The requirement for submitting a proposal for a project under the Transfer HAW/FH PLUS funding option is for there to be transferable research findings available that were obtained as a result of preliminary work of a fundamental scientific nature, but without DFG funding. In a draft phase which precedes proposal submission, the preliminary work is subjected to an assessment to establish whether or not this is the case. As a rule, the quality of the preliminary work should be borne out by the relevant publications.

The target group of this funding option is scientists working at universities of applied sciences (HAW or FH) who were involved in the preliminary work. If several people were involved in the preliminary work, individuals may also submit a proposal for the Transfer HAW/FH PLUS project providing they have the consent of the other persons who were jointly responsible.

A draft of the project must be submitted prior to submission of the proposal itself. The draft should briefly describe both the specific preliminary work, including the scientific findings, and the planned transfer project. The draft is reviewed and, if the assessment is positive, a recommendation is made to prepare a proposal.

Proposals will only be accepted until March 31^st, 2025. If you have not submitted a draft until the end of June 2024, you cannot submit a proposal.

Please note:

• If a DFG-funded preliminary project is available, the draft phase is omitted and the proposal for a knowledge transfer project can be submitted by way of the regular procedure.
• The general requirements for knowledge transfer projects apply to the preparation of proposals. Particular attention is drawn to the following points.

Application partners can be industrial/commercial partners as well as partners from the public/non-commercial sector. The application partner must make an appropriate contribution of its own, primarily in the form of expertise and personnel.

The core of a Transfer HAW/FH PLUS project is the collaborative work programme pursued jointly by scientific and application partners which sets out the concrete tasks assigned to participants (including the relevant share of working hours). This is to show that all partners are making an appropriate contribution of their own, especially in the form of expertise and personnel.

The proposal must be accompanied by a cooperation agreement between the applicant’s research institution and the application partner that has already been signed by all contracting parties, in particular including regulations on the handling of outcomes, rights of use and publication rights. Appropriate model agreements are available for this purpose.

Further information

• Guide for applicants (in German only)
• FAQ: Transfer HAW/FH PLUS
• FAQ: Knowledge transfer projects

When preparing draft proposals and proposals, please note the changes in the guide for applicants and in the template for draft proposals effective as of 2 September 2022.

Documents for proposals

• Template for a proposal
• Notes for the review of transfer projects
• Model cooperation agreement for commercial partners
• Model cooperation agreement for non-commercial partners