Funding of neuroscience in Germany

Abstract

Science in the Federal Republic of Germany is financially supported predominantly through two research organizations, the Max-Planck Society (MPG) and the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), both of which have the status of private societies. In addition there are several foundations that support research, for example VWStiflung, Stifterverband fiir die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Fritz Thyssen-Stiftung, etc. With reference to their budgets they are not as important as the MPG and DFG, which distribute 860 and 850 million DM per annum, respectively. The MPG and DFG get approximately 95 % of this sum from the federal government and different local governments. [For further details see Nature (London) 297, 261-280 (1982).] The principal difference between the MPG and DFG is that the MPG actually runs its own 54 institutes, while the DFG finances specific projects of individual scientists or groups located at the universities or other scientific institutions. Constituent members of the MPG are individual scientists, while the constituent members of the DFG are big institutions like universities. Both organizations are self-administered; both have a president, a senate and several additional academic boards elected for limited terms of office, in addition to a central administration. In all 47 FRG universities the basic outfit (personnel and some apparatus) for scientific research is financed by the local governments, different federal ministries and industry. Independent of the fact that tl~e universities and industry spend most of the country's scientific budget, this short review on the funding of neuroscience will concentrate on the MPG and DFG, since only one German university has an institute devoted to neurobiology (Heidelberg) and only a few have small departments of neurobiochemistry. On the other hand, neurophysiology is well supported with several university institutes, but there is only one institute of neuropharmacology (Free University Berlin). The MPG has two institutes which are completely devoted to neuroscience (see Table I and, for more details, the MPGJahrbuch 1982). In addition, several larger institutes have different independent departments headed by a scientific member of the society, some of which work exclusively in experimental neuroscience. Independent of whether or not the field of interest is clearly indicated in the name of the institute or department, there are smaller groups working in neuroscience in several Max-Planck institutes and in many different university departments. If the meaning of neuroscience is extended to include psychiatry, psycholinguistics, psychopathology, behavioral physiology, etc. then the MPG has devoted in total approximately 18% of its research activities to neuroscience. To explain the support of neuroscience by the DFG it is necessary to describe its different methods of awarding research grants. First, there is the 'standard procedure' (Normalverfahren) which accounts for 41.2% of the DFG's total budget. The 'priorities programme' (Schwerpunktverfahren) with 15.4% of the budget is also very important; less important is the support of 'research groups' (Forschergruppen) with 2.8% of the budget. These three types of programme and some additional minor programmes form the basis of the DFG grant system and can be followed back to the founding of the DFG in 1920 or its re-establishment after the war, in 1949. In 1968, a time of financial prosperity