DFG regular funding programmes for cooperation with the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) are continuing their joint collaboration for proposals for outstanding joint research projects in the field of social science research. This is a standing open procedure and proposals can be handed in at any time. German and Indian proposals need to be submitted in parallel.

This initiative aims to bring together relevant and competitive researchers from Germany and India to design and carry out collaborative research projects. Funds to be used by the Indian side must be requested from ICSSR; funds to be used by the German side must be requested from DFG. Special attention is given to the integrated character of proposed projects, from the concept to the work plan. Funding is only available for projects which involve a convincing collaboration between the German and Indian partners and for which the anticipated research benefit is clearly outlined. The collaborative projects selected will receive research funding for a period of up to three years.

Proposal Submission

Proposals must be submitted to both organizations in accordance with the proposal preparation requirements of both sides, respectively. Applicants to be funded by the DFG are requested to fulfil the eligibility requirements of DFG Research Grants, see the corresponding guidelines of the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01 and 54.01). This includes the "Duty to Cooperate" within Germany for members of non-university institutions with permanent positions. Any duty to cooperate for DFG applicants at non-university research institutions can only be fulfilled through cooperation with a partner at a German university (see DFG form 55.01). German applicants are requested to upload their proposal via elan, the DFG’s electronic proposal processing system, following the DFG’s guidelines. Applicants from India are required to fulfil all requirements for funding and follow the general regulations of ICSSR.

Proposals must follow to the DFG "Guidelines for the Research Grants Programme" (form 50.01) and the "Proposal Preparation Instructions – Project Proposals" (form 54.01). For submission via the DFG elan system German partners should go to "Proposal Submission" – "New Project" – "Individual Grants Programme". In the field "Proposal for a Research Grant" click the button "Start online form" – "Continue". Under "Call for Proposals" you will find "INDIEN ICSSR 2024 - Joint Research Grants" German applicants should note that if they are using the elan system for the first time, they need to set up an elan account.

All proposals will be reviewed by both organizations separately. The results of the review process will be shared between the agencies. Support will be granted for those proposals where both, DFG and ICSSR, recommend funding. Please note that at DFG there are no separate funds available for these efforts, proposals must succeed on the strengths of their intellectual merit and teams.

Applicants will be informed in writing of the results of the review and, where applicable, of the subsequent administrative steps according to the respective national regulations. 

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological, or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness. 

Please note that according to a resolution of the DFG General Assembly, since 1 August 2019, DFG funding may only be granted to institutions that have implemented the guidelines laid down in the Code of Conduct for Safeguarding Good Research Practice in their own regulations in a legally binding manner.

For international proposals, this means that funding from the DFG can only be granted if the guidelines for ensuring good research practice have been implemented. If you have any questions on this subject, please contact the Scientific Integrity team at the DFG Head Office. Further information regarding implementation can be found at the web page on Scientific Integrity (Good Research Practice).

Please note the DFG's data protection notice on research funding. If necessary, please also forward this information to those persons whose data the DFG processes because they are involved in your project.

If an ethics vote is required for the German or Indian part of the project, it must be submitted together with the proposal. However, in exceptional cases, an ethics vote by the responsible local German ethics committee can be submitted no later than three months after proposal submission. 

Please note that the submission of an ethics vote is also necessary if only the project part abroad is affected, as it is a cooperation project.

Contact for researchers in Germany

Dr. Franziska Langer, DFG Head Office, International Affairs, phone +49 228 885-3116, franziska.langer@dfg.de 

Dr. Vaibhav Agarwal, DFG Head Office, International Affairs, phone +49 228 885-4900, vaibhav.agarwal@dfg.de 

Contact for researchers in India

Shri M P Madhukar, Deputy Director, Incharge, International Collaboration Programme, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), adinchargeics@gmail.com