When financing instrumentation as part of a project funding, the DFG assumes that the institution in which the DFG instrumentation is installed and used will cover the usual maintenance costs. The expenses to be borne by the institution include maintenance and repairs resulting from age and wear-and-tear, as well as measures to maintain the operational readiness of the instrumentation and utensils concerned. The institution is liable for any fault.

Repair from Existing Project Funds

If specific repairs are required within a DFG project for DFG-funded instrumentation, these expenses can be covered from the funds approved for the project without requiring separate approval on the part of the DFG. 

Application for Repair

If it is not possible to cover project-related repairs from the institution’s own funds or from funds granted by the DFG, the DFG may provide additional funds for the repair on request before any repair contract is awarded, providing the instrumentation was fully financed in connection with funding granted to an individual. Partially funded major research instrumentation are therefore excluded from this funding.

Financing of instrumentation repairs is only available for instrumentation that has been fully financed by the DFG as part of funding granted to an individual and only if the repair goes beyond the scope of normal maintenance. The DFG has decided to make repair options independent of ownership: for this reason, pieces of equipment on loan from the DFG are no longer the only items of instrumentation for which repairs can be financed from the DFG repair fund. However, DFG repair funding is not available for instrumentation that was only partially financed from DFG funds or not at all.

For this purpose, DFG form 22.30 is to be fully completed and sent to reparatur@dfg.de. A quotation for the repair must be enclosed for the request to be considered; cost estimates are not sufficient. Repair costs will only be covered by the DFG if the repair is commissioned after the DFG's decision on the proposal.

Further Information

Here, you will find a description of which funding programmes involve funding being awarded to an individual (not all of these programmes include funding for instrumentation, however).

Repair requests may not be submitted in connection with DFG instrumentation financed as part of DFG funding awarded to an institution, usually to a university for a network or consortium: in this case, it is assumed that the universities concerned are able to take on financial responsibility for financing repairs – whether from the funds of the institutions themselves or network funds. 

If you have any questions regarding the repair of DFG-funded instrumentation in connection with Collaborative Research Centres, Transregios or Research Centres, please contact the division responsible.

If you have any questions regarding the repair of DFG-funded instrumentation in connection with Clusters of Excellence or Research Impulses, please contact the division responsible for these programmes.