The review process for the individual grants programmes – how it works

Would you like to find out more about your role as a reviewer for the DFG? Here, you will find key reasons(Anchor Link) and practical information relating to (Anchor Link)the preparation of reviews, evaluation criteria and the funding programme(interner Link) you are reviewing.

The information on this page focuses on individual grant programmes: individual projects (research grants) and the funding of individual researchers (Walter Benjamin Programme, Emmy Noether Programme, Heisenberg Programme, and Reinhart Koselleck Projects). However, many aspects also apply to reviews for other DFG programmes.

Good reasons to review for the DFG

Why is the DFG asking me to provide a review?

• Expertise: The DFG Head Office invites suitably qualified and renowned national and international experts to review proposals submitted on specific research topics. Either the Head Office has identified you as a qualified and suitable reviewer or you have been recommended by peers.
• Trust: The DFG entrusts you with reviewing proposals and other researchers’ scientific ideas.

 

Why should I act as a reviewer for the DFG?

• Science-led funding decisions: As an organisation that reflects self-governance in research, the DFG makes its decisions based purely on scientific criteria. This means that researchers decide on the allocation of funding – free from political considerations and based solely on quality. By preparing a review, you are helping to uphold the principle of competitive funding based exclusively on scientific standards.
• Familiarity with decision-making processes: As a reviewer, you gain insights into the review process and the work of DFG statutory bodies, and you find out how funding decisions are made.
• Participation in academic discourse: Your review contributes to academic discussion on current research questions and the quality assessment of projects in your field. After the funding decision has been made, you will receive feedback on your review: the DFG Head Office provides you with details of other researchers’ reviews of the same proposal, the evaluation by the review board, and the final funding decision. This allows you to see how your review contributed to the decision-making process and the role your comments played in the further procedure.
• Institutional visibility: Once a year, the DFG provides universities and non-university research institutions with information on the extent to which their researchers have participated in reviews and which of their researchers are members of the DFG’s statutory bodies.
• Voluntary involvement: By providing a review, you are giving something back to the research community. Every successful proposal you yourself have submitted to the DFG is based on the voluntary contributions of researchers who supported your proposal.