In general, it is worth taking a look at the DFG’s Individual Grants Programmes – A How-To Guide and the general FAQs. In addition to the proposal documents and guidelines, we recommend you study the review notes. It may also be worthwhile taking a look at the Funding Guidelines (e.g. on flexible funding, non-eligible costs and pay classification of employees). If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the staff at the DFG Head Office for individual advice.

No. The requested funds must derive from and be justified by the planned programme of work. In the case of transfer projects, the requested funds must be proportionate to the contribution of the application partner.

Yes! Individual funding is also available for knowledge transfer projects based on DFG-funded preliminary projects. This option is also offered in connection with coordinated programmes such as Research Training Groups and Collaborative Research Centres.

No. Proposals for clinical feasibility studies, clinical intervention studies and clinical observational studies can only be submitted under the DFG Clinical Trials Programme, not in connection with Transfer HAW/FH PLUS.

• Further information on the DFG Clinical Trials Programme

All researchers are essentially eligible to submit a proposal who work at a university of applied sciences (FAW or FH) in Germany and who have completed their academic training, generally by obtaining a doctorate. You are not generally eligible to submit a proposal if you work at an institution that is not non-profit, or at an institution that does not allow immediate publication of research findings in a generally accessible form.

This has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In such instances, please contact the Head Office in good time in order to clarify the situation promptly.

Yes. A proposal can be submitted by several people under the Transfer HAW/FH PLUS funding option, providing all applicants work at a university of applied sciences. The respective contributions or possibly complementary areas of expertise must then be described in the work programme and the funds requested in each case must be clearly allocated in the proposal. If one of the applicants does not work at a university of applied sciences, only a regular transfer project can be applied for, i.e. at least one partner must have a DFG-funded preliminary project which has yielded results that are suitable for transfer.

Yes. However, you must check in advance to find out whether other persons or institutions have rights to the results to be transferred and whether or not they object to these results being used for a transfer project. By submitting the draft proposal or the proposal, you declare to the DFG that you have obtained the necessary approvals.

No. The ethics committee statement should be available when the proposal is submitted, however. Notes on when an ethics committee statement might be required are available for the life sciences and for the humanities and social sciences.

No. We do recommend submitting an informal letter of intent, however. The cooperation agreement signed by all partners must be submitted along with the documents required for the proposal. The DFG provides a model of a cooperation agreement between research institutions and commercial enterprises, and a model of a cooperation agreement between research institutions and non-profit institutions under private law or public institutions (non-commercial application partners).

The main changes should be made in the revised draft as this will be assessed on its own merits.

The proposal should ideally be submitted within six months of the call for proposals. Please note that the Transfer HAW/FH PLUS funding option is limited until 31 December 2024. We are no longer able to process proposals after the funding option expires.

If you have already found an adequate replacement, you can describe the new partner and their role in the proposal. There is no need to submit a new draft. In all other cases, it is advisable to contact the DFG Head Office.

No. The requirement for submitting a proposal under the Transfer HAW/FH PLUS funding option is no longer met if the researcher leaves the university of applied sciences.

Please take the feedback into account carefully when preparing your proposal. Otherwise there is no need for you to comment on the feedback.

The answers to most questions can be found in the general FAQ or in the FAQ on transfer projects. If you have any further questions, please contact the staff at the DFG Head Office.

No. In this case, it is sufficient to include a reference to the previous proposal by stating the reference number in the cover letter to the revised proposal. But you are free to submit another draft proposal if you wish.

That depends on your individual case. We will work with you to endeavour to find a practicable solution. Please contact the DFG Head Office in good time.