Basic Research
Basic research has been at the heart of our mission since the Volkswagen Foundation was established in 1962: the researchers we support initiate curiosity-driven, visionary projects, undertake experiments with uncertain outcomes and challenge existing hypotheses in order to arrive at fundamentally new insights.
Basic research is changing our world, but it requires patience – from researchers and funders alike. As the largest private foundation supporting science, we provide reliable funding that goes beyond purely applied considerations: for example, through various funding initiatives within the ‘Exploration’ profile area, which are dedicated not only to the ‘unknown unknown’ but also focus on the creative process at the very beginning of a new research idea. The ideas and concepts that emerge in this way feed into the pipeline of ideas from which – sometimes decades later – solutions develop for problems that were not even suspected at the time of their exploration.
Our thematic focus on basic research shows you just how diverse and surprising basic research can be.
