DFG Introduces New Measures to Promote Diversity in Research
“Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity” module and proposal sections on gender equality under the coordinated programmes expanded to include diversity / Updated website with examples of measures and online information event
In connection with the equity and diversity concept established by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the Joint Committee decided in summer 2022 to extend the earmarking of the “Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity” module (formerly “Standard Allowance for Gender Equality Measures”) and add diversity to the sections on the promotion of gender equality in proposals submitted under coordinated programmes.
In addition to gender and gender identity, the concept of diversity used by the DFG includes ethnic origin, religion and ideology, disability, chronic/long-term illness and social background – such as migration history, non-academic family background, a researcher’s economic situation – and sexual orientation. Where one person combines several such dimensions of difference (intersectionality), this should also be adequately taken into account.
Gender equality – which has still not been fully achieved – and the promotion of diversity are goals that are set down in the DFG's statutes, so they are very important to the work it does. For this reason, the designated uses of the Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity introduced in 2008 have been expanded and enshrined in the relevant funding guidelines. From now on, project-related measures can be funded that contribute to
- promoting gender equality in research,
- promoting diversity in science and the humanities or
- making jobs in science and academia more family-friendly (including care).
The addition of the diversity aspect applies to both newly proposed projects and ongoing projects for which the Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity has already been approved.
The DFG’s website has been expanded to include examples of how the allowance can be used (see link under “Further information”).
The Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity can be applied for in programme-specific amounts in proposals submitted under the Research Grants Programme, the New Instrumentation for Research Programme, the Emmy Noether Programme, in Research Units including Centres for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences and Clinical Research Units, in Priority Programmes, Research Training Groups and Collaborative Research Centres, as well as in calls that explicitly provide for this option. The extension is soon to be incorporated in the module guidelines for the Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity.
In addition, the sections dealing with the promotion of gender equality in the DFG forms for coordinated programmes will be successively expanded to include the aspect of diversity. This is already the case for (International) Research Training Groups, where it applies both to the proposal guidelines and the relevant review instructions. The DFG forms for Research Units, Priority Programmes and Collaborative Research Centres will be adapted on an ongoing basis.
The aim here is to encourage reflection on diversity issues specific to a project, network or institution so as to ultimately support a cultural shift towards greater diversity in the research system as a whole. From now on, the proposal submission procedures under coordinated programmes are to include a description of how the three issues of “gender equality”, “diversity in research” and “compatibility of research and family (including care)” are taken into account in the project. Diversity concepts are to focus on the structural level, i.e. measures applicable to the working group or team and the research institution as a whole (e.g. aimed at preventing discrimination, promoting a diversity-sensitive and open-minded working culture, or raising awareness among project participants). Apart from details of the share of female researchers involved (or male researchers, depending on the level of underrepresentation at management level in the subject disciplines relevant to the project), quantitative information on the diversity characteristics of individuals are not desired. This means that compliance with the essence of the “Research-Oriented Equity and Diversity Standards” remains a criterion that is relevant to the review process.
An online information event on the new measures to promote diversity in the research system will be offered from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on 16 April 2024 (see link under “Further information”). If you have any questions, please contact the Equity and Diversity team at the DFG Head Office.
Further information
Link to sign up for the online information event (Webex meeting, in German only) from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. on 16 April 2024 on the expansion of the “Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity” module and the proposal sections on equity and diversity:
Funding guidelines:
- Section 6 General Terms and Conditions for Funding Agreements with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG, German Research Foundation) (www.dfg.de/de/formulare-2-00-24648)
- Section 6.2 Conditions for Funding Agreements with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG, German Research Foundation) on Research Training Groups, in German only
(www.dfg.de/de/formulare-2-22-24652) - Section 6.2 Conditions for Funding Agreements with the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V. (DFG, German Research Foundation) on Collaborative Research Centres, in German only
(www.dfg.de/de/formulare-5-01-24669)
DFG form 52.14 “Module – Standard Allowance for Gender Equality Measures”:
Website with examples of how the Standard Allowance for Equity and Diversity can be used:
The DFG’s Research-Oriented Equity and Diversity Standards:
The DFG’s Equity and Diversity Concept:
Topics and dates of further online information events on the subject of equity and diversity:
Contact the Equity and Diversity team at the DFG Head Office: