background, their country of birth and personal circumstances such as caring responsibilities for children and others. 

A report on the findings has now been published, prepared by Lennard Liebich, Merle Rohde and Michael Ruland of infas Institute for Applied Social Science (German title: Ergebnisbericht: Befragung der DFG-Antragsteller*innen). It is a comprehensive report that provides broad-based insights into researchers’ experiences, needs and views. 

In its comments published alongside the report, the DFG focuses on selected findings, placing these in the context of its funding activities. The comments centre on three key areas: the attractiveness of the funding portfolio, the range of responsibilities performed by the DFG, and competition and peer review under conditions of limited resources.

Overall, the survey findings show that, from the applicants’ perspective, the DFG fulfils its mission very well in key areas. This applies particularly to the openness of its funding portfolio to all topics and its breadth, the quality of its funding instruments, the organisation of the review and decision-making processes, the creation of favourable conditions for research – not least for researchers in the early stages of their careers – and the services and advice provided by the Head Office. 

The DFG has also identified areas for action based on the findings, such as strengthening communication, dialogue and peer review, and also further developing its funding portfolio and the conditions under which research is conducted. 

These findings deepen the DFG’s understanding of applicants’ expectations and experiences, while at the same time providing a starting point for further analysis and ongoing dialogue with the research community.

Further Information

To the comments on the “Applicants’ Views of the DFG”(Download)

To the results report on the Survey of DFG Applicants(Download) (“Ergebnisbericht: Befragung der DFG-Antragsteller*innen”) by Lennard Liebich, Merle Rohde and Michael Ruland (in German)

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.