The Weave Lead Agency Procedure (Weave) developed by European funding organisations to support excellent collaborative research across borders was launched in December 2020. By means of a single review process, the initiative aims to simplify the submission and selection procedures for closely integrated collaborative research proposals involving researchers from up to three European countries or regions. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) already applies Weave together with FWF (Austria), FNR (Luxembourg), F.R.S.-FNRS and FWO (Belgium), NCN (Poland), GACR (Czech Republic) and SNSF (Switzerland).
The DFG funding scheme open to Weave is the Individual Research Grants Programme (“Sachbeihilfe”). In addition to the research organisations listed above and from now on, the DFG will apply the Weave Lead Agency Procedure also together with The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS).
For details on the DFG’s application process, please refer to:
Proposals with DFG as the Lead Agency can be submitted any time. Please make sure to also consult ARIS’s website (see link below) as there may be important information to consider prior to submitting a proposal, e.g. eligibility requirements, deadlines, submission of additional documents, etc.
To submit a Weave Lead Agency Proposal with ARIS as the Lead Agency please consult their website for important information on further eligibility requirements, deadlines etc. (see links below).
A copy of the proposal as well as all other required documents have to be submitted to the DFG within 7 days upon submission to the Lead Agency. For further details, please refer to the DFG website on the Weave Lead Agency Procedure (see link below).
Please note that ARIS allows one applicant per proposal on the Slovenian side, regardless of whether ARIS acts as the Lead or the Partner Agency. For further specifics please refer to the ARIS website and information.
Please note that if an ethics vote is required for the German part of the project or the project part abroad, 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. Otherwise, the funding organisations may stop processing the application. Please note that the submission of an ethics vote by the German ethics committee is also necessary if only the project part abroad is affected, as it is a cooperation project.
Funding recommendations by the Lead Agency will be subject to approval by the decision bodies of the involved funding organisations (for the DFG: involvement of the responsible DFG review board and Joint Committee), taking into account the availability of funds.
Funding of the joint research projects is contingent upon positive assessment and decision by both funding organisations. If granted, each organisation supports the researchers for whom it is responsible. Unilateral funding of only one part of the project is not possible.
Applicants will be informed in writing of the decision and, where applicable, of the subsequent administrative steps according to the regulations of the respective funding organisation.
Funding will be provided according to the funding rules (incl. reporting) of the respective funding organisation, adhering to their general financial regulations.
Grant holders are requested, where possible, to synchronise their project components and initiate their grants in a timely manner.
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.
Information on Weave in German (Antragstellung mit europäischen Kooperationspartner*innen im Weave Lead Agency-Verfahren):
Information on Weave in English:
Supplementary instructions for proposals within the Weave Lead Agency Procedure; „Ergänzender Leitfaden zur Antragstellung im Rahmen einer grenzüberschreitenden Kooperation im Weave Lead Agency-Verfahren (Weave LAV)“ (DFG-Vordruck 54.01).
Project Data Form (compulsory to submit together with the proposal):
DFG’s FAQ on Proposal Submission within the Weave Lead Agency procedure:
DFG’s Electronic Proposal Processing System for Applicants – elan:
Data protection:
Please note the DFG’s data protection notic on research funding. If necessary, please forward this information to any individuals whose data will be processed by DFG due to their involvement in your project.
Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice – Code of Conduct:
Information on the implementation of the Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice (Code of Conduct):
Contact of the DFG´s Research Integrity team (Good Research Practice): gwp@dfg.d
Contact at DFG: weave@dfg.d
Contact at ARIS: razpis-projekti@aris-rs.s
Further information provided by ARIS:
General website of the Weave Initiative: www.weave-research.ne