Germany

Organizing Questions

1. Which organization(s) are significant sources of research funding?
2. What does the normal science funding/policy decision-making process look like?
3. Which patient advocacy groups, if any, are active in the area?
4. Are there existing national/regional organizations that work towards improving research funding/policy?
5. How do scientists currently contribute to the existing funding/policymaking/advocacy process, if at all?
6. When are science funding/policy decisions made?
7. What kinds of opportunities exist for scientists to interact with funders and policymakers?

1. Which organization(s) are significant sources of research funding?

   • National
     • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - https://www.dfg.de/index.jsp  
     • Volkswagenstiftung (VW-Stiftung) - https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/de  
     • Bundesministerium Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) -https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/de/home/home_node.html  
     • Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (FhG) - https://www.fraunhofer.de/en.html  
     • Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft (HGF) - https://www.helmholtz.de/en/  
     • Leibniz-Gemeinschaft (WGL) - https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/  
     • Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG) - https://www.mpg.de/en 
     • Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) - https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/   
     • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) - https://www.daad.de/de/  
   • Further funding opportunities can be found here:
     • https://www.academics.de/ratgeber/forschungsfoerderung#subnav_forschungsfoerderung_in_der_eu 
   • For overview, see:
     • https://www.academics.de/ratgeber/forschungsfoerderung#subnav_linktipps_zu_stipendien
   • European Union (EU) level grants are awarded also by the European Research Council (ERC) or through the ERA-net program. 
     • ERC - https://erc.europa.eu/homepage  
     • ERA-NET - https://www.neuron-eranet.eu/ 
   • Local
     • Ministries of the different States (Länder)
     • Local grants by the Universities or the non-university Research Centers  
   • Private
     • Gabriele Lederle Stiftung - https://www.lederle-stiftung.info/  
     • Deutsches Stiftungszentrum - https://www.deutsches-stiftungszentrum.de/stiftungen  
   • Non-government organizations (NGOs)
     • Stifterverband - https://www.stifterverband.org/english  
   • Industry
     • Industry grants are awarded by the corporations themselves (contract research). 

2. What does the normal science funding/policy decision-making process look like?

   • Which group/committee/person within the funding/policy organization makes the decisions?

     •  Varies considerably between the different organizations (typically peer-review). 

   • What are the criteria the funding/policy organization(s) use to make their decisions?

     • Varies considerably between the different organizations (typically peer-review). 

3. Which patient advocacy groups, if any, are active in the area?

   • Deutscher Blinden und Sehbehindertenverband - https://www.dbsv.org/ 
   • Pro-Retina - https://www.pro-retina.de 
   • Verband für Sehbehinderten-Pädagogik - https://www.vbs.eu/de/startseite/  

4. Are there existing national/regional organizations that work towards improving research funding/policy?

   • None

5. How do scientists currently contribute to the existing funding/policymaking/advocacy process, if at all?

   • Varies, but typically scientists are involved in program design and peer-review.  

6. When are science funding/policy decisions made?

   • Varies between the different organizations (typically peer-review). Major research initiatives are typically made at the EU-level by the European Research Council (ERC).  

7. What kinds of opportunities exist for scientists to interact with funders and policymakers?

   • Can scientists invite decision makers to their lab/institution to see their work firsthand?

     • This is not typical and happens mostly in program projects that have different sub-projects.  

   • Do the funding/policy organizations hold open meetings or solicit comments from the public that researchers can participate in?

     • Varies considerably, but it can happen in different funding organizations such as VW-Stiftung and BMBF-calls.

Contributor

• Bernhard A. Sabel, PhD, University of Magdeburg