Transfer Projects in Collaborative Research Centres serve to test the findings of basic research under real-life conditions or to develop them, in collaboration with an application partner, into a prototype or an exemplary application. Their goal is to transfer knowledge between research and application, to the mutual benefit of both sides. On the one hand, this allows scientific findings to be tested under real-life conditions, and on the other, it provides the basic research conducted by the Collaborative Research Centre with important practical stimulus and suggestions.

Transfer projects are open to all fields of scientific research. Fields of application range from industrial production and process development to the translation of life science or medical findings into practice, even in the service and education sectors.

In a transfer project, scientists work in a Collaborative Research Centre together with one or more cooperation partners based in Germany or abroad. The cooperation partners can be private or public users of various kinds, for example producers of industrial goods, but also pharmaceutical companies, software providers, publishers or museums.

The collaboration between the research institution and the partner requires a cooperation agreement. It is recommended to discuss this with the partner at an early stage. The cooperation agreement must be approved by the DFG Head Office. Model agreements can be found under “Forms and guidelines”:

• Forms and guidelines

Funding may be requested for the research institution involved in the transfer project. The application partner is expected to contribute an appropriate share of funding for personnel, direct project costs and instrumentation. Funds for the application partner cannot be requested. Flexible funding periods of up to 48 months are possible, allowing projects to be tailored to the respective requirements. For further information on transfer projects, see also the DFG guide “Collaborative Research Centres (50.06)”.

• DFG guide “Collaborative Research Centres (50.06)”
• Further information on knowledge transfer

Study: “Transfer Projects in Collaborative Research Centres”

• Evaluation of Transfer Projects in Collaborative Research Centres (in German only)