Funding Opportunity for Joint Israeli-German Basic Research Projects in all Fields of the Sciences and the Humanities
First call for an ISF-DFG Lead Agency Procedure
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Israel Science Foundation (ISF) are pleased to announce the launch of a call for joint Israeli-German research projects which will follow a Lead Agency Procedure. According to this model, the evaluation of joint research proposals will be carried out alternately by one of the funding organisations which in turn will serve as the Lead Agency.
In this first call, the DFG will act as the Lead Agency and will be responsible for the review and evaluation process. In the second call, the ISF will serve as the Lead Agency and so on.
Scope
Israeli-German research teams are invited to submit joint research proposals within the scope of basic research in all fields of the sciences and the humanities.
Lead Agency Procedure
This bilateral call will be managed via a Lead Agency Procedure. The DFG will act as the Lead Agency in this call, i.e. proposals have to be prepared in DFG format according to the DFG guidelines and the DFG will be in charge of organising the review and evaluation of the proposals. The joint proposals have to be submitted to the DFG by the principal investigator (PI) based in Germany. If several PIs are involved, only one PI from Germany should submit the joint proposal.
The ISF and the DFG will use their standard programmes for proposals within this initiative, i.e. DFG: the Research Grants Programme, ISF: the Personal Research Grants Programme (links see below).
Please note that there are no separate funds available for this joint initiative. This opportunity follows the general funding lines and budget of the DFG and ISF. Proposals must succeed on the strengths of their intellectual and scientific merit and teams in comparison with all other proposals. The funding organisations aim to support the proposals among the top 20 percent in the respective evaluation.
Eligibility
Each research project must be jointly conducted by a team of Israeli and German applicants. The principal investigators on each side must be eligible to apply to their respective funding agency. Applicants in Germany must meet the eligibility requirements of the DFG’s Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01, link see below). Applicants in Israel must meet the eligibility requirements of the ISF (link see below).
Please note that the rules for funding eligibility apply to all applicants from Germany, including the duty to cooperate for non-university researchers. 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 (DFG form 55.01, link see below).
The funding organisations retain the right not to process or to reject proposals if they fail to comply with any requirement set out for this bilateral funding opportunity or any national rules.
Project Requirements
Applicants should demonstrate how bringing together researchers based in Israel and Germany will add value and advance their research. It is expected that each partner contributes substantially to the common project. Projects should be integrated but do not have to be symmetrical in terms of funds applied for. However, work packages are expected to be delivered with a reasonably equal distribution between the partners and schedules should be well-coordinated. The teams of applicants should ensure there is a plan for effective delivery and coordination of research among the partners.
Please note that the duration of the projects must not exceed 36 months. Proposals must be written in English. Commercial companies must not be included as research/cooperation partners.
Please make sure to carefully review the call text as well as the DFG guidelines for proposal preparation prior to submission. In addition, the Israeli partners should familiarise themselves with the additional ISF requirements for proposal submission. Respective links can be found under “Further Information” below.
Submission of Proposals to the DFG (Lead Agency)
- Please prepare the joint proposal according to the guidelines for the Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01, link see below).
- The proposal should indicate that it is to be considered under the call by prefacing the title with “Israel ISF-DFG”.
- The proposal must include a description of the full proposed research programme and research team and the total resources for the joint project (meaning the funds requested for the German and Israeli side). The resources and cost justification section should include a clear summary and justification of the costs for both sides (DFG and ISF). All budget items must conform to the rules of the respective funding organisation applicable to each applicant.
- Proposals must be submitted by the Germany-based principal investigator via elan, the DFG’s electronic proposal processing system. Please select “ISF-DFG Call 2024-2025 DFG-Lead” under “Proposal Data”. Please note that the Israel-based partner is required to pre-register in the ISF electronic portal (see details below). Enter the ISF proposal number that the Israeli principal investigator received during the ISF pre-registration process as a “Project Acronym” for your proposal.
- For each module, please only enter the funds requested from the DFG in the elan system. Note that only Germany-based applicants should be entered as “Applicants”. Israel-based partners (and potential further international partners) should be entered as “Cooperation Partners”.
- A CV for each of the applying individuals in Germany and Israel should be provided, formatted according to the DFG guidelines (DFG template 53.200, link see below). Please upload the CVs of all principal investigators combined in one PDF document.
- Only one Germany-based applicant should upload the proposal to elan. Please note that this person will have to enter address details and funds for the other Germany-based applicants.
Submission of Copies of the Proposals to the ISF (Partner Agency)
- The Israel-based partner is required to pre-register in the ISF electronic portal.
- At the time the proposal is submitted to the DFG, the Israel-based partner is required to submit a copy of the proposal to the ISF. The ISF may request additional documents (i.e. for the budget). For details, please view the ISF website (link see below).
For registration and submission deadlines see below.
Ethics Votes
If an ethics vote is required for the Israeli or German part of the project, it must be submitted together with the proposal to DFG. 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 proposal.
