DFG Sachbeihilfe: the workhorse grant for German academic research

Personnel costs (postdocs, PhDs, technicians, student assistants), consumables, equipment over €10,000 if scientifically justified, travel, publication costs, and project-specific software. The DFG follows the Vollkostenprinzip - overhead is funded as a 22% pauschal markup on top of project costs at universities.

Any researcher affiliated with a German research institution with a doctorate. No professorship required. Junior researchers without a permanent position can apply for the Eigene Stelle - the DFG pays your salary too. Group leaders typically apply for personnel + consumables; PIs at any career stage are equally welcome.

Twenty pages of project description (form-set length, exceeding it is rejected mechanically). Sections: state of the art with citations to your own prior work, objectives, work programme with measurable milestones, methods (specifics matter: which mouse line, which spectrometer, which statistical model), preliminary work showing you can deliver, project relevance, schedule.

Submission is rolling - no deadlines. From submission, expect 6-8 months to decision: 2-3 months for the review pool, 1-2 for the panel meeting, then formal approval. Funding rate fluctuates ~25-35% by discipline. A rejection comes with reviewer comments; resubmission after substantial revision is allowed and often successful.