Supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Wissenschaft im Dialog (WiD) is a joint initiative run by the leading German science organisations. Founded in 1999 at the initiative of Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, the institutions involved in WiD jointly pursue the goal of promoting and establishing dialogue between the research community and society. To this end, WiD develops communication channels that address various target audiences and age groups. Through the Years of Science, WiD implements science communication projects throughout Germany, such as the exhibition ship MS Wissenschaft: these projects are primarily aimed at arousing interest in science and research among children and young people. New dialogue formats focus in particular on controversial research topics: the aim here is to get citizens to engage in dialogue with researchers about the ethical, political, economic and social impact of research and the findings it yields.

As a co-founder of Wissenschaft im Dialog gGmbH, the DFG collaborates with the other founders and members to set the guidelines for the work done by the initiative. The DFG also works with WiD on selected projects such as the Years of Science (in German only).