Based on the formal budgetary requirements of the particular Alliance institution, funding may be applied for covering resources for:
1) personnel costs: academic staff (including student staff) and, to a proportionally smaller degree, for nonacademic staff
2) non-personnel costs: material costs and investment resources (excluding construction costs) as well as rental costs.

Material resources can also be used for the financing of services provided by non-scientific partners (e.g. networking and transfer formats, expertise or public relations activities).

Coordination tasks are to be undertaken by academic staff; positions for office staff may not be applied for within this funding scheme.

Funding is provided as university budget funds (“Haushaltsmittel”), meaning that the German law on fixed-term contracts in academia (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG) applies to staff employed as “Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter*innen”. Such positions come with a teaching obligation (“Lehrdeputat”).

All third-party co-applicants must provide proof of their own funding contribution when submitting their proposal. This may include funding for their own position. It is also possible to nominate additional external eligible cooperation partners. These partners are not required to present proof of their funding contribution. Depending on the procurement laws for budgets at the individual Alliance institutions, it may also be possible to commission work from external sources.

While funds cannot be transferred to international partners there is the possibility of including them by several means e.g., through financed workshops, visiting fellowships or via existing projects/partnerships.

A budget plan must be provided confirming how funding will be divided among the Alliance institutions participating in the application. It is not possible to make substantial changes to this plan once funding has been approved. Funding of the applicants‘ own positions is only possible for early stage postdoctoral researchers (see “Requirements/Eligibility”).

Up to 20% of the annual budget can be transferred to the next financial year, if requested by August 31 of the current year. This does not apply to transfers that extend beyond Oct 31, 2026.