The DFG defines “special personal circumstances” as unavoidable life circumstances that have a significant impact on a person’s ability to pursue scholarly or scientific work and use the time available to them to do so. As a rule, a significant time impact applies when a person is restricted for more than three months in a year. Examples of situations which might apply in connection with DFG funding include the following: maternity leave, pregnancy, family commitments (childcare or care of relatives), long-term or chronic illness, disability, change of academic system, displacement, asylum, language acquisition and similar constellations. 

When submitting a proposal, such personal circumstances can be presented in order to be taken into account in favour of the applicant (see next FAQ). The presentation should be concise. Typically, it is important to specify both the period of academic inactivity and the reason (illness, disability, family time, etc.) why it was not possible to work or only work for a limited period of time.

If you wish to transmit such data confidentially and only to the DFG, please use the “Form for confidential information to be shared solely with the DFG Head Office” in the proposal overview in the elan-portal(externer Link).

Examples:

• Due to a serious illness, Prof. [name] was unable to pursue academic work from 1 January to 31 October 2021 (10 months) and requests that this circumstance be taken into account in the evaluation of their previous academic achievements.
• Due to the existence of a severe disability, the birth of a child and associated periods of absence during the doctoral phase, the duration of Dr. [name]’s doctorate has prolonged significantly. It is requested that these circumstances are taken into account when submitting a proposal under the Walter Benjamin Programme.

When the DFG decides on proposals for funding research projects, the key evaluation criteria are the quality of the project and the anticipated results, as well as the prospects of success. The applicant's previous academic achievements are also included in this overall assessment. Therefore, individual circumstances may be relevant in the proposal submission process in order to explain gaps in an academic career that might otherwise appear unjustified, and in order to adequately assess and comparatively evaluate an individual’s academic performance. In this connection, ensuring equal academic opportunities means making allowance for unavoidable restrictions or delays in an applicant’s career. For this reason, such voluntary information is to be taken into account by all those involved in the DFG decision-making process exclusively to the benefit of applicants when assessing the latter’s previous academic performance.

Additional information is available under: www.dfg.de/faq_cv(interner Link)

The following circumstances in particular can lead to unavoidable delays in an academic career:

• Pregnancy and birth
• Childcare
• Providing care for relatives
• Disability, chronic or long-term illness (general rule: absence from academic activity of more than three months in a year)
• Voluntary service, military or civilian service
• Delays due to the pandemic
• Switching between different academic systems, language acquisition
• Displacement, asylum

If special personal circumstances have led to unavoidable extended qualification phases, reduced research output, fewer research results or limited international stays, and these are disclosed in the CV or if the DFG is informed of them confidentially, it is possible to ensure that the individual’s actual research accomplishments are appropriately assessed and recognised. The applicant’s research achievements to date can then be evaluated fairly in comparison with other applicants.

As such, special personal circumstances can be taken into account in favour of the applicant. If, in particular, such unavoidable delays result in formal programme criteria not being met (such as exceeding a certain period of time after obtaining a doctorate in connection with the Emmy Noether Programme), please refer to the relevant programme information and the FAQs(interner Link) on the DFG website. For further enquiries regarding possible recognition regulations, please get in touch with the relevant contacts for the specific programme as early as possible. 

For information on this subject, see: Dealing with diversity/variety of applicants in the processing of proposals(interner Link)

If you wish to submit such data confidentially and only to the DFG, please use the “Form for confidential information to be shared solely with the DFG Head Office” in your proposal overview on the elan portal(externer Link).

Yes, for further information see FAQs 11 and 12 on CVs at www.dfg.de/faq_cv(interner Link).

Please note that significant changes in the planned course of the project (e.g. illness of more than six weeks) must in any case be reported to the DFG after six weeks at the latest (cf. the relevant funding guidelines). 

If the absence from research work due to a chronic or long-term illness and/or a severe disability exceeds three months per year, please contact the DFG Head Office again to discuss the further course of the project. Various solutions may be possible depending on your personal situation, the status of the project, the subject area and the staff involved in the project. These include:

• Change in project duration
• Change in the scope of work of the project manager or DFG-funded personnel involved in the project (such as a switch to part-time work or complete absence of more than three months per year due to family commitments or due to a long-term illness)
• Reallocation of funds (please refer to the regulations set out in the funding guidelines relevant to your approval)
• Transfer of project management to another person (possibly with the intention of re-transfer at a later date)
• Interruption of work on the project (e.g. due to a long-term illness of more than three months per year or due to family commitments).

For further information, please refer to the web page “Researchers with Disabilities or Long-Term Illnesses in DFG Funding Procedures(interner Link)”. Please seek individual advice from the DFG Head Office as to which of the aforementioned measures would be most appropriate to your personal situation and your specific scientific project. Some of these measures can also be combined if necessary.

Yes, there are various options which you will find under the following link(interner Link). Please inform the DFG Head Office of your plans as soon as possible.