Please note that the submission of an ethics vote of the local German ethics committee is also necessary if only the project part abroad is affected, as it is a cooperation project.
Registration and Submission Deadlines
Please note that the Israel-based partner is required to pre-register in the ISF electronic portal by 14 October 2024, 13:00 Jerusalem time (otherwise, submission of documents to the ISF will not be possible and proposals only received by the DFG will be declared ineligible). The Israel-based PI will receive a proposal number which the Germany-based PI will need to enter as a “Project Acronym” for the proposal into elan.
Please note that if the Germany-based PI is using the DFG´s electronic submission system elan for the first time, the PI will need to register in elan prior to submitting the proposal, stating their complete personal and address details. Registration must be done no later than 23 October 2024 (since it takes at least three business days to process the registration).
Joint proposals must be submitted by 30 October 2024 to the DFG by the Germany-based principal investigator.
After submission of the proposal to the DFG by the PI in Germany, a copy of the proposal documents (and all necessary additional documents and information required by ISF) must be submitted to the ISF by the Israel-based partner by 12 November 2024, 13:00 Jerusalem time at the latest (otherwise the joint proposal will be declared ineligible).
Following submission, both funding organisations will conduct their regular formal checks and exchange the results.
Evaluation and Decision Process
The DFG as the Lead Agency is in charge of administering the evaluation phase. The proposals will be assessed in accordance with DFG standard procedures (link see below). The results of the evaluation will be shared with the ISF. Each organisation will pursue its own decision processes. Only if both organisations decide positively, funding can be granted. If granted, funding will be awarded to the researchers by the respective funding organisation.
Notification of Results
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 the general financial regulations of the DFG and the ISF.
Grant holders are requested, where possible, to synchronise their project components and initiate their grants in a timely manner.
Equity and Diversity
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.
Acknowledgement
Due acknowledgement of support received from DFG and ISF should be made in any publication relating to any research resulting from this Lead Agency Procedure according to usual practices.
Outlook
The next call within this new ISF-DFG Lead Agency initiative is supposed to be launched in 2025.
Additional Note
With the introduction of the Lead Agency Procedure between ISF and DFG, both organisations intensify their institutional collaboration and aim to strengthen Israeli-German scientific cooperation.
Please note that from the date of the publication of this ISF-DFG call, bilateral Israeli-German proposals are to be submitted within this initiative.
Bilateral proposals that are in preparation for the DFG funding line “Middle East Collaboration” should be adapted according to the requirements of this call, if possible, and also be submitted within this initiative. If bilateral proposals cannot be adapted to the requirements of the ISF-DFG call, it is still possible to submit proposals within the DFG funding line “Middle East Collaboration” on a transitional basis until the end of September (30 September 2024).
The submission of trilateral proposals of German and Israeli researchers together with a third partner from one of Israel’s neighbouring countries within the DFG funding line “Middle East Cooperation” is still possible.
Further Information
Proposal Preparation:
General Information on the DFG’s Research Grants Programme:
Guidelines Research Grants Programme (DFG form 50.01) – includes eligibility requirements:
Project Description Template (DFG form 53.01 elan):
CV Template (DFG form 53.200):
Proposal Submission:
Joint Proposals are to be submitted by the German principal investigator via the DFG´s proposal submission system, which can be accessed at
For the compulsory pre-registration of ISF applicants and the submission details for the copies of proposals to ISF (and selected additional documents), information for the Israeli partners is available on the ISF website at
DFG´s Review and Decision Process:
Guidelines for the Review of Research Grants (DFG form 10.206):
Arriving at a decision in individual grants programmes:
DFG´s Data Protection Notice:
Please observe the DFG’s data protection notice on research funding, which can be viewed and downloaded at
If necessary, please also forward this information to those individuals whose data will be processed by the DFG due to their involvement in your project.
Good Research Practice:
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):
Contacts at the DFG:
For general and administrative inquiries about the DFG-ISF Call please contact:
- DFG´s ISF-Lead Agency Procedure Team: isf-lap@dfg.d
- Dr. Djawed Nauroozi (phone: +49 228 885-3226)
For scientific questions please choose the respective contact at
Contacts at the ISF:
For general and administrative inquiries about the DFG-ISF Call please contact:
- israkeren@isf.org.i
- Dr. Ella Fire
Please note:
The following changes were made to this text on September 23, 2024:
Paragraph "Submission of Proposals to the DFG (Lead Agency)"
- Subitem 4; Addition: Please note that the Israel-based partner is required to pre-register in the ISF electronic portal (see details below).
Paragraph "Submission of Copies of the Proposals to the ISF (Partner Agency)"
- Subitem 1: Bold
Paragraph "Registration and Submission Deadlines"
- Addition: The Israel-based PI will receive a proposal number which the Germany-based PI will need to enter as a “Project Acronym” for the proposal into elan.