German experience

Matthias Kleiner, president of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (left) and Celso Lafer, president of FAPESP, signed the renewal of a collaboration agreement between the two foundations.

By Fábio de Castro

Agência FAPESP – The German government launched its German Excellence Initiative in 2005with the objective of promoting high-level research and excellence in the nation’s universities and research centers.
On August 17, President Matthias Kleiner of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) presented a conference about the program to the São Paulo scientific community at FAPESP headquarters. The Initiative has completed its first phase to the tune of € 1.9 billion and was considered a success.

After the conference, Kleiner and FAPESP president Celso Lafer signed the renewal of a collaboration agreement between the two foundations in 2006 with a 5-year term.

The partnership supports collaborative research in all fields of science between at least one main researcher in São Paulo and another in Germany. The projects are selected by a committee from both countries.
According to Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, FAPESP’s scientific director, the cooperative agreement with the DFG has led to a good number of research projects in recent years. “The partnership is working out very well and we have every interest in renewing it. It is important that FAPESP generate opportunities for São Paulo researchers to increase their cooperative international network,” he said.

Lafer pointed out the agreement’s strategic character. “FAPESP participates very actively in a large effort to internationalize Brazilian research. This mobilization is carried out through cooperative efforts with distinguished institutions like the DFG,” he said.

According to Kleiner, the German Excellence Initiative is one important part of the work of the German government and the DFG. He pointed out the importance of showing the scientific communities in other countries the work developed by the institution in various fields.

“It’s very important for both sides. For us, it’s fundamental to discuss results with our partners. We want to know FAPESP’s opinion on what we are doing, on how to improve our work and, mostly, on how we can cooperate in different fields,” he told Agência FAPESP.

According to Kleiner, Brazilian experiments in financing research were used to conceive certain lines of funding for the German initiative. “I was in Brazil in 2005 and learned quite a bit about how centers of excellence are financed here. I took this Brazilian information and knowledge back to Germany. This exchange on equal bases is what I would like to promote and intensify,” he affirmed.

Kleiner admitted that the healthy competitive environment between the German universities made the program a success, but that similar initiatives could also be implemented in other realities since the research institutions have autonomy. 

“If we observe the international scientific scenario, we can see that different countries have this type of initiative. They are different from one another because the countries are. But one point in common between all of them is that decisions are made by scientific committees and therefore are not oriented by politics but rather by science. It’s possible to learn much from experiences, that’s why I think it’s worthwhile to have this exchange between the many different ways of promoting science,” he said.

Lines of support

The president of DFG explained that, of the nearly 130 universities in Germany, one third received resources for the German Excellence Initiative during its first phase, between 2006 and 2011. Calls for proposals for the second phase—which will run from 2012 until 2017—are open until September 1st. Investments will be € 2.7 billion in the second phase.  

“The program aims to refine the excellence found at German universities and research institutions, making the country more attractive for the production of science and increasing its international competitiveness,” he said.

The initiative has three lines of support: post-graduate programs, to foment young scientists; excellence centers to promote high-level research; and institutional strategies to promote high level research at the university.

The program is conducted through partnership between DFG and the German Council of Sciences and Humanities, which is especially responsible for the third line of support. “In its first phase, the program involved 39 post-graduate schools (each of which received around € 1 million per year), 37 excellence centers (each of which received around € 6.5 million per year) and nine institutional strategies for the promotion of cutting-edge research in universities, which received an average of € 12 million per year.

The lines of support in post-graduate programs and centers of excellence resulted in the creation of 2,200 new jobs for PhDs, 660 for Post-Doctoral students, 70 for assistant professors, and 110 for senior professors.

According to the DFG president, the institutional strategies generated 850 jobs for researchers at the beginning of their careers and 145 jobs for assistant and senior professors. 

“Aside from these results, we maintained a very positive dynamic in the organization of research. The decisive committees, which are mostly composed of scientists, maintained a surprisingly fruitful dialogue with the members of the political class,” said Kleiner.